Escaflowne, 1 of 8
Boma at 10:06 PM
Ok, haven't posted in quite a while, at least anything worthwhile. heh heh heh. Anywho I've been watching Escaflowne the series. I first heard and seen some of this series a long time ago when it was butchered for saturday morning (I recommend seeing it in all it's glory uncut). It only lasted a I think about 10 episodes if that. But I was young and I liked what I saw. A few years later, me fully ensconced in a haven of anime, see it really cheap at Media Play ($13.99 a pop) and decide to try it. I fell in love with the first disc a I resumed getting the rest of the series within a week and I'm glad I did. This is one of my favorites, I love the plot because there is so much to it. Basically, It's about Hitomi Kanzaki, an average high school girl who likes to play with tarot cards and make predictions. Until one night a mysterious light delivers a ferocious dragon and a boy doing battle. In the end of that beginning sequence the light comes and takes her and the boy to another world, his home, called Gaia. Basically if you like fantasy try this series. You have flying ships, giant robotic armor, sword fights, love triangles, politcal conspiracy. I don't want to go into too much detail because there is so much too it. If I say one thing it might spoil the rest. But I'll give you the main characters. I already mentioned Hitomi in which the story focuses. Once she arrives on Gaia, she has visions and her predictions become very accurate. Van Finail, is the boy fighting the dragon when he meets Hitomi. It turns out he is the young King of Finailia which was burned and destroyed. His mission is to avenge his people and rebuild his kingdom. He also opperates the armor Escaflowne (they call the armor a Guymelif but I'm just calling it Armor cause my spelling sucks). Allan Schizar (sp?) is a knight of Estoria and top swordsman. He meets Hitomi when she and Van are separated. When Van comes upon her and Allen he thinks he is a thief and are at odds with each other. They eventually become uneasy friends. Hitomi also developes a crush on Allen. Allen opperates the Armor Sherizad (sp?). Princess Milerna is in love with Allen and pretty much tags along on their mission to save Gaia. She riles Hitomi a bit by openly flirting with Allen. Yet again they eventually become friends. She is also the healer of the group. Myrl is a cat girl who follows Van around. They have been friends since childhood and she would do anything for him. She's playful and curious and doesn't trust Hitomi and Van alone together. Lord Folkan (sp?) working toward the renewal or destruction of Gaia? He is also searching for the lost power of Atlantis. Emperor Dornkirk, pulling the strings of the nation Zaibach. Folkan is his top henchman. He has created a machine that can change a person "luck" and he doesn't like it when the shadows of the "dragon" and the "girl from the mystic moon" draw near. Dilandow (sp?) He's, in my opinion, the psycho you love. I'm finding a lot of them lately. These crazy bloodthirsty guys that have tragic pasts that just grow on you and make cool additions to the cast. This is the spot that Dilandow fills. He's a bit crazy, a bit bloodthirsty, and quite tenacious. He has it out for Van and he opperates a red armor. These are the major characters, if I missed any others I apologize. But these characters are well developed and I enjoyed the animation style. The only complaint I have is the ending. I liked the ending of the movie better. But that's that. I highly recommend this series if you're into fantasy or just want a well rounded plot. I give it 9 out of 10.
Boma at 9:13 PM
Just added some drawings I did a couple of years ago. You can tell they're new cause I had done them on lined paper. I was really bored in this class I was taking so I started drawing in the book. It was a webpage class and all I did was surf the net for an hour and a half so I looked for pics I liked and drew them. Hope you like!
Boma at 9:36 PM
I have just got a brand spankin' new Anime Insider all revamped and sparkly and pretty . . . I really like this magazine lol . . . the new Gratuitous Fanservice section hee hee hee this month is Ban Midou from Get Backers and Maya Natsume from Tenjho Tenge. My only suggestion would be to make this a pull out poster guys on one side girls on the other. Anywho back to reason for this post, on page 18 they have the announcements for the new manga aquisitions. I had previously posted on the anime Earthian well here Tokyopop has announced that they will be releasing the Earthian Manga. Doesn't say when but if you are curious about the storyline after watching the anime there will be an U.S. release sometime in the future.
*Kudos to the new and improved Anime Insider magazine!*
Boma at 9:59 PM
Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask
Boma at 9:42 PM
Ok, I finally finished Inuyasha: the Secret of the Cursed Mask for the Playstation 2. With this game you are either going to love it or you're going to hate it. If you are a die-hard Inuyasha fan you'll probably enjoy it. I liked the combination of 2-d backgrounds and scenarios with the 3-d characters. There is also total English voice-overs with the original cast from the show with subtitles. Also it's fun to "interact" with the Inuyasha gang with your especially-made-by-Rumiko-Takahashi character. All of your favorite (maybe I should add "main") characters from the show make an appearance here from Kouga to Kohaku to Sesshomaru to Rin. If you purchase this game purely for the RPG (Role Playing Game) perspective you are probably going to hate the game. The thing that made me scream and nearly chuck the controller across the room are the random battles. There are too many factors/rules that apply to the battles yet in the end seem to make little difference. Example: you'll see throughout the mazes there are purple clouds that are supposed to signify a greater chance to doing battle. Well. I run in and out of these clouds and do more battles outside of them than in. Another factor is Luck. every once in a while Myouga will pop up after you win a battle and say your fortunes have changed. These fortunes can vary from chaos to mediocre to paradise. If you get chaos (which I frequently got) be prepared to spend a good hour or so fighting your way through a maze or mansion or wherever you are, as in you are going to take root to your seat. A downer for Inuyasha fans is that whoever wrote the little scripts for the characters seemed to never have watched the show in his/her life or has a very poor imagination. I don't know, maybe it's me but I really don't see Inuyasha saying "I guess I'll go for a leisurely walk", the scripts can get very corny sounding. Now the overall story itself is decent. Basicly your character (you can either pick a girl or boy at the beginning) is drawn into the feudal era. Here of course you meet up with the Inuyasha gang, unlock your hidden powers, and go after Naraku and the mysterious Utsugi to find a way to go back home. So the story itself is fun to run through. In the end, me being a big Inuyasha fan and RPG fan enjoyed this game despite it's faults. Perhaps if future Inuyasha RPG games come out the faults can be rectified to make it even better. I give it a 6 out of 10. For me the graphics are a big plus, but the big minus are the random battles.
Boma at 9:09 PM
