#its annoying when like. 90% of every game leaves off on a cliff hanger that youre expected to care about. well i dont. i actually think its

[twipsai]

ok tbh i am immediately tired of hearing about everything fnaf related. idk why???

[takerfoxx]

Strap in folks, because I couldn’t narrow it down to a single fav from this series, so buck up guys, because today we have a four-way tie! The fav(s) of the day are...

MEGABYTE! 

Reboot was a very special show. Not only was it the first all CGI show ever and singlehandedly innovated much of the technology, but it also featured great writing, great direction, and a lot of creativity. And it had some amazing characters, not the least of which was its main villain.

In fact, Megabyte might just very well be one of the coolest villains ever. He hasan awesome design that conveyed power, malice, speed, and intelligence, and he checked off just about every box off an awesome bad guy. Strong enough to throw around armored vehicles like toys? Check. Genuinely brilliant? Check. A thin veneer of class and manners? Check. Does everything with style? Check. Ends up being completely immune to the threat decay most animated villains suffer from and actually becomes more threatening, more ruthless, and more terrifying as the show goes on? Big check. Hell, he spends most of season three having actually defeated the good guys and ruling over all of Mainframe, and is only stopped from spreading his infection to the super computer at the very last second. 

But most of all, credit has to be given to the late, great Tony Jay for giving him just the most awesome voice ever. Ever line is just so silky smooth, so dripping with malice and evil. Whether he be trying to manipulate the heroes, giving dastardly commands to his underlings, or just dropping the pretenses and making it clear that he is here to fuck shit up, every word just sends a chill down your spine. 

But the best of it is, he actually wins! No, I’m serious, the final episode ends on a cliff-hanger, with a now more vicious than ever Megabyte having taken over Mainframe again and making it clear that he intends to hunt down the heroes one by one to eliminate them. This was done in hopes that it would drum up enough fan interest to get funding for a full continuation. Sadly, this never materialized and Reboot was cancelled for good, but I guess that does mean that Megabyte ends up the winner. And no, the Guardian Code doesn’t fucking count.

Plus he dueled Bob in an awesome guitar duel in what is probably the greatest moment in animation history ever, so that’s amazing.

AND HEXADECIMAL!

However, his sister Hexadecimal is a different sort of beast entirely, but no less awesome. If Megabyte is the perfect example of lawful evil, than she is chaotic evil incarnate. The woman of a million masks is far more powerful than her already OP brother, and a million times crazier. She cares little for power and control. After all, she has it already, and would rather spend her time wreaking havoc just for the fun of it.

Hex isn’t all that active for a first season and a half, probably because the creators knew that a villain that powerful would be too much of a problem to keep trying to come up with a solutions for. But her rare solo episodes are among the series’ best, with the heroes barely managing to snatch victory by the barest of centimeters, and having to rely on their wits to do so. And she is just a joy to watch on-screen, with Shirley Millner obviously having a blast voicing her. She can go from kind and grandmotherly to downright seductive to shrieking with laughter at the carnage she’s about to unleash to driven by blind fury at the drop of a hat, and every conversation with her has the participants constantly shitting themselves, hoping not to upset her. And she knows it.

Hex also gets a rather fascinating character arc. As twisted as she is, her infatuation with Bob does give her some redeeming qualities, and he is smart enough to take advantage of that to get her to do the right thing on more than one occasion. He also is the only person to show her genuine kindness, and one act of mercy eventually does convince her to throw in with the good guys. Even then she’s great fun to watch, as it’s clear she’s only in it out of affection for Bob, and everyone just has to learn to work with that, because what else can they do? But in time she becomes an actual hero herself, giving her life for save the entire Net from the greatest threat the show has ever seen. And it’s awesome.

I’ll freely admit, when I wrote Yuuka Kazami in Imperfect Metamorphosis, I pretty much ripped off Hexadecimal’s personality for her, to...interesting results. But as much fun as Yuuka was to write, she doesn’t hold a candle to the original Queen of Chaos, long may she reign.

AND MATRIX!

As far as kid characters go, little Enzo Matrix was...all right. He started off annoying as such characters do, but he did grow and mature and actually make himself useful, so his over-enthusiasm eventually became kind of endearing. And his struggles to prove himself once the heroes lose Bob was pretty fascinating. 

But then the show flips the script. He loses a game and is forced to switch into Game Sprite mode to avoid being nullified, causing him and Andraia to leave wit the game. And when we do catch up with them, it is much later, and little Enzo is all grown up.

And he is awesome.

Matrix is every 90′s anti-hero all rolled into one. He’s big, he’s muscular, he’s gruff, he’s short tempered, he likes shooting things, he has all the angst, and he even has a cool mechanical eye to replace the one he lost in the games. Normally this sort of thing would be annoying, but the show does take a great deal of time to show how his insecurities and PTSD have shaped him into what he became, with him often having to face his own flaws in his quest to get home. Added to the fact that we already know the plucky kid he used to be instead of just getting to see him in flashbacks, and you got yourself some great television.

But while show doesn’t cut Matrix any slack when he screws up (which is awesome), it also doesn’t condemn him for changing like he did, acknowledging that what he went through was terrible and he did what he had to do to survive. Plus, it also doesn’t shy away from giving him a lot of genuine badass moments. And that final fight where he goes one-on-one with Megabyte? Pure awesome.

AND ANDRAIA!

No raging angst machine is complete without someone level-headed to keep them in check, and AndrAIa is exactly that. A Game Sprite that befriended Enzo during a game and managed to trick the game itself into letting her stay with him. I admit, when I was a kid, I had wee bit of a crush on her, and was really interested in what this new character could bring to the story.

Like Enzo, she also has to do a lot of growing up to survive the games, maturing from an overly-literal fish-out-of-water into a cool and confident (and hot, I’ll freely admit it) warrior, who was the Ying to Matrix’s Yang. Their relationship was pretty great, from how they support one another to their bickering but always reconciling. AndrAIa is never one to take Matrix’s shit and will call him on it, but also be there to build him back up when he’s down.

Unfortunately, given how late in the series she appeared, AndrAIa doesn’t have much of a character arc of her own, which is a real shame. She’s a constant supporting character, and it did annoy me that she never really got much to do that wasn’t directly related to what another character was doing. Personally I would liked to see her have more agency and more of her own struggles to deal with instead of always being the one to help others with their own. Still, for what it’s worth, she is incredibly cool. I just wish she got to have more to do.

I come from the net. Through systems, peoples and cities to this place: Mainframe.

[meowsaidmayaanime]

Spring Simulcasts of 2016

Very simple, a list of currently simulcasting anime that I am watching, and how much I recommend them~

Assassination Classroom

I recommend the HELL out of this anime!! It's a must see for anyone and everyone. The show officially ended this spring with two full seasons (season one at 22 episodes and season two at 25). Wow, was it amazing.

A mysterious government made creature blows up the moon and threatens to destroy the earth one year from now. His only request to stop his from reaping havoc is to teach a third year middle school class. His wish is granted, and the students of the class are charged by the government to try to assassinate him before they graduate the next spring.

It already sounds ridiculous, and I was really surprised about what was going when one of my friends showed me the first episode. But this is really well done. The creature, named Koro-sensei turns out to be incredibly good at teaching, and while the students are being taught ways to assassinate him, they also learn from Koro-Sensei and their fellow classmates important life lessons and personal growth.

The show is hilarious, and despite having over 20 characters, the show is able to give each character a unique personality and personal development. Its the best large-cast anime I have ever seen.

I don't really have too much in way of faults either. The show is able to balance the serious alongside the humor of the situation. Occasionally crazy events would happen that would seen way out of place in any other anime. But because the situation with Koro-Sensei is so strange already, in the end, nothing feels out of place.  Even character that I hated, I grew to love as I watched them grow and learn.

The only problem I have, is that the dub is terrible. Koro-Sensei and the main character Nagisa, who occasionally does narrations because we watch everything unfold through his eyes, have terrible dubs. Koro-Sensei, while already sounding goofy in Japanese, sounds even more ridiculous in English. At least in the Japanese version Koro-Sensei actually sounds menacing when he's supposed to be, not to much in the English dub. And the voice actor for Nagisa sounds like he's try to hard to voice him, and just sounds too disingenuous.

Great anime, I would recomend this to anyone,  just don't watch it dubbed.

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

A perfect parody of the typical 'cool guy' archetype, a must watch~ Its about this high school boy named Sakamoto (if you haven't guessed) who is the epitome of 'cool' and everything he does is stylish, that's how they describe it in the show. Its a great slightly exaggerated natural slice of life. There really is nothign more to say about this show than the fact that I highly recommend this. It is fabulous, if you do nothing else, watch the first episode!

Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3

Season three was great! they finally introduced Uranus and Mercury who I always wanted to more of in the original run.

If you weren't already aware, Sailor Moon Crystal is a re-boot of the original 90's series made to exclusively follow the manga. Where the 90's series was full of filler content with very few plot pertinent episodes. It made itself more available to children than to the young adult demographic that the manga originally was.

That being said Sailor Moon Crystal is much more serious and surprisingly dark. Here we get to see exactly what everyone's past is and learn more about the the villains themselves. It is incredibly well done, each season tackling a different story arch.

The third season introduced a new villain Master Pharaoh 90 as well as the Professor who, unlike in the 90's series, is his underling. The professor has a significantly different story, including the significance of who his daughter is to the sailor scouts.

I would recommend you give Crystal a  shot, especially if you grew up watching the 90's version like I did. I love Sailor Moon, it holds a very special place in my heart, and being able to see the canonical story is amazing.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World

A very good anime, main character Subaru suddenly finds himself mysteriously transported to another world, finds himself in a few sticky situations, and manages to make new friends in the process. While trying to help the girl who saved him find her stolen insignia we learn a little more about the world we and Subaru were so rudely dropped into, and about a mysterious power that surrounds Subaru's sudden summoning to the new world.

So far it is incredibly good, the main character is really likable and you get to watch him start to change as a person as well and many different sides to the other characters around him. I won't say too much as I believe it would be spoiling a little bit of the anime, but it is definitely one you should give a shot.

This anime will be extending into the summer simulcasts as a full 25 episode season rather than the typical 12 episodes. So I will reserve the rest of my judgment in my Summer Simulcast list when it has finished!

Bungo Stray Dogs

This show is great. It has magical abilities, detective work, mafia, and LOTS of dark comedy. I love it! Its like a vague mix of Sherlock and Charlotte, but at times darker. The season is extending into the summer being released as a full season of episodes rather than those dumb 12 episode half seasons. So with that said, I will finish my opinion when it has ended. But for now, I highly recommend watching it!!!

Flying Witch

This one is super cute. It is a slice of life about a young witch who moves in with her cousins family in the country to further her witch training. Here we follow her daily life as a low-key witch.

There is no over arching plot to this anime, and while it is a slice of life its very laid back and fun. Being able to see a new aspect of the witch community is a very realistic way. The best part is that the familiars don't talk! I can't begin to say how annoying it is when an anime character is given an animal side-kick with an annoying personality AND an annoying voice.  The familiars is this show are wonderful and given realistic and charming personalities. They are able to communicate with the witches, but not through a human language. The familiars understand English but speak their natural language as an animal and only the witches are able to understand through it.

If you want a cute anime to relax with, this is the one for you.

Bakuon!! 

Bakuon!! is a comedy slice of life school anime about an all female high school's motorcycle club. Here we follow the lives of the students as they gain more members, watch the newbies learn to drive and purchase their own bike, and follow their adventures. It is absolutely hilarious and simply pure fun.

Unfortunately there isn't much more for me to say about, being a slice of life without a story arch. If you love the genre, definitely give this one a go, you will love it.

Twin Star Exorcists

This anime is just weird. I have a soft spot for exorcist shows but this one is sort of all over the place. It is extending into the summer simulcasts with a full season. It starts out as being about two young exorcists in training who are revealed as the 'twin star exorcists'. A legendary pair of exorcists who are destined to bring a miko into the world who will defeat the 'demons' they fight. It very quickly became a fighting, exorcist, drama, romance, action anime, which is a weird combination of genres. I'm not sure how I feel about this anime either. I supposed I'm rather 'in the middle' with this one, it's not good, it's not bad, but I want to keep watching it. It's still amusing, just so far not something I would openly recommend to anyone... I'll give my final opinion after its finished airing.

Joker Game

This show is about a secret spy organization that was created in Japan between the first and second world wars, and follows the tasks of various spies. Its a well done series, but because I was watching it as a simulcast and because by episode 8, almost every episode worked as a stand alone. So because of that, I wasn't highly anticipating the next episode at the end of every week. I do intend to continue watching this. especially now that all the spring simulcasts I've been watching are over. Though it may be a while until I continue it again.

Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro

This is an... interesting one. At about 10 minutes to each episode, its more of a carton in the american sense than it is an anime in the more common sense... if you get what I mean. It's a very stylized story about a boy who works at his families Tonkatsu house and becomes a DJ. It's relatively well done, but just isn't my kind of show. Personally I lost interest fairly early and stopped watching it, but I know of a few people who really enjoy it. It's not bad, just not my thing.

The Lost Village

The lost village starts off following a bus load of people who want to leave their current lives and start anew in a mysterious isolated village where no one from the modern society can find them. It's an interesting anime apart of the horror genre the first episode seemed really good, but it gets tiring quickly. Especially since every single episode after the first seems to end on incredibly enormous cliff hangers. Its hard to pin point why it was disappointing as  the episodes went on, perhaps its because so much happens in every episode, or the majority of the characters are not very likable, or the fact that every single character has a hard/traumatizing back story, and there are 37 characters! Not to mention that they tend to gang up on each other, do crazy things and occasionally follow the mob mentality.

In the end I lost interest and stopped watching it, maybe I'll finish the episodes in the future? Probably not though. It just got very tiresome and I'm sick of the forced tension caused by the endless cliffhangers...

Anne-Happy

This show is just moe upon moe. Its a slice of life following five incredibly unlucky girls as they attend high school. If fact they are so unlucky that the highschool has a designated "happiness class" for about 30 or so unlucky students, where in addition to taking regular classes, they take special classes in order to make the students less unlucky and be able to find happiness despite their luck. Its very cute, and I watched most of it, however I was mostly watching it with my friend, and since we are so behind on our anime we decided to finish all the spring simulcasts on our own so we can get started with a couple summer ones. It's not a bad anime, just too much moe, and no real plot.