An anomaly called Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy is probably the sole franchise that even non-gamers are familiar with, it's been a household name for more than a decade. But let's face it, it's weird, the first and foremost is its name : FINAL Fantasy. After 14 iterations and dozens of spin-offs, I fail to see what is so final about it. Liar! So I've been playing XIII for a while now and been meaning to give a review but I haven't finish it, so to review now will be like copas from what I've read about it, don't want to plagiarize a simple note, instead you get a rambling. Yay

Again my drawing first http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/#/d35tah8

Who says I never draw a dude?!... Wha?? It IS a dude.. Moving on..

Okay, I don't mean to be cheesy or melodramatic here, especially coming off as emotional fanboy, but everyone who ever played FF can attest to its greatness. Whether it was its superior graphic, the atmosphere when trudging a detailed town or dungeon, the orchestral music, the gripping story or the compilation of the aforementioned, FF is more of an experience or memory rather than just a game, no less than your favorite book or movie. This is why it's one of the most beloved franchise, non gamers simply can't understand that.

Well honestly I played IX first than VII and VIII. Yeah, I actually didn't believe, and quite frankly detested FF back then. It was ten years ago and I was naive, judging it before I even try it. I believe it was when I was on a field trip in junior high that I first saw FFIX opening being played in a game shop. It's like "O.0 What the hell is this thing?! Must buy!"

Bahamut vs Alexander remains the best from PS1 era

It's actually the gameplay that made Final Fantasy survived its impending, albeit avoidable doom. There was no significant difference between its and other classic RPGs, but it's undisputed that the graph that made FF well known and loved by millions. Square always has a knack for creating FMV that was gorgeous and breathtaking, despite the shortcoming in the in-game graphic, but no more. FF13 marks the first FF when the in-game is almost as beautiful as the FMV, truly a sight to behold. When the actual FMV starts, damn it's phenomenal. It's one of the best I've ever seen, only ME2, RDR and Asin Crd2 that are equally impressive, even then it's hard not to claim that FF XIII has the best graph, it's almost undeniable.

On the sound department, it's different from the previous ones, another take as you will, as the all mighty Nobuo Uematsu didn't compose it. But fear not, it has different vibe, but it does not actually mean it's bad. It, however, reminds me when FF used alternative soundtracks like FFX-2 OST which quirky and J-pop. I like X-2 and while XIII doesn't playful tone, but so far so good. Here's one of my fave so far, you'll notice there is actually vocal mid-way which is rare for FF. Imagine this playing in the background as the characters strolls across the valley, sun is barely visible on the horizon just slightly revealing its shine reflected in large body of water below, then stops and pans the camera to view the vastness of it all. Took my breath away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2CVzn-ymr8

I wanted to write about the gameplay and so story, but I only have a dozen hours or so, let's leave it for next time. What I can do is tell you how much better the protagonist, Lightning than the previous ones, and in the process bash the character that shamelessly graced FF as so-called hero and failed miserably. Well to call Lightning the main protagonist will be a bit misleading since FF XIII is a story of multiple characters whose fate entwined together, the other characters are as important as Lightning and show many different aspect sof the story. Not your usual "Cloud saved the world!!!... with some other dudes..." I approve!!

FF VII - Failed expressionless soldier - Cloud

Many said that Lightning is a female version of Cloud, I disagree. Lightning can whoops Cloud's ass any day of the week. Cloud is bland and plain boring. I know soldier are supposed to hide their feelings, but he is just lacking personality, and the whole "brother, I love/hate you" thing with Sephiroth only gives his weakness more. Anyone remember the scene where he dressed as female to infiltrate a thug's mansion.. Awkward... He failed to save Aerith, tricked by Sephiroth, and Tifa has to saved his ass. All he did was gaze into the horizon like emo bitch. The only things that he offered is nasty case of too much hair wax and big-ass sword that inspired the internet to make "compensating for xxx" joke. Way to go, jerk.

FF VIII - You don't deserve Rinoa - Squall

At first Squall is kinda cool, strong silent type, but as I played, and now in hindsight, I realized he was just a silent type of asswipe. I mean, does anyone remember any of his lines other than "whatever..." Come on, he is like mute or a retard! You don't have to be sensitive poet, but at least show something human-like once in awhile. I don't get why he has so many fans, even from guys :cough: I can make statue with more lively attitude than that. And what's with the scar, try scaring your face and I guarantee you won't score a babe like Rinoa. Squall is Justin Beiber, let that sink in for a while.

I thought with the name GUNblade it could shoot.. you know some shit...
And yeah of course you need to waste years to master it because someone decided to change the handle into gun's
dumbshit

FF IX - Thieving monkey boy - Zidane

He started off okay, trying to kidnapped a princess, ends up falling in love with her and realize thief and princess won't work. He is also a clone and his brother is an androgynous whose clothes reveal in some nasty place and he tries to kill him. Zidane doesn't get it easy, but he has more personality than the rest, quiet frankly his character development is given more thought and consideration. The worst thing about him is.. well, he is part monkey. I know Square was trying to find the fantasy vibe, but still... He is half monkey..

FF X - Annoying Clueless Jock - Tidus

Tidus is so happy and childish. The whole thing about him feels wrong, how come he is accepted as Yuna's guardian just by being stranded ashore. He's not realistic and comes off pretentious, always encouraging Yuna to finish her pilgrimage, little did he know that that means killing her. Although to his credit he sticks with her to the end. And turn out he is just a dream of a vanished ancient people. OMG lazy story telling, it's hard to find an coherent ending and we'll just say "he is a dream. now he's gotta go, bye".

Looks legit to me

FF X-2 - Britney Spears me - Yuna

Oh what is with Yuna? After preparing to give her own life away to save the world, also responsible for one of the most memorable CG, the sending in Kilika, she shed the summoner outfit and turn into a pop-star.. I mean what?? At some point, Square decided to turn X-2 into a macabre of Charlie's Angels rip-off with out-of-this world fashion show starring Yuna and her angst for Tidus the whole way to the game. I know maybe a girl want to have fun after all that thousand of monster killing and it's nice to see Square released a true sequel of FF. It's good, it's one of my first game in PS2, the CG is impressive and 1000 words is still my favorite OST, but I doubt that the choice in story and Yuna's transformation were good ideas.

FF XII - Not even the main char - Vaan

The others in this list might have some, many, flaws but they are all admittedly memorable. Whether it's because their weapons, ultimate moves, good moments in story, we all remember those tens, maybe hundreds of hours playing as them and rightfully so. But Vaan is in another league of suckiness, years from playing it, people will have hard time of remembering her... his name, mainly because he is just Ashe's servant. FF XII is not about him at all, all focus goes to Ashe, he is not even Ashe's love interest. All I remember of him is just "I wanna be a sky pirate. yay" What is this One Piece or something?

No, I take that back, comparing him to Luffy will be disrespectful toward Oda-Sensei. In stark contrast, XII has massive open world, but sparse events and XIII has linear world, but tons of events. In XIII, you feel like you are tagging along as the chars go on their journeys, but Vaan is REALLY just tagging along. In those sparse events, Vaan is literally just standing on background, even if sometimes he is included in the conversation, he always say something stupid and ruin the mood. In fact Balthier claims that he is the main hero. Who can argue? He is much more interesting and charming than Vaan, he even has a Viera, sexy bunny chick in his side, that's already an epic win in my book.

Sometimes Vaan isn't even in the background

FF XIII - Please marry me - Lightning

Lightning starts off as stern type soldier hell bent on destroying... something. I thought "oh not this type again". Along the way her char develops immensely, she is able to be compassionate, remorseful and willing to accept others. She softens up a bit, but still has the determination and composure. By far the best protagonist I have pleasure to play as (no pun intended). She also reacts naturally and realistically making her more relate-able, but she has three major strong points.

First, her gunblade actually shoots some shit and can be folded, I want one,

Second, her acid tongue. I know this is a Teen rated game, but the things she said are sharp and straight to the recipients' hearts.

Third, combining with her acid tongue is her pimp hand. Yeah, she likes to bitchslap people.

Exhibit A:

Snow: (says to Serah) Don't worry babe. Your hero is here.

Lightning: (Bitchslaps!!) Does she looks protected to you??

Exhibit B:

Fang: I'm sorry.

Lighting: (stares and... Bitchslaps!!) Nothing changes...

Fang: Say that to my jaw...

Pure gold. She's so awesome, do you know what appears when you type "Lightning" on Google image search?

Lightning-saammaaa
Note to whoever made gunblade: congrats for making it shoot stuff

Damn, this was long, certainly killed some time on my work.

PS: This note is for fun, if you read it this far and your fave chars got bashed. It's just a joke. I know they are fond memories, but they are still fictional chars. Remember the title itself has "Fantasy" on it.

Heehee. Ciao - Vanille

Beelzebub review

A few months ago, I found new manga Psyren and then it was over too soon. Well, after a few week not reading anything, I found another one, Beelzebub. Actually, "found" is a bit overstating it, it happens to listed no.2 at manga fox next to Psyren. It's good, funny and a fresh air from your usual heavily dramatic ones.

My drawing first http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/

I want your opinion on something simple:

Is this better? Of course it's colored version

Or this one better? This is with no saturation version

From this image.. kinda..

The first thing you need to know about Beelzebub is this is not some devil manga, well it is, but it doesn't take itself seriously, rather it makes fun of many manga cliches and still has some novelties about it. Think of it like School Rumble + Tenjou Tenge + Gintama and you are halfway there. It's a mix of bordering on nonsensical and completely absurd.

The story is a delinquent, Oga, found a baby on the side of the river who turns out to be the child of demon king. The baby needs strong bad-ass caretaker to become an appropriate demon. He then forced to be the child's caretaker until he grow up and destroy human kind. A wet nurse, big boobs Saber (Fate Stay Night) rip-off, Hilda, stays to help Oga raise the child. That's the gist of it, I already said it'd be silly.

See, nothing serious here..

And so Oga's odyssey to become stronger begins as typical shonen manga and he faces many less serious opponents. The good thing about it is, even though is has overused format, it doesn't bore you. in fact it delivers many witty, sometimes over-the-top scenes and dialogues which many other mangas afraid to even include in their manga. One time, a new character appears and spends three pages for his entrance and Oga blabbers, "That was a waste of three pages!" There are many references to pop culture that keeps it fresh.

On the other hand, the art is serviceable but never come across as well defined or artistic apart in some, admittedly quiet rare moments. It serves the tone for the manga correctly, it will be awkward to see this type of fighting manga has pretty art like Vampire Knight, but it left something to be desire, I don't want it to be Bleach, but some of the arts are a bit lacking especially for the male part. I'll show you.

This is how the males are drawn...

This is how the females are drawn..

See the differences? No??

How about now?

There is something on how the mangaka drew the girls' eyes that is intriguing. it is still simple, not the same level of Air Gear or such, yet quiet beautiful. Sadly aside from those two main female characters, the others are not that important, it has several other chicks but on this focused-on-fighting manga, testosterone fueled dudes are arguably more important. The story is there, but it is just a reason to get on with another battle. A bit of romance, even bromance and silly demon master are welcomed but you know it's not the manga strong suit.

There are even times when the story take dive into demon world, the baby becomes ultraman or into a volley ball match abruptly, with just minor explanation.

never seen reactions this lebay since someone died eating bread in Yakitate

Volley Ball it is then...

There is even a mock up court scene after Oga lost. It's a nice change of pace from the usual emo state the heroes gone through. Naruto cried to his mama, Ichigo cried to his papa, but Oga takes a different approach.

So that's how they litigate on Japan.. hmmm.. Lastly, kudos to the mangaka for Kunieda Aoi, a slender girl char whose boobs are just in the right human proportion. She is the usual stern girl on outside, soft on inside type, friend/rival of the big boobs. It's amazing how he created a much needed (almost) normal plausible girl character amidst all this absurdities.

How come I never meet a girl who openly wear only bandage to cover her breasts when I went to school?? There is something wrong here!!! It's a crime!!

For making me lol, fresh ideas and new take on shonen manga, it deserves 8.5.

On more important note, it seems that Santa has granted my wish, it's the only explanation for me having to wait til almost Christmas for it. And no it's not a girl who openly wears only bandage to cover her breasts, although I wouldn't mind that. That's long. I'm out.

Record of Agarest War review

"What the hell is that?" you might ask when looking at the title. It's a strategy game that bring out the best of X360, so taxing is this game's engine, my X360 struggles its hardest to just load the game to the next event... Okay it's a lie. it's PS1 style S-JRPG like FF Tactic and not as good. Wow I bet you can't wait for the mind blowing review.

My drawing first

http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/art/Serenity-Request-189326550?q&qo

It's okay I guess. At least I understand the basic now.

So it's been 6-7 months since I started to draw, let say it's one semester already. Since I just finished my free sketches thing, I'm thinking of coloring. I need some help, NO! Please don't runaway! It's very simple tiny bitty thing. I need a few stocks. Well stock is basically anything that can be used for inspiration, reference, source material for drawing. I won't copy it, I just need something for guideline, for more realist drawing.

For pro, stock consist of complex photos of models in detailed outfits, but I don't need that. If you got tagged in some online shop ads, saw some cosplay photos, or any kind of photo of models that got good lightning and shade, please send it my way. I mean it only take a wriggle of your thumb and less than a minute of your time, just send me the link, you don't even need to save the image. Any help will be much appreciated.

It should look like this. Visible trait of face and hair with good background.

Here comes the review. I'm writing for the sake of just writing here. Record of Agarest War is as niche as it gets. Practically anyone who don't have any experience or interest on tactical game, JRPG or anime will be alienated. For ones who has the aforementioned interests, it is much bearable, not exactly good but you'll live.

I'm only playing this because it's dubbed in Japanese, since my indovision got replaced by the lesser fastmedia, my Japanese channels are gone. It's a good way to learn the language though. And for what it's worth, the hand drawn arts are good, despite the overly anime looks which is not really my taste, and slightly sensual innuendo blatantly advertised on the arts. Hey it's a form of marketing, don't ridicule it.

Like I said, innuendo.. Kudos for not planting breast implant on this one. The others.. err...

The most striking feature about this game is its graph. Aside for the anime arts, others aspects just looks flat. It still uses the same sprite that PS1 used. I'm not too concern of the graph, I know artistic style can pushes the game far like Persona which used last gen graph but still managed to look edgy, or the use of cel shade like PoP 2008 or Okami, but this is just absurd. For a game that loses to FF Tactic that released 15 years ago is such a demerit award.

This is as old school as it can get, old world map, cliche and overuse background of castle, town etc. In fact most of the backgrounds or terrains are lazily rehearsed over many supposedly different areas. Of course this samey area also provide the same enemies to fight. It's exhausting to see such small variety in vast world map, as if the game coerce you to drag on the game.

This is the actual gameplay. The dragon is very rare, I usually ended up with imp, goblin and many more unoriginal enemies.

But it doesn't matter if the graph suck, because first and foremost, the gameplay is obviously the priority of any game. Sadly it's serviceable but not outstanding in any way. This is pure tactical RPG, with adequate customization, but it feels like patience on grinding is more crucial than skill. It also doesn't has the height difference on combat, so every fight occurs in uninspiring bland and flat background. The main draw is linking system, when a character position him/herself in specific ways, they can perform multiple combos regardless of their speed and position, so a powerhouse can unleash massive damage even when it's not his turn or if he is faraway but is linked properly.

The battle uses AP for each action, so there is limited attack for each char, more powerful moves take more AP and faster chars replenish AP faster. There is incentive to finish the battle quickly in form of bonus to EXP, EP (to enhance items), PP (to enhance stat) and so forth, but if you wait long enough for your AP to build up for more powerful attacks to Overkill the enemies, they are more likely to drop valuable items that can be used to create better equipments. The loot and level up system are familiar, buy and sell items, upgrade or create new items, combine skills. It's actually pretty deep, but nothing you haven't seen before.

This woman wants your soul, and the soul of your son, grandson until five generations to serve her..
Guess how the main char respond...

I read the review a few years ago. I said that it spans for five generation. Each generation has a collection of harem, in the end you can mate with one of the girls and the son of the mating will be the hero of the next generation with stats and items still intact. Rinse and repeat five times. It's a bit hentai dating sim, but it's still Teen rated, so the mating just a side perk.

The voice over only available on Japanese which is a good thing, I fear the accent and translation would make a messed up English iteration of the game. The OST is quiet okay, but to hear it over and over again in the same environment is agonizing. I wish it had more library of music.

One thing that is awkward, I accidentally created a high tier item called Misty Guard (don't know if it's common or not, but I guess it's rare) and it made my main char an instant bad-ass, boost up defense, resist and avoid, add stat and four other skills. I sent him alone to absorb damage, he got raped by enemies linked attacks, but survived 3 consecutive battles without healing with just a scratch. It just a matter of how fast I can win now, not whether I can win or not.

I lol'ed. Might as well made this eh.

I just played it about 10 hours, but it is already feel stall. I even haven't complete first generation yet. I feel this game is shamelessly prolong its gameplay rather build more exciting traits. Oh well, rate 6.5/10. I wouldn't have played it if not for the Japanese audio and great arts. Wow, this is really long and killing my time. I'm out.

Most Memorable Movie OST (Animation)

I've been seeing many people lamented "Wish I could turn back time", I understand the feeling, so here's some brief respite from your ordinary life whether it's college, work, skripsi, entrance exam and all sort of things. I humbly present a few minutes of the past.

http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/#/d34dwd6

One or two more sketches, and I'll do color.

I actually wanted to make Movie OST list, but considering the massive number, I decided to sort it. Nowadays animation means put 3D and a bunch of CG and call it a day. They forget that movie is audio visual entertainment. I'm not saying they are bad, but can this generation look back ten years later and say, "Man, I remember this song. The movie was epic." That so magical tunes is what made the movie memorable and vice versa. They are.. (By no means this is absolute, it's just my opinion)

Honorary Mention

Link

L'arc En Ciel

Full Metal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala

Okay this is more like a tribute fro Japanese anime's Magnum Opus, because all the above are all western. This is the old Full Metal Alchemist (The Movie) it was good but not at the same level as Brotherhood. I'll give it a mention because FMA is simply the best anime and Link provides a trip on the memory lane of the original FMA. How could one improve on already amazing piece: Brotherhood.

PS: Hawk-Eye is still stunningly hot. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdKE9yCjpBY

4.

Reflection

Christina Aquilera

Mulan

"Must I pretend that I'm someone else all for all time?"

Reflection is the kind of song that is timeless. The concept of finding yourself will last through ages, and it fits brilliantly for a story of female warrior cross dressed as male of Chinese legend, taking women emancipation to extreme height. While it was loosely based on a legend, it told a amazing concept that courage and strength doesn't always take form of Ahnold Swashnegger.

PS: The other songs from Mulan like "True to Your Heart" by 98 Degrees and Stevie Wonder and "I'll make A Man Out of You" by the cast, Jackie Chan sang the Cantonese version, are also great. But I picked Reflection anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzHR0IErM60&feature=related

3.

Journey To The Past

Liz Callaway

Anastasia

"One step at a time. One hope, then another."

The movie Anastasia is a romantic one, not just in term of love but more appropriately on reminiscing about the past. Anastasia was the last princess of the Romanov, the last Tsar of Russia. When the royal family was killed, there were rumors of her surviving all those years hence the theme of the movie. The added mystical man, Rasputin, who became adviser of some sort gave the story a magical twist. The OST itself simply is magical orchestra.

PS: the real Anastasia died in the incident. I wonder if the young princess could ever imagine her story would be so romanticized.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zD-zXZdvyQ&feature=related

2.

When You Believe

Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky

Prince of Egypt

"Many nights we pray. With no proof anyone can hear."

Prince of Egypt is all about faith, however "When You Believe" is so universal it doesn't take a certain religion to enjoy it. The song is about finding faith, pure and simple. It's a message on more personal level. I can assure you that no one in this world live without ever doubting themselves or their faith, it's just human nature to question so. If anyone tell you otherwise, they are either lying or in delusion, even saints questioned their faith at some point.

But that's the whole point. To find faith despite our flaws is a triumph of one soul. Don't bother convincing others, just answer to your own heart.

PS: Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston sang the pop version of this, while the movie version has Hebrew chorus sang by a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gur8ccqrQ9c

1.

You'll Be In My Heart

Phil Collins

Tarzan

"Why can't they understand the way we feel.

They just don't trust what they can't explain"

My greatest of them all would be "You'll Be In My Heart". It is just a magnificent song that everyone can relate to by a very talented artist. The quest to find one place on this world and find acceptance of others, it's transcend race, religion, gender and nationality. It couldn't have paired with more appropriate movie. Phil Collins has won numerous awards including Academy Award Best Song. They don't make stuffs like this anymore.

PS: He also created two more songs for Tarzan, "Strangers Like Me" and "Two Worlds", but "You'll Be In My Heart" is a masterpiece of its own right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIVaUcE4kAM&feature=related

PSS: Phil Collins is now almost 60 years old and he is still far better than many pop idols nowadays. They would be blessed if they are this good when they reach 40. Check out the next clip, Phil was about 56 when he sang this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05MykSuOxP0&feature=related

We all will get old some time, just embrace it. The trick is to age gracefully ;)

An Anomaly called Bleach

Okay this is take two.. I wrote this yesterday when it's blackout and fb didn't save it. Due to increasing lameness and poor attempt to cash-in with Hell arc, Bleach is undisputed-ably sucks balls. But still there are some appeals, no matter how strange they are, on the manga. Even if you are a fans or scornful reader, just accept the fact hat Bleach is so weird.

My drawing first http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/

I'm getting better steadily :)
but then I saw...

This!! I nearly cough blood.. the sky got higher and higher.
The artist is humble and polite too.. sigh.. one day man

Wow where should I begin to describe what went wrong with Bleach. Okay the manga had a good start in Soul Society arc, the story was going well, the pace was fast and there were some good battles as well. The climax of Rukia's execution, imo, wasn't that epic, I didn't feel dramatic moment. It didn't get to the level of Nami arc in One Piece, and Nami arc was approximately the same chapters as Rukia. Nevertheless it was good, but it went downhill from there.

Thee first of all, the hype. Bleach is an endless string of hypes. Someone on inet said Bleach was like an infomercial, I couldn't agree more. Think of it like a salesperson selling exercise / workout machine in TV:

"Now with ABS-O-METER!! You can train your abs, thighs, chest, ass to perfection.. But wait!! There is more, it can also train... your NOSE!! That's right!!, call xxxxx now to order"

Apply this to Kubo's work:

"Now introducing Espada!! This is number 10.. 9.. 8.. etc.. 3, wait, I'll just kill this big boobs fanservice without apparent reason to invoke emotional sense on young adolescent fans.. Yeah.. But wait there are more... Number 1.. This is the most bad-ass of them all, he splits his soul in half to escape loneliness, damn that's cool, I'll make him die with just shikai, damn I'm good! But WAIT, there is more, this is number 0!! Oh hell yeah, he got defeated Byakuya and Kenpachi. The end."

Ichigo has a lot of burden in his shoulder.. didn't manage to save the manga thg

The same with Ichigo, unlike One Piece or FMA which can tie up any loose ends despite more vibrant cast, Kubo's plan if he can't deliver the climax scene is more hype..:

"Meet Kurosaki Ichigo, He can do shikai, bankai and even hollow form. He's awwwsome. But wait there is more! He can turn into bad-ass super saiyan hollow form if he's dead or annoyed enough by some boobalicious character.. BAM! There is even more, you wouldn't believe it, he becomes his own sword, yeah man like transform or combine or some shit, he got extra wig, clothes and stuff.. You know his clothes represent his reiatsu, one sleeve equals captain level, quick bring him some shirts, jeans and Ta-dahh! Instant godlike.. There is even more!! OH MAN, you wouldn't believe it.. He is now a HUMAN!! This one is for Hall of Fame!"

While waiting for Ichigo, Hiyori updated her fb status

Than comes the other problem.. Lousy waste of page!

Forget one page of character staring at each others, one page to pose in the heat of battle, two pages worth of Gin unleashing his long sword, two pages worth of Aizen taking his glasses and put on wax.. That's child's play.. It's common trait of Bleach, but Kubo went to place other artists and mangakas never even think of going, the absolute waste of page.. Behold "THE HEART" When I saw the upper blank space I thought the page didn't load, thus I refreshed a couple of times, then I scrolled down... I never WTF!? that loud since Tezuka's Zone attracted meteor from space and annihilated the dinosaurs.

This is an actual manga page.. I shit you not
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/bleach/v41/c354/4.html

This isn't over yet, never forget the plot. There are many mangas that have more complex plot like Death Note, by they seems to be able to neatly tell the story in a coherent way.. But not Bleach's plot, it's equivalent to getting shot by machinegun, full of holes. What happened to Grimjow? Is he dead? the last I saw him, he's laying on dirt looking like he's about to cry because Nnoitora, How about Nel? Yeah Nnoitora almost made her cry too.. At least we know he is going to hell for sure..

And the Vaizard.. Hiyori got slashed in half, they got wasted by Aizen along with the captains. Remember Soi Fong's, Toushiro's and co face when Aizen stabbed them.. Yeah like a school girl who got raped. The expression speaks for itself, "Why? Kubo!? Why?" I believe Unohana, 4th captain, went back with Ichigo. Did she heal them all? I mean like that's way unlikely considering how many Aizen victims there wasere. If she did pull it off, she should be captain commander. Come on now, do you prefer muscle old man or Milf looking mature chick?? XDDDD

Okay anyway the whole experience with Bleach can be sum up to:

Kudos for the artist who made this simple yet so true comic strips

With the massive fanservice, those boobs and abs are there for a reason, and great art, the whole final getsuga didn't make any sense, but the drawing was awesome. Bleach is here to stay. Quiet frankly, even though you hate it, you still read it once in awhile, even just to know what the hype is all about. However at the end of the day, there is one agreeable thing about Bleach, it is HOLLOW.

Idea for Skripsi : Euthanasia

I've been meaning to write something thought provoking and serious once in a while, but it turned out I just spammed some sexy anime pics. No more of that. I've been thinking since I saw many unused skipsi materials in my PC, what should I do with those. So I decided to post it here. If anyone want to use it or even sell it, go ahead, but please invite me to seminar proposal and sidang skripsi. I didn't use these for some reason, you know.

Oh first my drawing http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/art/Fairy-Tail-Erza-187047033?q&qo

It's Erza from Fairy Tail

Hmm this drawing is odd. It took me several attempts to get it right. I mean it's just simple quarter view, not very complex pose, but still... And I accidentally pressed my fingers in the paper. Fyi, it's a big no-no. I think it's what they called artblock. I say it's Hiro Mashima's spirit haunting me, like "ehhh nih orang ud sering bad mouth manga gw, skrg dia maw gambar char gw.. Nga segampang itu. Wkwkwkwk".... ---voodoo--- OTL

Okay onward to euthanasia. Euthanasia means "mercy killing", an act of taking someone's live in order to ease their pain. For example when one is dying, a person injects a lethal drug to help him pass away. It's controversial on how this is supposed to be permitted or not.

I actually did a paper on the subject while in high school, albeit it was on religion's point of view, which is practically against it. The theme is sound and could be viewed from law's perspective whether it's legal or not. I remember researching KUHP and found some article that said "orang yang membantu orang lain menghilangkan nyawanya akan dipidana xxxx". I know it was not meant for euthanasia, but it opens to interpretation.

Wait, why is there Chun Li pic here?
I think image of euthanasia would be grotesque and I haven't upload this so there...

It can be describes as helping someone commits suicide is a crime, so it can also means the one helping is accomplice / penyertaan, which can also means the act of suicide itself is a crime. It's a bit far fetch if we look it that way. So the common explanation is the act of helping itself is a crime in itself. That leaves a question whether the person doing is aware of it.

Imagine your friend asking for a pair of scissors. "Dude, pass me that scissors, wouldya?". You reply, "All right, mate. Here you go." The he stabs himself in the throat and dies. Would that make you legal for prosecution? I don't think so. It's not your responsibility that he died. So that leads to another question. What if you knew about it.

Why is Morrigan here? Well just think grim reaper look like this to ease the pain..

There are two types of euthanasia, active, where one give drug to end life and passive, where one just unplug the machine. Let's say hypothetically that one's family member or friend is dying due some accidents or diseases. It will take them days or even weeks to pass. By this point they are unable to give coherent answer about their own well being, so that leaves the person in charge to decide. By consenting to unplug the life support machine, will that put the person at risk of jail time?

It's all just theory, there is one major problem with this theme. The data. How could one actually get euthanasia data? Surely you can't waltz in hospital and say, "Hey, doc. Kill any patient lately?" This is even harder than abortion because there are social and moral lines here. If it could not be proven that it had happened, then it would not be an issue. Or simply put "dimana permasalahannya?"

I ran out excuses to post this..
But to the artist who drew this.. man you are my hero, seriously total awesomeness brings tears of joy to my eyes.. tons of kudos, respect and admiration.

I think it's bad if euthanasia is associated in "mercy killing" since "killing" has bad connotation to it. It is more decent if it's called "aid of ascension". The legal system here doesn't provide enough info on the matter, whoever made KUHP must have not known there would be such an issue. The moral outline and medical reasoning might stand in the way of making this a viable option for any writing material. If anyone actually does this.. Wow it will be epic.

The best of fanservice

Okay continuing from fanservice from before. It's actually not a bad phenomenon, I mean people always use beautiful model to advertise whatever product they have right, so it's expected to see it's use for games or movies etc. Right my drawing first..

http://vividobscura.deviantart.com/

I think I'm getting use to shading and body texture, skin and muscle..
Now if only I can do something like below...

Wait for it...

Wooowww Chun Li is.. look at the muscle texture.. so impossible, but do you even care

Now the picture above is absolute prime example of fanservice done right. You know it's just a drawing of fictional character from a video game, but in the split second when you saw this, your endorphin fueled brain must have conceived it as "Holy mother of pearl, That's awesome!! la la la" Don't argue. It's law of physic.

Maybe the term fanservice is way too broad and common. I could put hundreds of cosplay models, CG or what not. So I'll just search everything from Capcom and it has to be official not fan-made, it simplifies things. keep in mind I write note in about 30 min. Let see how much effort a company put for fanservice.

Ahh the classic Morrigan and Lilith

Morrigan is the epitome of fanservice. She is a succubus, in case you don't know, succubus is mythical being that feed on male carnal lust. She is so powerful that her power is divided to another manifestation of herself called Lilith, the little one. Capcom throws a lot of sexual lesbian innuendo. Don't lie Capcom, this is purely for male demographic, isn't it?

Another Chun Li.. with Mai Shiranui.. Yeah...

Forget about innuendo, this one went straight for groping. If a company made one overly enhanced female being groped by another scantily clad over-exposing female character, do you know what is it called? No. it's not desperate attempt to grab consumers' attention. It is art. Don't argue.

At this point, i think it's useless I put any caption here...

Ah the ass shot of Cammy, where are Street Fighters without them. Cammy is supposed to be Bison's clone and she is only teenager. Well you can't blame Bison for the cloning part, why would he wants to clone ugly mofo like himself. If I could clone myself, I'd rather my clone look like Cammy.

There is also something like this.. lol

So a great fanservice doesn't need to camouflage itself. It blatantly advertises the product and you know it's fanservice, but you just don't care, even though the product itself doesn't play out or resemble any of the ads. It's like you are being lie to, but just as Rihanna's song "Love the way you lie" the consumers just don't mind and it's a great marketing strategy. Much like porn, it's here to stay on any media that needs exposure, which is, all of them. :D

The Truth of Fanservice

My drawing first… Then the well thought rant I called article can begin…

This is hard.. no examples, it's my original.

It is imperative when you have a story that need sales’ number boost immediately like a desperate bodybuilder in need of steroid shot, and by immediately I meant “right the next chapter”, you do one thing that throughout the time has been proven fail proof and universally acclaimed as the savior of any anime, manga, novel, game and movie, behold lowly mortals: Fanservice.

Let’s break it down, etymology they say. Fans : A less educated human being who is blindly supporting any brand because of either hype or the past glory, unwilling to accept that the hype might not be true or that now said brand is downright crap, this include any Bleach fans and Narutards who still in delusion that their almighty series are still great, despite the ass-whooping One Piece give them every single week.

This is great because one of them is a guy.. bravo...

Service: An act of pleasing. So if we combine them, we got fanservice: A shameless dastardly plan from an author or artist to appease their horde of followers, in this case called as fans, to conceal any flaws the series might have with erotic innuendo or even blatant image of sexually enhanced females in exposing pose because they think that admiration for their works from the readers is attached to their private parts.

To be fair, it’s a fair game though. If it’s done correctly, it could be a work of art, elevating the plot, while also making a remarkable genuine character. But most often than not, it’s “more boobs” mentality from the artists. How sad. I understand that everyone wants to ogle at the beautiful half naked lady, but there is a line from great storytelling and distasteful attempt for audience.

If the author made the bikini version.. you know it's fanservice..
Assuming Kubo did it.. I say he did

You see, a writer is like a gladiator. They must fight endlessly to create better sexy lad.. story. It’s not pretty down there. We, the readers, are like the commoners watching the slaughter, screaming in our toga, booing, throwing stuffs down there to make their lives worse and miserable. The reviewers, are like the senates who sit next to the emperor, their tongues can carry joy or speak evil in the emperor’s ears. Then the publisher (Weekly Shounen) is like the emperor, who gives thumbs up or thumbs down.

If the emperor is not entertain, it’s thumb down “off with your head”… then the gladiator dies… Sad, but true. So it’s our.. no your fault, that many nude girls on manga. Remember the illegal hunt prevention ads. “If the demand stops, so is the killing.” This is deep people. Lives are at stake here.

Bleach is especially proficient at these. Out of the Big Three, Bleach is smart in this department. The shot of grown up Nel aiming the sword upward with her torn outfit and revealing most of her body, or Halibel showing her lower boobs and there’s #3 there, even before that Kubo made us think “where is her tattoo?”… That’s brilliant! Kubo has some serious bad-ass female campaign techniques. You don’t wanna mess with him here.

Guild.. You mean brothel right?

Fairy Tail is also keen on making profit from this. Every chapter contains no less that 17 well place shot of girls with bare minimum clothing for your online free enjoyment. Yes, they will pose like model even when they talk. This is absolutely legal, why must they converse in normal way if they can bust up and spread their crotch while talking. He knows we hate narrative or whatever those letters hanging for. Why, if there is no girls, no story.

Now imagine if Kubo and Mashima wrote, bear with me… Claymore!! Think for awhile. Claymore has almost all female char cast swinging their big swords on skin tight outfits. Think what kind of abyss or paradise, they could make here. Accidental nipples show, gratuitous sensitive limbs shot from awkward angle, Oh I’m sorry, I don’t want to kill you, so I just rip your clothes apart while you blush and scream there.. yes that’s good..

The End.

RED review

Man.. I'm so bored.. Might as well write another note, my drawing first..

Maybe I can make pencil to look this clear.. gotta try it next time..

Okay I watched RED just on a wimp. No previous review or even hype for this movie, I only remembered it was starring Bruce Willis and caught a glimpse of the trailer. If you see RED, there is one thing that stands out, the cast. It has aforementioned Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich, so it got star power covered. You notice one similarity from the cast: they are all senior.

It turns out that RED stands for Retired. Extremely Dangerous in other words: Old But Still Bad-ass. This concept has striking resemblance with recent The Expendables. But unlike The Expendables which spams testosterone sausage fest, RED is actually more subtle and cares for story more, despite somewhat over-the-top scenes in some parts.

It follows the story of Moses (Willis), a retired CIA agent who have a crush on Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker, not sure who this is, I saw her at Red Dragon, I think). The film doesn't give any explanation at the beginning, but anyone who have seen comedy thriller of some sort will figure it out in no time. Thus the couple has to evade the chasing mafias, assassins and agents at the same time. Suspend your disbelief is a must.

Where is the young ones? It's sad action movie doesn't produce high caliber actor anymore..

Willis is funny, but still is a charismatic lead. I think he is better than Stallone, more capable actor. Willis has been in more diverse roles, and audience favor Willis more. The lead Sarah looks confused all the time, although her character states so, she isn't a good match to Willis. But as somewhat hot female hostage role, she will do.

John Malkovich plays Bogg who is a deranged paranoid and lives in the basement/nuclear bunker connected to a car trunk while a real house stands just a few feet on the side. He acts crazy and foolish, not Cyrus The Virus' crazy, more like Road Runner's crazy. His dialogues are sometimes silly, perhaps more than they are meant to. He provides some laugh worthy scenes though.

Helen Miller, who looks too much like Meryl Streep plays Victoria, the sniper and Brain Cox as Ivan, Russian mob, her long awaited soulmate. These two are kinda romantic. Victoria is somewhat eerie, she got the normal but disturbed look. It's the first time I've seen senior actress shot a machine gun before. Ivan has the gentleman flair and although it's awkward to see a suave character from what I expected to be a more grunt role, they are surprisingly a good match.

RED has plenty of ammo stock.

Morgan Freeman as Joe is a bit frail. Well the movie clearly says that he got cancer at the beginning, so it doesn't take a genius to know that he probably won't make it. Great performance though. Karl Urban as Cooper, the young agent also gives a solid performance. He already did Bourne Supremacy, LoTR, Chronicle of Riddick, Star Trek etc, so it's his forte in action movie. He is the only young star here, well young compare to the rest anyway.

The story flows nicely, never stall in one place too long and doesn't exactly rushes forward. The cast certainly helps and the funny dialogues, albeit there are some silly ones, will make you giggle. The stunts are irrational and hard to believe, like the fast car jump out or grenade lobbing, but they are appealing and entertaining. It doesn't has the huge amount of The Expendables stunts, but it surely has more focus and better sense of timing.

I wonder if Willis ever imagine he would do this scene when he played Die Hard...

So in the end, story and cast prevail upon macho festive. Although the action genre is a bit crowded lately and lacking of young blood, RED distinct unique traits make it more enjoyable than the more mindless iterations of action movie. Rate 7.5.