A-Music Week 10

This week I wanted to focus on one of my favorite Japanese bands, Asian Kung-Fu Generation. The first time I heard AKFG was back in middle school when I first began watching subbed anime online, specifically to watch  Naruto episodes which had yet to be dubbed and released in America. The song in question, "Haruka Kanata" was simply lumped together with a bunch of catchy OP and ED songs which I really enjoyed but never downloaded because I was inept at using LimeWire. Man, Naruto, even for its faults, had some great OPs and EDs. Anyway, AKFG doesn't have to rely on gimmicks like a lot of Japanese bands and for me represents a lot of what is right with Japanese music. AKFG not only produces fantastic music, but...

Second Opinion: Higashi no Eden (A, 97.50%)

Original: Johnny Hunt (November 28, 2010) Since originally posting my review, I have finished the series by watching the two following movies, Paradise Lost and King of Eden which are both fantastic and feature fantastic music by School Food Punishment music as well. I have anime depression. The journey of the American otaku is an emotional rollercoaster. When you find that a good show you can feel on top of the world, but when the last credit jumps across the top of your computer screen one of several things may happen. You can close your video player window and head over to Facebook to comment on how much you loved or hated the ending, scan the internet on search engines for any thread of information pertaining to...

Second Opinion: Eureka seveN (A, 94.00%)

Original: Gekkostate vs. The United Federation of Predgio Towers (October 7, 2010) With the first episode of Eureka Seven AO just recently released, a second opinion on the original season is in order. Looking back, I was kind of harsh when I first reviewed Eureka seveN for AP Comp. Thankfully, even now, Eureka seveN remains as one of my favorite series ever. I remember one late night in 5th grade switching through the channels until I eventually landed on Adult Swim's run of what I understood to be "Yu-ri-ka Seven." The blood and robots that appeared before my eyes had me instantly hooked, but after that day I could never find the show on television again. Freshman year was my chance to see what I had missed. I...

Second Opinion: Final Fantasy XIII (A, 90.00%)

Original: Miracles Are Things We Make For Ourselves (April 10, 2011) There are a couple of unofficial reviews floating around my blog which I figured could be updated to conform to my recently adopted review format quite easily. In addition, I feel like having the opportunity to provide some second opinions about some of what I have either played or watched after a hype period will be helpful in creating a genuinely accurate review of my experience. During Spring Break last year, I completed Final Fantasy XIII. I had been following this game since eighth grade as I turned back to Final Fantasy to curb my Kingdom Heats crave. After seeing the first trailer for the game, I was hooked and I would constantly check up on IGN for new updates....

Birdy The Mighty (A, 95.00%)

I have decided to revert back to my more concise review format in order to make my review posts more digestible for readers and to make it easier for me to find motivation to write them. Today, after spending the past four days marathoning, I have decided to review Birdy The Mighty: Decode, seasons one and two, consisting of twenty-five episodes and one OVA. Man do my eyes hurt. With a strange name like Birdy The Mighty: Decode, many viewers will have no idea what to expect. As far as Wikipedia has told me, Birdy The Mighty: Decode is a remake of an older manga and anime. The narrative revolves around a Federation Inspector known as Birdy Alpha Cephron who is an Ixioran Altan. Basically, she is a space cop who has been...

Guilty Crown (C, 79.75%)

Dear Followers, Let’s get something out of the way first. Guilty Crown was not an excellent show. What pulled me back every week was less a desire to watch Guilty Crown and more a preference not to watch anything else. Besides Nisemonogatari, Winter 2012 was somewhat uneventful. When I first began watching Guilty Crown I was blown away by the production value. However, as the show dragged on, I became more and more aware of its insufficiency as a finished product. Before I offend anybody who really enjoyed Guilty Crown, I want to emphasize that what follows is merely my opinion. The emotion which best sums up my feelings toward Guilty Crown is disappointment. I began watching Guilty Crown at the beginning of Winter 2011/2012. With SUPERCELL...

A-Music Week 9

Dear Followers, This may as well be bimonthly A-Music. I deeply apologize Raphael Santo Domingo. Because of the lack of consistent A-Music posts during the past two months, what follows is an eclectic collection of newly released songs and OP and ED from Winter 2011/2012. As always Gintama comes in powerful with a fantastic new set of OP and ED songs. 1. Tell Your World - kz/Livetune (ft. Hatsuna Miku) 2. Nakama - Good Coming (Gintama ED) No ED Video :( (Poor Quality) 3. Message - The Sketchbook (SKET Dance OP) No OP Video :( 4. HOLOGRAM - NICO Touches The Wall (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OP) No Full Video :( 5. Hearts Beat - Himawari 6. CRAWL - Veltpunch (Nabari no Ou OP) No OP Video :( 7. Kokuhau - SUPERCELL (Guilty Crown ED) 8. Naisho no...

Just A Cog In The System

Dear Followers, Holy crap I really was lazy for the past two months. Well, in regards to blogging. As expected, college decisions were a frenzy and now I find myself choosing between two schools I would never have expected to be choosing between just a few months ago. Regardless, I am pumped for the college experience on the horizon and recognize that I will be happy wherever I end up going. This year featured an especially devastating collection of college decisions, so don't get down on yourself if you didn't end up at your dream school. It's more of a reflection on the arbitrary nature of college decisions than a reflection of your own capabilities. As far as Spring Break is concerned, everyday has been a party. Without tennis, Spring...