Moving.....

It was a pleasure writing this blog, but I must tell everyone that Of Anime and Video Games has a main website. I would like to focus on www.ofanimeandvideogames.com instead of this Blogger. Please go to www.ofanimeandvideogames.com in order to see more reviews. Have a nice day.

Why I created This Website?

Hello guys.  It’s been quite a long while since I updated this very blog.  Mortal Kombat X was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One a month ago, I received my Smash Bros CD, and I  played with Mewtwo for a bit before a lot of people got the opportunity to download the pokemon.

Some Stuff I’ve Obtained During My Absence

I remembered I have this blog after watching a few episodes of Free Eternal Summer and reading this interesting article.  I sure as hell am running out of people to talk to about anime and especially about the fujoshi life.  That’s the curse of being in the fighting game community and getting older.

Of course, this blog will still be posted bi-weekly.

This Boy Caught a Merman Review

 

 

SUMMARY

This Boy Caught a Merman  is a rather different tale than the typical boy's love anime I have grown accustomed to.  No school setting as the main focus, no office; just a young man and a merman.  This Boy Caught a Merman is the story of Shima, a depressing young man, and Isaki, a very happy merman, who found each other one night.  Shima jumps into the ocean after his beloved, late grandpa's picture and nearly drowns, but Isaki is there to save him.

Enjoying that limited space, Isaki?

The two end up living  together for some time.  Isaki enjoys being with Shima but has a desire to return to the ocean.  Will he return or will he stay and continue to make Shima's life more brighter?

POSITIVES
The artwork in This Boy Caught a Merman  is vibrant and different.  Artwork appears almost like manga in motion.   Watching every scene was a nice treat to the eyes and I found myself wanting to see more of this style as the anime kept going.
This Boy Caught a Merman is not a slice of life anime as most boy's love anime tend to be.  Shima does go to school but the main focus is on the beach and Shima's house.  A lot of boy's love anime tend to focus on offices and schools as settings and it was nice seeing fantasy elements in a boy's love anime.

IN BETWEEN

Although no one is a seme (the dominant male in a yaoi/shonen ai or boy;s love relationship), Shuma is the obvious uke (the not so dominant male in a yaoi/boy's love relationship) in This Boy Caught a Merman.  Shuma cries a lot but with good reason.  I do realize that this would be annoying to people that are long time yaoi fans or new to the genre.

A lof of manga likes telling with words and not showing through pictures.  There is a few times when I felt dumb for reading a text on the screen, when it came to words that were describing character emotions.  Other times, I was fine reading the text.

 

NEGATIVES

The length of This Boy Caught a Merman is short but certainly did not need to be any longer.  I considered the thirty minute length when purchasing this anime at Nekocon a last month.  Instead of going with a shiny blu-ray disc, I instead went cheap and brought the dvd version.

This Boy Caught a Merman worth a look and is only thirty minutes a viewer's time.  The characters, setting, and artwork make This Boy Caught a Merman an enjoyable watch.   The DVD is a lot cheaper on Amazon than the Blu-Ray disc; just keep that in mind.  Throughout the anime, there are cameos to other works made by Sentai films and Soubi Yamamoto, be sure to check those works out as well.

This review was on www.ofanimeandvideogames.com a few days ago.

Any Suggestions?

I'm getting back into the habit of playing video games, watching anime, and reading manga.  There are a ton of anime/manga and video games released everyday.  If you have a suggestion for what I should review next, please let me know.  I will write your suggestion down and review your suggestion in the future.  I already have a bunch of things planned and being released biweekly on this site, so please be patient.  

Difference Between Manga and Anime 1

 VS

Difference Between Manga and Anime

Everyone has a preference for their favorite series.  Some people like sitting down and reading and some people love watching their characters in motion on TV or their favorite mobile device.

I do love reading a good manga and then seeing those characters' true colors (all puns intended) on my laptop.  Often times, either medium takes liberties with itself.  Sometimes the manga comes first or the anime comes first.  Normally, in my experience, manga often carries on the story after the anime ends.  I remember the filler ending and characters created for the last arc of the Gantz anime. The anime's, not following the source material and forced to end soon, last arc seemed pretty lazy and the characters more 2-d dimensional than most Gantz characters.

The Gantz manga ended last year.

As of right now, I am reading The Betrayal Knows My Name manga.  I am enjoying the extra information that was put into the manga.  The manga offers benefits in having the author devote some of the pages to what she went through in order to make the manga.

For a lot of manga, there are side stories put in to flesh out the characters further, or the manga is allowed to expand more on the characters in the main story.  Yuki in The Betrayal Knows My Name gets to explain why he is good at martial arts, and Yuki and Zero in Vampire Knight manga get individual entertaining stories.

So which one do you prefer: manga or anime?

Posting Bi-Weekly Now

Hello guys.  I've been working a lot of temp jobs lately.  The current temp job that I am taking, will probably end some time in November.  To make sure that I have time for video games, anime/manga, and life, I decided to start posting every two weeks (instead of weekly).  

Up next on the review list is an anime that I believe everyone should watch, no matter what kind of anime they are in to. 

www.ofanimeandvideogames.com

Iron Man: Rise of Technovore Review

Iron Man: Rise of Technovore 

Long, long ago there was a time where anime and western cartoons never dared to mix with each other.  Iron Man: Rise of Technovore is the result of  screenwriter Brandon Aumas, while in Japan, getting a call from Marvel to participate in a special project.

Ezekiel Stane is the villain in this anime/marvel hybrid.

The story relies on on the watcher's knowledge of the Marvel universe (particularly Avengers and of course Iron Man).  Characters like Black Widow, Hawk Eye, and Tony Stark's wife is in this movie.  For anyone who is not a fan of Iron Man or Marvel lore, then this movie is not for you and is easily skippable.  In fact, I forgot I saw the movie a two hours after watching it.  

Iron Man's satellite is under attack by a strange alien like being  who desires to get revenge on Iron Man.  That being is called Ezikeo Stane who appears to want revenge for the death of  his father.  Ezikeo uses a strange suit similar to Iron Man but the suit is organic and is thus too advanced for Iron Man to figure out at first.  Tony Stark must find information on and the whereabouts of Ezikeo Stane in order to stop his planes; while being chased by Black Widow and Hawk Eye.

This non campion adventure reads like another day in the life of Tony Stark.    Characters sprout exposition in order to explain information or Ezikeo sits in a white room spewing hazy dialogue. There's no sense of danger, nobody important dies and I could see everything that was going to happen coming a mile away.  This movie is another day of Tony Stark.

Expecting this, I was hoping to shut my brain off and just enjoy the film much like I watched the Avengers, but I hardly felt any enjoyment in the movie.  Anime and Marvel fans should stay away from this movie unless being a masochist is your thing.

EVO 2014

It's been a LONG time since I posted anything on this website.  Well, life tends to get in the way.  After heading to the popular and yearly fighting game competition EVO Championship, I wanted to update this blog again.    We all know how skilled the players are at EVO (well...most of the players are skilled. I did play against a button smasher in my pools), I spent a lot of weeks practicing for my Injustice Gods Among Us tournament.

I did decently, going 2 and 2 for my first time (in lamest terms, I lost 2 matches and I won 2 matches).  

Aside from competing in video game competitions, I walked around the venue and purchased a variety of artwork, arcade stick parts, and many other things.  

Jin From BlazBlue

Plenty of artists, modders, and game designers take advantage of the large crowds at EVO and sell a variety of work.  

This lady will be designing the artwork for my arcade stick

Ball tops are avaiable on http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/

It is nice being able to buy arcade stick parts without the need to pay for shipping.  There are more pictures available on my various Facebook pages: Ice Angel Gaming (Let's Play). Dark Siren Games (Indie Game Development), and Icy Blue487 (vlogging). 

One of the best things about EVO was not only competing but also talking to various well known people such as Chris G and Devil May Spy.   It was nice finding out how many people are aware of me as a serious gamer in competitions (my handle  is "Ice Angel").  It is very important to treat EVO like other majors but with a better stage.

This is not even half of the Evo audience

Even so, I felt like going to Evo was a dream of some sort.  I had a lot of fun and hope to go again.  One thing I will do for next year, is go one or two days a day before EVO.  I was hit with jet lag upon arriving and slept a lot, thus missing the potential for more Injustice casuals and meeting more people.  There were people from all over the world and a lot of different languages spoken.  Maybe I will cosplay as Jin for the Blazblue tournament.  

Facebook pages: Ice Angel Gaming (Let's Play). Dark Siren Games (Indie Game Development), and Icy Blue487 (vlogging). 

Space Dandy Review by Anime and Video Games

What to say about Space Dandy?  For the most part, Space Dandy is about a dandy guy in space names Dandy, an alien cat named "Meow", and Dandy's robot named QT.  Dandy is an alien hunter, constantly going from planet to planet, searching for rare aliens and turning them into the Space Registration Center.   When Dandy's not alien hunting, he is spending his time at the Hooters like restaurant, Boobies (probably the main reason why he's always broke).

Space Dandy was the first anime to appear on American TV before premiering on Japanese television in January 2014.  Watching Space Dandy, I'm reminded of the randomness and inconsistencies of a majority of American cartoons.  There is no on going storyline in Space Dandy.  Antagonists like Dr. Gel and Admiral Perry are after Dandy, believing the guy is the key to the future of the universe.  They pursue Dandy constantly but Dandy never finds this out throughout the series.

Space Dandy is an anime where the watcher can shut their brain off and have fun.  Some episodes end with Dandy, Meow, or QT dieing at the end of an episode or stranded on another planet.  The next episode starts and all three of the characters are perfectly fine and have no memory of what happened last episode.  Dr. Gel has a gagged statue of Liberty on the front of his ship for Heaven's sake.  

Boobies is probably the reason Dandy is broke

Despite the lack of story, the artwork is impressive and Space Dandy does a great job of making fun of anime tropes like fanservice and the special protagonist.  Space Dandy's art is impressive and can not be mistaken for another anime's artwork. Viewers will love seeing the themed planets like the underwear planet and plant planet.   

Space Dandy is currently still airing on Adult Swim and is available on Amazon's Instant video and as a Japanese box set with English subtitles.  There is currently a manga out at the moment.  For those that watch Space Dandy will get a good laugh, others who miss out won't miss much.

www.ofanimeandvideogames.com

First Impressions: Anime Pirates

You love One Piece?  You ever wanted to fight alongside Luffy?  You desire to become King of the Pirates?  I sort of have the game for you.  That game is called Anime Pirates!   Anime Pirates is obviously a One Piece MMORPG browser game.

Trailer 

Anime Pirates is pretty colorful and the players will get a chance to run into various characters from the One Piece series.  As someone who is not a fan of One Piece, I could recognize quite a few of the popular One Piece characters.  Any video game based on a particular franchise can be enjoyable despite someone not being a fan of the material (seeing non-anime fans enjoy the daylights out of Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost comes to mind).

Anime Pirates is meant to be played at leisure or not played at all.  There is an auto feature which allows the player to click on the quest and have the player auto walk to the quester.  I then obtain my quest and beat the crap out of my opponents.  The battles are pretty boring.  I set up my crew in the formations that I desire and watch them auto fight the battle for me

The only control that I had in battle was with selecting the formations of my crew on the battlefield and giving them their equipment.

Going Deeper

The more I played, the more options opened up to me.  I obtained more crew members, a ship, and the arena.  I also noticed the game is latent with grammar errors.  If you're like me and tried let's playing this game, then reading obviously grammatically incorrect sentences was a bother.  Every few levels, gave me a change of scenery and the option to fight in the arena.

This is a browser game.  It probably did not take much time to make.  Strangely, I found myself wanting to play more to see what options I was going to get next.  Anime Pirates is available on pirates-anime.com

Me Let's Playing Anime Pirates 

Gundam Extreme vs Full Boost Review by Anime and Video Games

Disclaimer: I have not played Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost the predecessor Gundam Extreme Vs.

i

 Let's face it.  There are not many good video game adaptations of anime or manga.  Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost manages to blow such thoughts out of the water.  Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost is an arcade game featuring a majority of Gundam characters from all over the Gundam universes.   Pick your favorite gundam pilots from either Gundam Wing, the original gundam, or  recent Gundam series like Gundam Extreme or Gundam Unicorn.

What I Like

This game is a love to the Gundam franchise.  Each and every Gundam in this game plays differently.  Some gundams like YAMS-132 Rozen Zulu (from Gundam Unicorn) can do some heavy zoning and Extreme Gundam Leo's Type (from Gundam Extreme) can transform into various gundams from previous Gundam series.  

Players can also choose between an offensive burst or a defensive burst.  These abilities can change the tide of battle quickly.  Add to the fact that some gundams can be killed in one shot and causing an instant game over and players have to be strategic during matches. 

When choosing team combinations, players can find some compatibility with gundams they never thought they would be compatible with.  Or players could just fight alongside their favorite Gundam pilots or mechs. 

Arcade mode had me picking through various toy figurines  (something Gundam is well known for) in order to pick which opponent or boss I wanted to fight.  Playing alone, I got to fight alongside a Gundam series protagonist's vs the protagonist's antagonists.

What I Don't Like

Like most versus games.  The computer is as dumb as a sack of potatoes.  Those epic battles in Arcade mode would have been funner if my companion was smart and didn't either die or do absolutely nothing.  I often forgot that I had a teammate while playing arcade mode all the way to the final boss, Extreme Gundam (Gundam Extreme).  This game is best played with living breathing people, either online or offline.  

This game also suffers from low frame rate.  If there are too many blasts on screen, the game tends to slow down.  This is problematic when Gundam Extreme Vs Full Boost requires quick reaction times.

Other than those problems, Gundam Extreme vs Full Boost is a fun game.  Due to the game being Japanese only, only a few words are in English.  Those with limited knowledge of Japanese or willing to do some trial and error will have no problem navigating through the game.  Anyone who loves Gundam or has watched a few Gundam series should take a look at this game.  

                                                                                   

Of Anime and Video Games 

Olympos Manga Review by Anime and Video Games

Olympos is a manga about Aki's creative imagination involving Greek mythology.  Ganymede, a Greek prince, has been transported to a miniature garden by the Sun god Apollo.  For centuries, Ganymede has tried to escape by searching for the exit: trying to fight Apollo, or by killing himself.  

The exit is no where to be found, no matter how far the prince walks.  Efforts to fight Apollo ends with Ganymede failing and Apollo mocking him.  Ganymede simply passes out whenever he takes his "life" and ends up waking up in the same garden some time later.  Unfortunately, Ganymede is immortal.

Interesting

 Surprisingly, this manga turned out to be a couple of short stories involving either Ganymede, Apollo, or Hades.  Instead of one huge manga focused on Ganymede, I learned more about Aki's versions of the Greek gods.  I was honestly expecting some love story to happen between Ganymede and Apollo but the story focused on a friendship/enemy set up between the two.  As horrible as Apollo was to Ganymede, Ganymede realized that Apollo is someone he can talk to.  Apollo also begins to understand mortals to an extent towards the end of the manga.  

Pretty

 Olympos is a beautiful manga, who's cover attracted me while I looked at the dozens of manga available at Barnes N' Noble book store.  Aki, displays the Greek gods: Apollo, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon prettier than they are represented in Greek mythology (Apollo even makes a few amusing jokes about how he should be more manly).  

Greek mythology buffs might be turned off by the bishounen representations of the gods or the loose Greek mythology.  The manga ends abruptly but left me thinking about a possible conclusion.  The notes by Aki throughout the manga made me think even further about the story.  In the future I would love to go look at other manga made by Aki.

Of Anime and Video Games 

I am Hero Manga Review by Midnight Ice Queen on Of Anime and Video Games

Well here it is, probably the last manga that I will review that has a lot of blood and gore for a while. I Am a Hero is on Berserk level with the amount of gore it has, but it evens goes much farther. It's a wonder I even read it, but it was recommend and I appreciate the story.

The story is about the protagonist Hideo Suzuki, a normal underachieving manga artist with a terrible relationship with his girlfriend. Hideo has a vivid imagination that leads him to have hallucinations and talk to imaginary friends. This disturbed me. Greatly.

Eventually, zombies began to infect Japan. Hideo first encounters a zombie when he witnesses a horrible traffic accident where the victim is badly injured, but is able to get up and walk way. Hideo is not sure what was seeing and thinks he's hallucinating. Eventually he goes to check on his girlfriend who is turned into a zombie and tries to eat it. From then on the story of I Am a Hero really begins.

I Am a Hero starts of slow, so slow that I could have fallen asleep. I would have stopped reading if it wasn't so highly recommended which is something that I count as a negative. The pacing of this manga starts off slow too and another negative is that it is that it's about zombies.

After seeing all these zombie games and zombie moves and zombie books, I was done with zombies. Again, the high recommendation won out for this manga. I do appreciate the slow way they introduced the zombies. Sometimes in a zombie story, the writer jumps several months to the aftermath of the zombies emerging, but this manga doesn't do that.

What was even more interesting was the way Japan handled zombies. Even though these people were seriously injured, dead, and not right, the Japanese military considered them to be sick and wouldn't defend themselves seriously against them or kill them. This  wouldn't have happened in American. The Japanese government considered these people grievously unwell and tried to help them.

It was interesting to see the ruination of Japan and how so many people died so quickly. These zombies are also more than ordinary zombies. They try to follow the routines they had when they were alive, they still have special skill sets, and they aren't afraid to run so they are above the basic slow walking zombies.

While Hideo might have been, dull in his previous life, his post zombie life forces him to transform into something else. It's a long term sort of pacing that I Am A Hero has and it doesn't rush through things like character development.

So far, I Am a Hero is an interesting manga. I have cringed so much while reading this manga because of the zombies (and that dude who is always in his underwear) but I'm making it through. If you want some fighting, a realistic post-apocalyptic story, and don't mind characters who aren't immediate warriors after not fighting or defending themselves a day in their lives, then you might want to check out I Am a Hero.

But be warned. You will cringe and you will get freaked out. I wouldn't advise you read this with little kids in the room. It has a slow build up on some things, but it makes things more reasonable and realistic in a way. I Am a Hero is a mature story. Sometimes.

It's still made by Japanese people, which I guess explains the grown man in what looks like a diaper wailing on zombies, but oh well. It's a zombie story made in Japan taking place in Japan. Get ready for weirdness. And more of this…

Or this:

Or this:

You tell me, which picture was the worst?

Of Anime and Video Games 

Beauty Pop Manga Review by Midnight Ice Queen on Of Anime and Video Games

I need a little light and cuteness after dwelling back into Claymore and before I review I Am a Hero. Occasionally I like to read shojo manga that are sweet and light-hearted. Beauty Pop looked like it would do the job. It's about hair-styling of all things and the artist is someone I like so I thought it was worth a shot.

Kiri Koshiba's family owns a beauty salon so she is use to styling hair, but she doesn't do it for the fame and money. Kiri prefers to help brighten the lives of girls by giving them a little of her magic anonymously and this is how she prefers it.

However, there is a group at school that gives grand makeovers to already beautiful girls. The head of the group, Shogo wants to be a brilliant hairstylist. Kiri possess the skills that he wished he had, but not the drive since they are not fueled by the same goals. Kiri would much rather stay in the shadows and help girls who she feels deserve her help, but the Scissors Project group end up drawing her into the world of hair styling that she has tried to stayed away from.

Kiri and Shogo butt heads a lot. Kiri is extremely laid back and absent-minded while Shogo is ambitious and driven. The other members of the Scissor Project add depth to the story and fulfill other roles that a beauty shop will need to be successful one day. You can tell Shogo put a lot of thought into his future, which is probably why Kiri's liaise faire attitude disturbs him.

It's a story ultimately about passion and dreams and it touched the creative side of me. Beauty Pop is a feel good manga. You will love the way Kiri and even the seemingly vain Shogo cares about their family and friends. It's also about finding the beauty of someone outside of their physical appearance, which I liked very much.

Of Anime and Video Games 

1/2 Prince Review by Midnight Ice Queen on Of Anime and Video Games

I have a secret. I have a thing for anime and manga where the main character swaps genders or cross-dresses. I like a scenario where a character has to pass for the opposite gender or is turned into the opposite gender. I like body swap stories because I just love it when guys have to act like a girl to avoid notice. It’s just hilarious.

½ Prince gives me that gender swap thrill. Feng Lan is challenged to play a new game called Second Life by her annoying twin brother. Determined to prove that she can excel at the game, Feng Lan rushes home and is the first person to log onto Second Life. As a bonus, she is given one wish that she uses to make a male character named Prince. Thus, she descends into the life consuming game of Second Life where she makes friends, kills at lot of things, build an army and more.

Plus Factor

Gender swapping. My favorite thing. The interesting part about Fend Lan being Prince is that she acts totally like a boy would. Little about her would make others think that Prince was played by a female character. She soon has girls developing crushes on Prince who is brave and bloodthirsty, and can be a bit. She even earns the title Blood Elf when she slew many monsters for over four hours while her party just watched. She can get nutty.

The manga gives the readers a huge array of characters to love and none of them lack in variety. My favorites are Kenshin and Sunshine, because they are cute. Visually the art is stunning, but the artist has the tendency of making a lot of boy characters looks to pretty.

In Second Life, the players do everything you can imagine. Level up, join parties, join guilds, enter competitions, own property, etc. The world could almost be to big.

The enthusiasm, the life, and the energy from the characters on Second Life will actually make you want to play the game. Everyone loves being in the world of Second Life. The people have a liveliness in them that perks you up a bit.

The Negatives

Sometimes I don't know what the heck is going on in ½ Prince. Everything seems to happen to fast. The characters are great but there can be to many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. It can lead you feeling a little lost in the story and you'll have to keep reading to see when things will make sense again.

I dislike how involved everyone get into this virtual reality world. No matter how fun it is it's not real life. You see people getting in relationships and getting married on Second Life as if it matters in reality. It's scary how involved some of them get with a game.

[spoiler! Don't read this paragraph] Guiliaste, a character in half life, falls in love with Prince and chases him all throughout Second Life, but Feng Lan doesn't take him seriously. The real life Guiliaste however, has developed deep feelings for Prince, which is sad because he happens to be Feng Lan's university professor. They could actually be dating in real life if he paid attention to her in class!

½ Prince is like a roller-coaster ride. You never quite know where the story will take you. For some of you this might be good while for others not so much. They have rich characters and exciting battles, so if you're looking for some fun and excitement you should check it out.

Of Anime and Video Games