GameFAQs Character Battle V (Very Long, no suprise)

Typical format for this thing, Bold for Winner, Italics for personal pic if it differs.

Nice one this time around, 8 Divisions - Top 4 Female, Bottom 4 male, all named for the top seed, and you're supposed to pick the Top 6 at the end, with quite a few unprovens this should be interesting.

As usual, all gut instinct and no past-run probability other than as memory serves, Statistics aren't my forte.

Just the first round, I may comment on the big matches of subsiquent rounds after I decide I like what I have here first.

Spazer Division
Samus Aran (Metroid) vs Nidoran F (Pokemon) - I like seeing Nidoran F as a contestant, even if it's a middling pick. It's an original pokemon, so appealing to the older generations who started with one pokemon but not the subsiquent, but not a very boldly known pokemon either. Still, nice to see them mixing it up.

Ada Wong (Resident Evil 4) vs Jade (Beyond Good and Evil) - I don't think BGE got too much fandom, it's still sorta an underground/indie game, that an Ada kicks total ass in RE4, both as a story character, in Mercs, and even in her story via the PS2 version. She'd probably go another tier up if it were something less than the top Seed of the division she'll hit next.

Rikku (FFX, FFX-2) vs Lenneth Valkerie (Valkerie Profile: Lenneth) - Even with the rerelease of VP:L for the PSP I don't think that it has any hope of overcoming a Final Fantasy, even one associated with FFX-2. Plus, personally, I liked Rikku.

Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) vs Claire Redfield (Resident Evil 2) - RE2 is pretty dated, though Claire has shown up in a variety of other things since that game's release, so I'm counting on the popularity of KH to outshine that of an older Resident Evil character. Certainly, the inclusion of other RE characters might help Claire's performance overall, but even with that and Kairi's wallflower status in KH I don't think it'll be enough.

Limit Division (They're stretching here)
Tifa Lockheart (FFVII) vs Ivy Valentine (Soul Caliber) - Nice to see Ivy make the list though I don't think there are too many characters in this list she'd prevail against, especially not against an FF, and definately not a FFVII. Dirge of Cerebus might not have invoked much bonus support for Tifa, but she won't need it with the legion of Sephiroth fanboys out there.

The Boss (MGS3) vs Celes Chere (Final Fantasy VI) - *Close Call*. I honestly can't say I know which way this one will go. VI is pretty vintage, MGS3 is not, and Celes, though also a tragic figure, doesn't have nearly the graphic support to her story that The Boss does. There's alot to be said of the Boss's role in MGS3, but I'm counting on the FF support to win this one by for Celes but not expecting to happen (Here's hoping they use Opera House scenes for her vote pics anyways).

Jill Valentine (Resident Evil) vs Sheena Fujibayashi (Tales of Symphonia) - Sheena's cute, stacked, and in a pretty good game, but somewhere along the way we've already established that as nice as ToS is, its fanbase is still lacking and Jill may be another vintage RE, but she's been in a ton of them as well as several games, so I think she has the edge.

Princess Peach vs Princess Daisy - Not bothering with the game denotations here, just about anything Mario will suffice, though Peach recently got her own DS game. I think Daisy has a bit more of the sex appeal vote (You never get me to admit I just typed that) but Peach has ultimately been in more games (SSBM as keynote) and frankly "Hi, I'm Daisy!" is well more than enough to convince me that "Yeah, Peach has got it!" is the better alternative.

Triforce Division
Zelda (Legend of Zelda) vs Carmen Sandiego (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego) - I laughed so hard at this pairing. I'm only vaguely aware that Carmen even has games. It's a creative entry, but really also a fairly wasted spot. Sure, Zelda will trump most anything placed against her (Short of stronger FF characters), but I'd have liked to have seen a challenge here.

Terra Branford (FFVI) vs Sarah Kerrigan (Starcraft) - Even though I pulled for Celes earlier, I just didn't like the "main" character of FFVI (though that's debatable, the way the game is set up, I didn't use her once I could manage not to, aka past Banon (Nearly typed Baron, damn you Aquarion!)). I don't think there's a big SC community on GameFAQs, but I think Kerrigan'll win anways, and I'm glad to see her on the listing.

Kos Mos (Xenosaga) vs Amy Rose (Sonic) - It's been covered before, but I don't support Sonic much. And despite how well my despised Hedgehog tends to do, I don't think it'll carry over to the pink one, at least not with enough force to prevail over Kos Mos.

Aeris Gainsborough (FFVII) vs Marle (Crono Trigger) - Final Fantasy fandom will prevail of that of Marle, despite how decently Crono tends to thrash in these events (at least it's not Serge). Again, I didn't miss Aeris, FFVII wasn't really a healing req'd game, and even then the Materia System sorta voided the need of a Caster even for healing.

Aeon Divison
Yuna (FFX, FFX-2) vs Roll - Yay Roll. Admittedly you don't stand a chance, but you're a very underplayed Female Power card that Capcom's held for quite awhile. Please Capcom, give her her own series or major role, and stop making X and Zero sound like girls to compensate without her.

Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark) vs Cortana (Halo) - Errrm... This is a hard call due to overall level of suck. Perfect Dark 0 was a lackluster game, even against games of the preceeding generation and it's originator on the N64 was both doomed on a stupid system, and basically a marginally updated version of Goldeneye (I concede, best worked bots I've seen in a game in a long while (Or at least for a Console System, UT/Quake Bots ftw)). That said, Master Chief goes down early in these things, and while I don't expect Cortana to fare too much better, digi-boobs or not, I do think Joanna is that much weaker that Cortana will win out.

Chun Li (Street Fighter) vs Kasumi (Dead or Alive) - I'm uncertain why these two are so different in their original seed value, as I think they're pretty close. I've underestimated SF values in the past, and with all the "vs. Capcoms" out there it's not hard to see why. But I think that DoA4's freshness combined with the forthcoming Beach Volleyball 2 will give the Kasumi's digitally mastered jiggle the edge it needs to surpass Chun Li.

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) vs Alyx Vance (HalfLife 2) - I admit I've not played HL2, but I don't think Alyx is all that major of a player in it. I may not personally go ga-ga over Lara, but I think her games have notably improved, and that there is a fanbase there that Gordon Freeman's continuous bad performance will show that Ms. Croft will be the victor.

Patriot Divison
Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) vs Soma Cruz (Castlevania) - That's right folks, Solid Snake can beat even the mighty reincarnation of Dracula himself. Soma's a badass, complete and total, but he's not got a prayer again Solid Snake. Glad to see Soma make the list, shame he'll be off it right quick.

Squall Leonheart (FFVIII) vs Tidus (FFX) - Gunblade > I'm a dream and my dad is the source of all your woes *Disappear*. Enough said.

Riku (Kingdom Hearts) vs Yoshi (Anything Yoshi, anything Mario) - I feel odd and uncertain betting against the SSB character to win, especially for a virtually non-present Main Character that gets credit only for partial FF relation. I think Yoshi is minor enough to not win this, but I won't be floored if I'm proven wrong.

Dante (Devil May Cry) vs Ryu Hayabushi (Ninja Gaiden) - This reminds me that I need to play Ninja Gaiden. Other than that I think that Dante's popularity has been proven, especially since the level of suck in his games has dramatically lessened over the course of the series. Sure, Ryu's a ninja, but he'll need something bigger than that to win this matchup.

Destiny Division
Sora (Kingdom Hearts) vs Tingle (Zelda) - Damn, we're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one. I'll be interested to see if Tingle's Zelda ties net him more votes than CATS, since I'm convinced both are roughly equal jokes at this point.

Pheonix Wright (Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney) vs Gordon Freeman (Half Life) - Eh, I'm basically flipping a coin here, but I tend to do well hedging my bets against Gordon and I see no reason to change that now. Just get a few of those Objection URLs flowing on the forums and it'll be a clear win.

Kratos (God of War) vs Ryu (Street Fighter) - Here we go with undervaluing Street Fighter again, but I think God of War has the edge here, especially with being the newer, prettier game.

Mega Man (Mega Man) vs Axel (Kingdom Hearts) - As incredibly fucking awesomely badass as Axel is up to the moment of his premature Nobody-Death I don't think him or KH's popularity will overtake Megaman.

Blast Division (See, that's how much I dislike Sonic, I can't think of the top seed without looking)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic) vs CATS (Zero Wing) - As much as I root for CATS, Sonic is gonna win, and it isn't going to be close.

Ganondorf (Zelda) vs Vincent Valentine (FFVII, Dirge of Cerebus) - As per Jiaz's line of thought, Dirge of Cerebus is going to give the Final Fantasy fans the motivation and call to overcome Zelda's power backing Ganondorf, even with SSBM credit, but this one should be close.

Kirby (Kirby) vs The Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia) - Yeah, the game denotations were totally not needed. Two Thrones could've been cool but it's not overtaking SSBM and the rest of Kirby's fame.

Luigi (Mario games) vs Zero (Megaman, Zero) - This could be closer than I think or even swing the other way. With Luigi getting the votes that Mario usually would, but I think Zero's got the power neded to overcome Mario's green inferior bretheren, SSBM or not (Plus, Luigi isn't so great in that).

Time Division
Crono (Crono Trigger) vs Captain Falcon (F-Zero) - It took way too much effort to think of Captain Falcon's game. Seriously, they're pulling out the stops to prove my SSBM theory wrong here. Anyways, Crono wins, easily.

Bowser (Mario) vs Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil 4) - I'm thinking that the awesomeness of RE4 will overcome SSBM fame, but this one I'm shaky about.

Auron (FFX, KH2) vs Alucard (Castlevania) - Thanks to Soma Cruz stealing his mojo I think that Alucard isn't going to be able to scrounge up enough support to overcome the "Greatest Dead Warrior". SotN was great, but the more recent games have been Feat. Reverse Dracula less and less and more and more focused on the Belmot descendants and other oddities.

Master Chief (Halo) vs Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat) - MK hasn't had a game in awhile and I think the hype is mostly dead these days. While I don't value Master Chief in these things, I don't think even Sub-Zero'll overcome the severe handicap that MK has.

...and your family's family, which is really just your family.

Had a customer come in today, wanting to ship out a set of golf clubs to his kids in California.

Me: So, you've set to this location before?
Him (Rolling the box over to show the address): Yeah, it's for my kids. I'm hoping to get them interested in a hobby so they'll spend less time drinking and partying.
Me: And your first though was... golf?
(At this point we both dissolve into laughter)
Him: Well, it takes awhile to play, I figured it'd keep them busy.
Me: I see.
(Transaction finished, he leaves)
Me (To Co-worker): Golf eh?
Co: What's to keep them from drinking before they golf?
Me: Or while they golf?
Co: Would definately make it more interesting.

In reading all of Bash I think I linked maybe 10-20 quotes out, Overheard in NY's Overheard in the Office did give me this jewel that totally merits linkage though

Virtual Spittakes

So, I was doing the Friday routine: MWF Webcomics (Penny-Arcade, Sam and Fuzzy), Daily Webcomics (Questionable Content, Least I Could Do, Sinfest), the Friday comic (A Softer World), ANN's "Hey! Answerman". Finished up the core routine and expanded onto the usual activities, Google News, Thottbot News, GameFAQs. So I find that the user-created Top 10 list on GameFAQs is at least a topic I might be responsive to, Video Game Relationships, and unlikely to be 100% Final Fantasy fanboying, so I read it. Lo and behold, #10 at the top. Koudelka / Edward. I mentally-hang for a moment, trying to remember who's who in that game. Piece it together and read the entry:

"This one is a bit tricky, because no signs of a relationship show until the end. During the entire main game, Koudelka often spits out harsh words at her two companions, and while she's really not as harsh on Edward as she is on James, her actions lead you on that she really doesn't care about the two in any way whatsoever. But they still manage to stick together, and help each other out. However, Koudleka and Edward seemed to have formed something, after Edward plows Koudelka in a tent in one of the endings."

At which point my brain fires off the following; Wait, what?! Koudelka had multiple endings? Wait What?!?!.

So yeah, I guess I've gotta dig it out again and coax the PS2 into playing, because reading about multiple ends inspired me to look at it again. For those who don't know, Koudelka is loosely tied into the Shadow Hearts (sometime during the original) series. It's got lovely FMVs and a title song worthy of my winamp playlist, but this also appears to be where about 80% of the game's funding went. It runs slow, it has no music to speak of outside of battle and the occasional FMV. But it does support one of the RPG-core theories, which involves insta-death at a particular part of a game if you don't have a certain item with you.

Anyways, speaking of moments of sheer 'What?!' finished off Black Lagoon since Shinsen put out 12. And, uhh, stoner Legarch doesn't make any more sense than last time. The episode boils down to his hallucinations and Rock's melancholy while Levy and Shenhua trade profanities while wiping out their meager opposition. It doesn't feel like a closed-case in the least, so even without knowing that there is a second season you know there is. Closing question, was Captain Picard and Klingons really the best thing for him to be shouting about, how recoignizable is that sort of thing in Japan?

What's 15 into 99? (Gaming Half)

The next generation rant (Freaking long)

I think the new direction of Nintendo and their DS system is nothing revolutionary in plan, but I believe it has all the potential to succeed. While Sony's pushing of its PSP as a changing device, capable of many function was creative, I don't think they secured enough of the portable gaming market, the portable video/music, or the portable browsing market. I think that there are those who made the allowances to cater to the PSP showed progress; PSP sized Anime Raws, PSP sized webcomic alt-addresses and wallpapers, but that it wasn't followed through. Valkerie Profile: Lenneth is a potent addition to the lineup in a market seriously desolate with regards to portable RPGs, especially with it being based on the Japan version and thus less altered as the US original version was (Note: Fire Emblem is GBA, not DS, and I am making the distinction even if DS can play GBA). So long as Sony can keep it's hand full of high value cards they may yet be able to make to maintain a signficant chunk of the portable market, but they need a few more solid contenders with a good mix of pickup and play games like Me and My Katamari as well as LP (Long(er) Play) games like VP and the Metal Gear Acids. With the PSP multi-player limitations, Sony needs to focus on the mainstays of solo gaming: solid puzzle games, RPGs and pseudo-RPGs, Strategy games, RPG-elemented action/adventure, and some high replay or LP sport or sport-esce games.

What Nintendo offers however is akin to the Othello promise "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master". I just caught their latest advert in a copy of Newsweek, depicting a bus stop with two people sitting bored waiting for the bus and a third playing on his lovely DS Lite. The accompanying caption reads
"The average wait for a city bus is 12.8 minutes.

Do something with your nothing."

Nintendo's new line of pick-up and play games for all ages that have some challenge or poise for even veteran gamers is visionary. Especially with the rumors that EA may drop PSP development to focus on the DS (See Monday's Little Gamers) it would seem that the PSP may be losing ground, though with the imposing need for Sony to push out the PS3, that may be the least of their concerns.

Back in the beginning (my beginning, not the beginning), Nintendo and Sega, Nintendo was the system for RPGs while the adventure and action games were the realm of Sega. Now-a-days there are 3 players, and they're all worth something. Sony is still the juggernaught of RPGs both the mainstreamed Square-Enix and the rising star that is my beloved NIS and but they also control some solid ventures in other directions: Katamari, Twisted Metal, Devil May Cry. They no longer exert total control over the what I'd have considered the "post-teen genre" now that XBox is on the market, they tend to split evenly those games which aren't developed for both systems, and with RE4 and GBA's successes with Castlevania those can no longer be considered solid Playstation ground.

Playstation still reigns high as the solid solo system, but it's territory that the XBox is eagerly contesting with it's own offerings like Fable and Oblivion as well as in games released for both systems that just looked more polished on the power of the Xbox360, like Shadows of the Colussus or Burnout. Nintendo reigns supreme still in both the youth games, Playstation isn't lacking here but the advertising and polish of this genre on Playstation (Monster Ranchers, etc) are both lacking, and in multiplayer. The incredible portablity and stability and ease of setup of the Gamecube, and hopefully the Wii, combined with it's vast array of plug and play multiplayer goodness is something that Microsoft has yet to be able to compete against. Yes, Halo is an incredible game, and multiplayer excellent and offers infinate replayability, but it's sluggish and it likes to play Land-Grab and Oddball, whereas the collection of Mario-themed sports games, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, Mario Party, are practially unrivaled. Yes, there are polished alternatives on Playstation and Xbox: DoA4, Fusion Frenzy, but they don't compare to the glory and ease of what Nintendo presents.

If Sony wants to hold and recover, they need to open the PS3 with a slew of not only their mainstay RPGs, but an appeal to the games they have lost to their competators. I don't expect them to manage a system of multiplayer to rival XBox, and I definately believe that neither Sony nor Microsoft will be able to hold a candle to the party system that is Wii, but if they can release pristine games that don't require patches on a stable system even for extended extended play, they'll already have a leg-up on their Microsoft competition. Personally, I want a PS3-based, Devil May Cry, SSX, Twisted Metal, and Ratchet and Clank. When I think Playstation, it's those 4 games + RPGs (and a bit of AceCombat, but that's a secret and mostly David).

If Microsoft wants to maintain the early-bird advantage, they need to worry about the home computer. They need to secure games that can be played out of the box with ease, without excessive patching. They need to refine their machine, close holes in the development system, continue to upgrade their Live-infastructure, and find a way to keep their systems functioning. It's disturbing that in the short months that we've had a 360 in the house it's already starting to freeze and the damage it did to our first Oblivion disc is nigh-unbelievable (It's got a solid ring burned into the bottom of the disc). They need to push their Live-capable multiplayer without shutting out the fans of same system Co-Op. The beauty of Nintendo is getting 4 people one system, even on their portable systems alot of the games can be played in some for of multiplayer with less than a cartidge per player. Microsoft needs to secure a line of games to rival Mario/Samus/Megaman and Ratchet/Dante and use their graphical supremacy as a selling point, underlined by replayability. The Achievement / Gamerscore system is already pretty cool, even if it's not standardized at all across games and the ability to download demos is revolutionary. Add in the ability to store and save music, and use it for custom game soundtracks and you've got all kinds of levels of success waiting to be claimed. Capitalize on it.

Nintendo has what they need, they just need to be a company about it. This spontaneous changing of names, and odd, if revolutionary, controllers should fall below the priority of making a recoignizable and playable system. I'm reserving judgement, but to match the way they advertise, Wii needs a to be a system that inspires people to want to touch it and want to try out gaming. To hit the market strong, Nintendo needs to open high and low, bringing out stellar games for the new generation of young gamers with Pokemon, Mario, and other games with lots of color and life; appealing to the I'm-not-really-a-gamer gamers with Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing; continuing and expanding their multiplayer lineup, adding new life alongside Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Smash Brothers; and rewarding/delighting long term gamers with not only Zelda (Twilight Princess), Megaman, Metroid/Samus, and Mario, but also new innovative games that really push the unique features of the Wii.

On the Horizon

So, what am I looking for?

DS:
Mega Man ZX (9/12) -- I wasn't really into all of Zero's Command Mission games, but I think this one might have just enough of Megaman X in to for me to enjoy. If nothing else it'll hopefully be a good semi-LP Adventure game for the DS/GBA until another Kirby game hits the market.

PS2:
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (8/15, Today) -- Having played it a little bit, and seen a bit more, the game seems enjoyable enough. I'm uncertain about length or replay, but the FMVs and even just one run-through seems likely to be worth the price of admission. I won't pick it up on-release, but I will pick it up at some point in the near future. Perhaps a rental-shelf were I the type to rent games, but I don't because I always come back for them sometime in the future (unless they totally suck, and not even that is always a deterrant).

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (8/29) -- Perhaps not the greatest name but there's only so much one can do about that. Disgaea has provided me with over 250 hours of amusement now and Disgaea 2 just takes the what NIS has learned from their previous games (La Pucelle, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome) and continue to refine this little gem that's quick going from an indie-gamer secret to a mainstream-mainstay.

Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathrustra (8/29) -- Same date as Disgaea 2, but given that I've yet to finish Episode I, I'm not going to be in any rush to aquire this one. However it looks to have made massive improvements in fluidity and flow over the previous two, so definately worth adding to my collection.

Final Fantasy XII (10/31) -- Halloween release WTF?. Anyways, I've got all the prior FF's so XII won't be any different. I'm not 100% behind it, but what I've seen and played gives it a flow and challenge that seems enjoyable. I'll play it through and likely most of the extra but I fear that the gambit system and I might not always see eye to eye.

Xbox 360:
Ninety-Nine Nights (8/15, Today) -- Call it a Destiny Warrior clone all you like. The quintessential genre of Hero versus armies is one I've always enjoyed and I don't see any reason why this game should be any exception. I'm not 100% on the value of replay, but definately worth the purchase. I'd probably get it today were time condusive and if I didn't have other things to be playing. Yes the characters have names that seem like they were picked with a ping-pong ball and a keyboard (Aspharr, Dwingvatt, Inphyy, Klarrann, Myifee, Tyurru) but the game is still everything that Joan of Arc sorta worked towards (except that spamming Heavy Horse attack won't win every fight this time)

Bomberman Act Zero (8/29) -- Yeah, bad day to be released when competing with Xenosaga III and Disgaea 2 and alongside Saint's Row (don't get me started, I think Penny Arcade said it best), but I love Bomberman and this one looks like it might not be half bad. Time will tell I guess.

Currently Playing

So in Oblivion, having severely overplayed my hand by enjoying the simply it is to level a Mage, I rerolled as a character designed to level only when I chose to. As it turns out, that wasn't the best of ideas either and some middle ground, melee and strength heavy, blend is probably still ideal. Either way, I'm actually playing the game, or at least trying to, but ending up exploring every single dungeon, ruin, and keep between points A and B.

I did end up buying Heroes V since Best Buy wasn't asking the full $50 for it. I've gone through the first of the six campaigns (one for each town) and it's pretty enjoyable, the new skill system is really cool. Campaign is pretty damn hard until you realize the key is always to blitz right at the start with lots of conservation of army strength until you can gain an even foothold and then just accumulate until you can smash the final objective(s). I think Heroes III handled the Hero specializations a bit better, but the flavor still exists here. As standard, the inital release was desperately in need of a patch (broken campaigns, missing tooltips) but now it's fairly playable, though still slower than your average PC turn-based game.

I'm saving most of the Dead Rising discussion until after I've beaten the game once, or perhaps spoiled the rest of it either way, but I do want to say that this game is sadistic. I mean, were the Zombies not enough? Do you really need escaped convicts, maniacs (Clown's death scene is awesomely horrifying, Shopkeep's is amusing), Special Forces, Dynmaite-laden knife-toting (That I can't take!) Cult psychopaths, unco-operative escortees, jumping glowing parasites, and Zombifying-bite super zombies? And I've still got another 24 hours+ to go!

Rabbit Rabbit (Anime Half)

First post of August gets the singnification of being a new month, although I concede that a solid fortnight into the month might be a little bit overdue for said proclimation. Even that many days later, I still don't have any August-related titles lined up, so I'm stuck with that which I've got.

Endings

So, World Series of Pop Culture ended, but was fun to watch, hopefully there'll be one more weekend rerun of the second half of the competition. Not my cup of tea as I'm only redeemed in partial comic knowledge and music, but the show itself isn't totally overdone like certain other shows in that style (*Cough* Is that your Final Answer? *Cough*).

Best Series Ever also wrapped up with Legend of Zelda taking top billing (no suprise to me, it was my pick) and while I can call the winner of the end game, I wouldn't have been near the top spot with some of my picks.

Haruhi ended, and overlooking the "You were my chosen one! How could you betray me like this!" moment it was all awesome. Actually, the chosen one bit was awesome as well, except for me thinking of Episode 3 when it occured, which soured the moment. Episode 14 is awesome, 13 is well suited to have come before it and thus the ordering of episodes before that pair is mostly irrelevant, though the cliffhanger of island syndrome was pretty brutal. Quick spoiler-lite series highlights include Hairstyles, Yuki's Battle and the aftermath, Searching for the Shadowy Figure + Fall + Cave, The Band (The full version of Lost my Music is brutally awesome but the singer has to hit a few "yeah!"s that are in a register and tone I'm not comfortable hearing for Haruhi's demeanor), and Kyon's decision plus actions in 14.

I finished up Sousei no Aquarion over the past weekend, enjoyable down to the last moments. The truth of Sirius's memories was creative, if not to my tastes, as was Toma's love of the Solar Wing being . Series highlights, spoilers, still stand at

• First usage of the OP -- Apollo taking control of the Aquarion Jet to form Solar Aquarion.
• First Gattai -- And the total WTF O.o reaction.
• Everything Fudo does -- And the total OMG moment when his connection to Aquarion/Apollo/Toma is revealed.
• Rena-vision -- Especially the final one we see, of Apollo and Silvia in the garden before Sirius reclaims his sister.
• Military Aquarion -- Angelic Glen is so-so badass, but black Aquarion with a Rifle? Total badass.
• About 70% of the attack registrations -- Especially any of Pierre's.
• Rena in Aquarion -- I prefer the ep where they fight the reflecting mirror Mystical Beast for the Moon Phase-esce drinking of Apollo's blood, but the final ep with Rena fighting is equally good.
• Lastly, the Cosplay Ep -- I don't really think I have to say anything more about that.

All my eggs in one basket

So it seems that divesting all my faith for the current anime season (note: I use CAS extremely loosely, incorporating all series I'm watching which haven't presently been subbed to completion into its folds. To extrapolate on this looseness: given those parameters, Kaleido Star is current season) into the hands of only a small number of groups combined with my stalwant railing against no-name startups or groups of questionable capability (Read: YuGiOh, have you seen their site? In fairness though I don't actually know if that indicates how well they sub, and sooner or later I might not have an alternative but to find out) has resulted in a disappointing stagnation over the past week+ in terms of growth in anime (which isn't all bad, as I'm low on Drive Space, but nothing that can't be aided by clearing up some of the clutter on the old drive). Worse yet is the fact that I'm actually up to date on all of this stuff as well, making the delay that much more crushing.

Before I delve too much into how I feel about what I am watching, I do want to remark on what I'm not watching but perhaps should be.

• Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles - I'd love to be watching this, damn real life for tripping up Tofusensi and the quality subbing subsiquentially falling completely to shambles.
• Blood+ - Actually, this is being done by two groups that I enjoy, so it's not that it's not being subbed, but that I'm roughly a season+ behind and catching up on other stuff first.
• Kamisama Kazoku - I'm hoping for a batch now that this is finished, it looks interesting enough to have watched.
• Utawarerumuno - Shadow Warrior Chronicles!, err... I mean, I think I could do with some furry harem, but you're never allowed to quote me on that.
• Innocent Venus - Jury is still out on this one, it seems sorta down my alley, but I'm not totally grooving on the art style from what I've seen. If no other group with a name I recoignize shows up with this one I'll take one of the present offerings and see how the first few play out.
• Shakugan no Shana - I've got it all, I just haven't found myself the initative to watch through it. Perhaps I'll flip coins or draw cards to decide what series (Blood+, Shana, Otome, Honey and Clover, School Rumble, or get and watch FMP TSR) to play catchup on next.

Speaking of things I can watch, Anime Network On Demand has the entire series of Ikko Tousen, however the ANN info wasn't particularly decisive as to whether or not it was worth the watch. I might check it out were the On-Demand not on the same TV as the 360, which has a bit more weight at the moment for reasons to be discussed later.

Anyways, the current anime season:

• Honey and Clover -- Actually, this belongs in the previous category, however with Aquarion finished the first season of this is next to be completed and then I'll be digging through the second season. And thankfully Solar and Ideology are doing very nicely at keeping the pace.
• GunXSword -- That 17th episode was pretty damn good, exceptional for not including Van except to the bare minimum (Not that Van's all bad, but there are stretches where you have to wonder if they couldn't have included more Spike and less Vash in his influences), and amusing despite (or with the aid of, your call) the best efforts of the censorship donkey. Plus, the hints at Faerlina's Armor control schema (pole-dancing) which should be amusing to watch. Carmen 99 and her make great epic opponents, especially the way their weapons interact.
• Ouran Host Club -- Excellent music, fantastic art, great characters. I'm not certain I want any sort of relationship development past what stands here. Kyouga is awesome in all his dealings, the "rape" scene as well as the entirity of episode 17 being the core moments of it. Tamaki isn't really my alley, neither is Honey nor Mori's self-created servitude. Just give me more of the Twin's goodness, Kyouga's schemeing and innocent drama-free Mori x Haruhi and I'll be happy.
• Coyote Ragtime Show -- The first 10 seconds of the OP are all I watch. Just the "Coyote Ragtime Show" bit. The rest is alright, but it just doesn't stack up. The ED is, of course, always worth watching, being UFOTable's claymation expertise on display (really, it's damn impressive). Mostly I'm just hoping I don't have this go Speed Grapher on me before my eyes as the little girl falls completely in love with her father's friend and her protector/caregiver, cause honestly, that just annoys me. My preferences for Ginza (aka: Adult Jo (Bakuretsu Tenshi fame)) aside, that's just not something I need, it's just awkward and annoying all at once. I'm not certain that I like the growing mass principle of the group gathering up to go after the treasure since I think things work perfectly fine in smaller numbers, makes for better fluidity in fights and more hero-time (aka sheer WTF-Awesomeness!) for the each individual. I'm disappointed to have Sister's down and out before they even really get personalities, though I guess if you're gonna off one, Sept was probably the one I'd least object to, unless you're getting a 3 for 1 and wiping out the annoyance that is the Winter Trio, little children have no place in this war, grotesque strength or not. More May screentime please, especially angry May.
• Black Lagoon -- I think that Levy plus Shenhua plus Legarch is reason enough for a second season. I want that interplay for another two or three episodes solid. I'm hoping I get to see what skills Legarch possesses to set him in a position of equal standing with Shenhua. I also wouldn't mind sleeping-Levy again, that was adorable and an excellent addition to the Rock plus Levy development, even if it didn't add to anything. The new villians are freaking awesome, though I think they might have too many resources at their disposal, not that numbers work at stopping our heroes. Chan and Levy's shootout was amusing but not overkill awesome. Their lack of taking cover was definately a few extra marks in the badass book though. For next season give me Levy, Shenhua, and the Sister's of Battle girl, the Bloodhound can take a break with her charge, oh, and tons of the Russians, though I don't need extra Porn in the background, and less Nazi's.
• Ergo Proxy -- I actually give Shinsen lieniency on the next few eps, as they're apparently ridicu-fucking-liciously complicated. I'm not totally on board with the artstyle of this still, but between kickass OP and ED and a story that has me interested mixed with a partial relationship drive, a ton of scheming and backstabbing and misdirection by everyone involved and an unhealthy level of randomness. All of which falls in the shadow of the awesomeness that is Pino.
• N.H.K. -- Speaking of randomness...NHK really worries me at times. It's a delve into the side of Otaku-Hikkomori-dom (there's gotta be an abbreviation for this redundancy) that I wasn't particularly interested in seeing, but am utter intrigued by anyways. It doesn't hurt that his sempai for the lit club is easy on the eyes, however I think the overall draw is the totally madness (and I kinda wanna watch him get redeemed, lessons for the rest of us down in our own traps of our own making). I'm not 100% as to where this one is going, but I can say that the full version of the ED is roughly 3x as frightening as the Tv-Size and I'm thankful that I can't picture the little creatures to accompany it. The OP also has the Ergo-Proxy lure, where I feel there's a lot to be learned by studying it, but I'm not about to.
• School Rumble -- Can we just have Flag Faction? Please? That's all I really want. Harima x Yakumo would be alright as well. Just take Tenma and let her be happy and cute off in a corner and not cause any trouble. This is far more Harem-troubled than I'd originally anticipated, but the complete cool-random that flares up more than balances it, not to mention the utter-cute moments (Eri holding the giraffe in 18...sweet merciful heavens is that adorable).
• Zero no Tsukaima -- You might rally that by not watching Shana I shouldn't be watching this. But honestly giving the magic to the girl and the sword to the guy I feel alot better about the show. Plus it's not such blatent loli-bait which is one of those things that just isn't in my preferences (corrolary - NHK is getting harder to watch for this reason). The idea of "real world" things being exceptionally valuable and mysterious in a medieval Harry Potter setting is a delightful thing to me. It's an avenue that's often been considered, but never with quite so much excellence. I'm not certain that the over-the-top nature of everyone will bode well, but I do like that obvious pair who are obviously not together as a genre as well as the powerful Sorceress who is still learning to use her powers (So long as it doesn't become some mushy love unlocks my power blah blah blah routine), I just worry that ZnT might have too many interfering characters to trouble things up. I'm not fully up on the 'eye'dea (Typo turned pun, apologies) of a floating eyeball being a "bugbear" and the quiet Yuki-clone is quick becoming an archtypical character, and as much as I'd like to see Saito cause her to warm up, I think there's enough Harem atm. Hell, Kirsche is a harem on her own (I swear, if we get another pun about being "in heat" heads may roll, or at least my eyes). The talking sword is kinda cool though, I like his attitude, and mostly I just wanna see where all of this leads, so here's hoping this nice twist on a common theme can make the most of it.
• Eureka Seven -- With all the pieces set into place for the final match we're in a string of episodes building relationships and ties. Which means that I'm bored stiff so I'm holding off until something gets put out with a at least a few more explosions than just exchanges of covering fire of Anemone rampaging ineffectually. Once we get a hearty episode I'll actually suffer through Renton learning the importance of teamwork to win a Soccer match and all of the learning about Coralian episodes. Plus-side, Eureka looks normal again! Down-side, kids are still effing everywhere.

Holy crap, writing in Compose mode makes the core HTML appearance really pretty cluttered. Unconverted paragraph tags be damned. Other half (gaming) hopefully later today/tomorrow.