Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

GENRE: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
CREDITS: 2011 Hiroyuki Imaishi, Aniplex, GAINAX, Konami

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Cover Description:
In his sky-less cavern of a village Simon toils daily, drilling holes to expand his stifling little world until one day he makes an extraordinary discovery, a small glowing drill-bit and the man-sized mecha it activates. Before he can give it a second thought Simon is dragged into a plot to break through to the surface by the local gang leader Kamina, only to have the ceiling come crashing down on top of them under the weight of a giant monster! It somehow falls onto the boisterous Kamina and the cowardly Simon to defend their village but once they defeat the monster what awaits the duo on the surface world? Get ready for buxom babes, beastmen, and giant mecha as only GAINAX can provide them! BUST THROUGH THE HEAVENS WITH YOUR SOUL, GURREN LAGANN!

Who Knew That Drills Could Be So Cool?. >>> by Razaele (originally written and uploaded 11.21.2011 18.25)

I remember the first time I heard about this anime. A friend had recommended it to me, and while I do enjoy mecha-themed anime as much as next guy, the chibi mecha with the exposed brain featured on the front cover told me that this probably wouldn’t have been my cup of tea.
I had faith though, so I sat down, ordered some food from a well-known fast food establishment that features a creepy clown as its primary mascot, and prepared myself for some good ol’ fashioned giant robot action. The first three episodes were a pleasant surprise, as I found myself liking where the story was going. In typical Gainax fashion, the story features a young boy named Simon, who is suddenly forced to pilot the strange mecha featured in the picture above. Also in typical Gainax fashion, a well-endowed, scantily-clad young lady named Yoko joins in.

All this is pretty standard stuff, but the character who really got my attention was the loud-mouthed leader of the Gurren-Dan named Kamina. I swear this guy can inspire the pants off of anyone.

Then I hit episode 4, wherein the anime suddenly took a turn for the comedic. I was massively turned off by this as the first few episodes had me thinking that the anime was going to become an epic of immeasurable proportions. I mean come on, the first few seconds of the show featured a gigantic robot-battleship blasting away at masses of unknown enemies. Still, at the urging of my friend I trudged on. A few more episodes of light-hearted laughs later, the story punched me in the face with one of the most unexpected events that I have ever encountered in anime. The show had shifted gears so fast that I was left reeling in my seat. After that, I was completely hooked.

From episode 8 onwards, the show becomes a fast-paced adrenaline rush filled with copious amounts of passion, explosions, and testosterone. For the first time in my life, I found myself brought to tears (manly ones) because of sheer AWESOME and the occasional bit of drama.

Rest assured that I am not exaggerating. This anime had moments SO INCREDIBLY MIND-BLOWING THAT I FELT THAT I WAS GOING TO EXPLODE BECAUSE OF THE MINIATURE SUN THAT HAD BECOME MY SOUL. OK, IM GOING TO STOP TYPING IN ALL CAPS NOW.

The growth of the scope and proportion of the series boggles the mind as well, with an arms race that puts everything that I've encountered up to this point to shame. I don’t want to spoil anything about the anime, so let me just say that the space battle in the beginning of the show is nothing compared to what you’ll find near the ending.

And it’s not just the over-the-top action and manliness that made this anime to be what I deem as one of the best out there. The story that unfolds during the course of the series is top-notch, rife with character development and rich back stories. The story mainly focuses on Simon and his exploits, but if you pay close enough attention you’ll find that all the characters around him grow along with him.

Even the baddies that they encounter throughout the series were thoroughly researched and well-thought of. (Although seriously, don’t Google anything that concerns this anime until you finish it. The Internet is full of spoilers that will absolutely ruin your experience.) Their angle has a bit of science tied in with the Gurren Lagann mythos, but I highly recommend reading up on them.

The soundtrack is also a large part of the experience. Throughout the series, the big events are all accompanied by songs that set the tempo of the events, all of which made every moment perfect. The OST of this series remains as one of my absolute favorites mainly because the feelings conveyed by the show can be found in the songs as well.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is an adrenaline-pumping, tear-jerking show filled with soul. I cannot fully express with words what this anime made me feel, but I can safely say that after watching it, everything else that I have experienced afterwards pales in comparison. If you still think I’m exaggerating, you can look up the meaning of the title of the show. (Again, don’t Google anything about the show before finishing it. I mean it. You’ll thank me for it later.)

Literally translated, the title means Heaven-Piercing Crimson Face. Holy crap.
Why aren’t you watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann yet? Go!!

UP-AME (Monogatari) Fair 2011

This post is more than a month late. Hehe.

The perpetually anticipated UP-AME Fair for 2011 was held at the World Trade Center last November 12, 2011 and I volunteered to not only be a media partner (and I obviously have been remiss in my duties in that aspect) but also as a speaker. Under the Anino Games Inc. banner, we also bought some sponsorship space. Yes, I know, this is one of the local anime industry's biggest event of the year. Hence the active participation.

The thing about UP-AME's fairs is that it's also one I usually dread going to, mostly because past experience has led me to think that it will be disorganized or that students cannot handle the volume of visitors that usually come their way. After all, they do this annually to celebrate AME's anniversary and not because they do PR events for a living.

This year, I was in for a complete surprise. The crowd control went pretty well (considering the volume of traffic coming in and out of the tent), the ushers were systematic, garbage maintenance could use some work but it was at least manageable and I actually had fun. Plus, I learned a lot from some of the workshops and that's always a good thing. So whatever it is this batch of UP-AME members did, I hope they continue to do it in the years to come. I think the World Trade Center tent was just the right size for an event of this magnitude.

Anyway, here are some key photos of Monogatari. You can view more photos on my FB page.

This is our booth. It comes with two pretty watchers, Vana and Nikka.

If you ever go hungry, you can always grab some P15 onigiri at the UP AME snack booth.

What is an anime fair without costumes?

This is for those who like 'em cutesy stuff.

Some toys for sale.

Beautiful blades.

I love this entrance.

Great job on the plants that lined the entrance. Tita May's work. =^.^=

Pocky!!!

Nikka checking out the headgears.

People dancing.

Akitani-san's kimono's.

Artists working on what they do best.

Bands.

Some kendo demonstrations.

Toys on display at the workshop area.

Cutie kid in a costume. She posed by our booth.

That's me preparing for my topic.

Which was about how to turn your anime-gaming hobby into a career.

Akitani-san and her kimekomi art.

It looks easy enough...

But looks can be deceiving. Nikka works on her kimekomi.

Almost done.

It really ain't complete without cosplayers.

Have your fortunes told.

On winning at the Philippine Blog Awards 2011

2011 began with the Otaku Fridge winning at the 12th Philippine WEB Awards (PWA) and it ends with the Otaku Fridge bagging Best Gaming Blog (National Level) at the Philippine BLOG Awards (PBA). I honestly was rooting for my other site, Sarimanok.PH, which also made it into the National Finals so I was not prepared to do a speech for this one. Why do I always mangle these things?? ^^;;

I thanked our readers, but I neglected to thank our contributors. One of them, username Voldemort, also won an award yesterday evening. Well, let's rectify it here, where it will go on record for as long as this site lives. Hehe. Thank you! Thank you!

I'm just happy because next year, the Otaku Fridge will be celebrating its 15th anniversary and I keep remembering how it started waaaaaay back during the GeoCities days. And the screening for this year, according to our host, was the most rigorous since hundreds of blogs had to go through so many processes. So yeah, she had it right when she said that all finalists are to be considered "hard core". Another thing to be happy about is the fact that I discovered quite a few blogs that I'd really love to visit. (Especially I am Fickle Cattle. I swear, working in a testosterone filled game development company has considerably nerfed my gaydar. I thought he was straight when he came up onstage.)

Anyway, here are some photos of the event, which was held at the Carlos P. Romulo Hall of RCBC Tower. You can view more photos at my Facebook page.

The stage.

Posing with my Sarimanok.PH co-author, Cris Dumlao.
The site made it into the finals (National Level) but we bowed to Sining Factory for the Arts & Culture category.

All winners:
Me on the left. My friends Lia of Geek Girl Manila and Kel (a.k.a. Voldemort) of It's True! It's True!
Kel, incidentally, was also the voice-over. He thought he wouldn't win because he was hosting.

Posing with other winners on stage.

Most of us.

And this is the trophy.
I should buy a properly labeled stand for it before friends ask me why I have a "kalabaw" on my desk.

Truth be told, my year had been quite rough (and was TOTALLY BAD for my self-esteem, which went on an all-time low). It's quite ironic because 2011 started out quite well for. But this is a great year-ender, telling me that life is still good after all. =^.^=

Fifteen years after Final Fantasy VII

Last week, when I started playing Dissidia 012 [duodecim], I experienced a sudden gush of nostalgia. I was ecstatic at the thought that I would get to play Final Fantasy VII's Tifa Lockhart and witness the possibility of more interactions with Cloud Strife.

Truth be told, Final Fantasy VII was the very first of the  franchise I had ever played, having grown up as a platformer and fighting gamer. Yeah, I was one of those "n00bs" older gamers used to belittle, the way my generation now scoffs at new "gaming kids", whose equivalent of our Super Mario is now Angry Birds. I was too young to play the earlier installations but I more than made up for it after FFVII. I have to admit that while FFIV and FFVI had deeper storylines, there was something about VII that made me remember the characters more despite its unoriginal epic tale.

I can't believe this was how it looked like back then.
And we all thought the graphics were freakin' awesome!

I guess I could credit the memories to Cloud's interactions with his comrades. Advent Children (AC), the 3D animated film that takes place two years after the final battle, may have turned Cloud into brooding Squall Leonhart, but I don't think I could ever forget how funny it was when he disguised himself as a girl just to get Don Corneo's attention. Or those hilarious dating combinations that can have a player picking brawler Tifa, sweet Aeris Gainsborough or dark, hulking Barret Wallace (dude in bottom-left screenshot) as possible escort. And that romantic Cloud-Tifa moment under the Highwind!!

(Much as it pains me to admit, I had thought Cid Highwind and Barret were old at 35 and 39 respectively, and Cloud was mature at 20. Now I am nearing Cid's age. Haha!)

Date scenes with Barret and Tifa.
Photos below are of Tifa and Cloud under the Highwind.

Some hardcore fans might grudgingly say that Square-Enix is milking the franchise with all the follow-up games, movies and merchandise but I, for one, am happy. I am one of those who rooted for a Cloud-Tifa angle, and reading developer interviews cemented my love for the game. It was especially thrilling to find out that they initially intended for Cloud to do something intimate with Tifa under the Highwind (but they scrapped the idea, fearing it would be too risque). I also wondered why Cloud became so cold in AC and it turns out that FFVII's scenario writer, Kazushige Nojima, had written novelas explaining the relationship between Cloud, Tifa and the children they adopted.

Tifa in both AC and original costumes.

I tried reading fanfics just to get my fill of Tifa Lockhart but they were nothing compared to Nojima's telling. I loved how he deepened the girl's character by making her tough yet vulnerable at the same time, generous endowments notwithstanding. She had spunk and wasn't afraid of letting Cloud know that she was having none of his seeming apathy.

Honestly, the best part of all the installations that followed the FFVII world is that I don't need to replay the game. Goodness knows, I don't really want to go back to timed battles (they were easy, but the pressure!!!), snowboarding (which made me dizzy), and that blasted Temple of the Ancients (rocks kept rolling all over me, which makes me wonder how I managed to finish harder games like the first Castlevania). I'm too old for mini-games that require good hand-eye coordination. In fact, if they ever remake some aspects of the game, I really do wish they'd come up with a tactics version. Or something that would be kinder to our generation, since we love the characters so much.

For those who are just as hungry as I am in getting your hands on some important snippets of Final Fantasy VII, here are some related (non-playable) literature:

• Advent Children
• Last Order OAV - warning: there are some scenes that deviate from the original game, which they fixed when they released Crisis Core.
• On The Way to A Smile - a series of pre-AC short stories penned by Kazushige Nojima, the second of which focuses on Tifa
• On The Way to A Smile: Episode: Denzel - an anime based on the first of Nojima's short stories and was released with AC Complete.
• Maiden Who Travels the Planet - written by Benny Matsuyama, this is a novel that tells of Aeris' experiences in the Lifestream after her death. This was published in the FFVII Ultimania Omega.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

Genre: Role Playing Game
Platform: Sony Playstation Portable (PSP)
CREDITS: 2010 Atlus. Screenshots courtesy of Amazon.com.

This entry has been updated and the screenshots have been replaced. You can scroll down to skip the preview and read the actual review.

SHOPPING:

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Amazon.com Product Description:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable is a single player, AI team-based RPG that brings the thought-provokingly addictive fun that made Persona 3 a runaway hit on PlayStation 2 to PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game contains most of the content from the original Persona 3 as well as some elements of Persona 3: FES, and features the new and crucial abilities to play as a female character and to directly control your teammates in combat. Additional functionality includes Skill Cards, part-time jobs, one-button menu shortcuts, streamlined team equipment changes and shortened load screens optimized for PSP.

Story: A teenager who was orphaned as a young child returns to the city of his/her childhood. Shortly after transferring to Gekkoukan High School, he/she is attacked is attacked by Shadows/creatures that feed on the minds of their victims. The assault awakens his/her Persona, Orpheus, his/her only chance at defeating these creatures of the night. He/she soon discovers that he/she shares this special ability with other students at his new school. From them he/she learns of the Dark Hour, a hidden time that exists between one day and the next, swarming with Shadows. He/she joins the Special Extracurricular Squad (SEES), and with his/her new friends, confronts this evil threat.

Preview >>> by skysenshi (06.20.2010, 11:59AM)
Because of my busy schedule, I never got a chance to sit down and play this on the PS2. In fact, I have missed a lot of PS2 games ever since 2005 (the year I entered my master's). Juggling work, school and exhibit calls demanded that I carry a PSP or a DS, should I want to keep gaming.

The sad part is I loved Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. That was one of the best games I have ever encountered. Plus, I totally dig the fact that it had a female protagonist, cub reporter Maya Amano, and interesting supporting characters in the form of Urara and Baofu. Well, it's been said that this Persona 3 for the PSP will have an alternate angle: You can now play as a female character. That alone is reason enough for me to get this come July.

The following features are listed in Amazon.com:

• Classic, thought-provoking Persona RPG gameplay in which players construct wieldable physical manifestations of their thoughts through their social interactions with characters in-game, later taking these into team-based battles against Shadow enemies in Tartarus.
• Contains almost all the content from the original PS2 Persona 3 game, and elements from Persona 3: FES.
• Significant improvements over earlier games including Skill Cards, part-time jobs, and ability to directly control your teammates in battle.
• The important new ability to play as a female character, giving the player a whole new perspective on the events of the game and providing a dramatic impact on the game's intricate social dynamics.
• Improved playability permeates every aspect of the gameplay experience. One button menu shortcuts, streamlined team equipment changes, incredibly short load times, and other tweaks and enhancements create an ideal pace for portable gaming.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable is slated for release on July 2010 for the Sony PSP. You can read more of this game's features here.

Social Links need balancing. >>> by skysenshi (08.29.2011, 11:57AM)
As I have mentioned in the preview, which I wrote more than a year ago (that was how long before I actually managed to finish the game), I haven't been able to play the original Shin Megami Tensei 3 on the PS2. Apparently, a lot of the players of the original had many complaints about how toned down the features became (anime cut scenes were removed etc.) in order to fit the limits of a smaller yet more mobile platform. I guess I could say that the older one becomes, the less time for plugged gaming consoles one has. In fact, time at home as become a luxury. (No wonder they're saying that the iPad is a hit among grandmothers. Now I know what'll happen to me as a gamer 30 years from now...) In any case, the older a gamer becomes, I believe that the higher the tolerance should be for game features that may or may not be included in future games.

Many reviewers in Amazon.com have already raved about how this is one of the most groundbreaking RPGs ever released (and I concur), citing how the Social Links system made the game very much story-driven. I also agree that adding a female perspective for the PSP port was a splendid idea, since you'd be able to explore other dimensions to the non-playable characters' personalities. This is a boon since I was kind of turned off at some of the relationships formed by the male protagonist. I shuddered in horror when I realized that I was just about to form a romantic relationship with Mitsuru, one of the strongest and arguably the most beautiful among the female characters. I was already pairing her off with the equally handsome boxer, Akihiko, in my head, so seeing Mitsuru going all googly-eyed over my character made me feel sort of violated. Thank goodness, I ran out of time to develop that path and I ended up with half-baked friendly and romantic relationships on my first run.

This now leads me to my biggest -- and possibly my only -- complaint about Persona 3. On my second run, playing the female protagonist this time around, I opened a walkthrough, determined to max all Social Links because I badly wanted to achieve the ultimate Persona, Orpheus Telos. But I sort of messed up along the way, which left me with 2 Social Links that were close to max, at level 9/10.

Here's the thing: I don't like having to go through a very strict path (May I have the option not to hit on ALL of my female friends please? That's just bloody messy!), especially when it comes to RPGs. This is exactly what I hated in Final Fantasy X-2. If you're going to restrict exploration, you might as well not call it a role-playing game. My male character became a bishoujo game protagonist and my female character became so flirtatious, I started feeling bad for all the guys that professed their undying love for her. And if you want to get the niftiest in-game item, you have to date the dude that can give it. Gawd, that really makes me feel like such an awful person. (The funny thing is, I actually wouldn't mind being such a Lothario if this were an H bishoujo game.)

Sure, you can choose to be a decent boy/girl but you'd end up running out of time. You're only given a year to establish relationships and it just frustrates me that you can only spend time with ONE Social Link for half the day. There are group bonding moments, but they do nothing for your Social Links' status. I guess I'm just aghast that I only had two Social Links left to max and an additional week would probably have allowed me to fix it. The thought that I cannot stray from the walkthrough...well, I guess you get the picture.

But enough of the rant. Despite my bitterness over Social Links, Persona 3 is still one heck of a good game. I'd say it's among the rare ones that have soul and I'd never trade it for any of those new visually appealing "RPGs" with nonexistent gameplay (*glares at Final Fantasy XIII*). While P3 does have all your party members running on AI by default (which is common in recent games now), you have the option to turn AI off so you can do everything manually.

My favorite part? *SPOILER ALERT* That a dog, who's reminiscent of the legendary Hachiko, gets to be a member of your battle party. Heh. He's actually in my main party, along with Akihiko and Mitsuru.

Overall, P3 has a very high replay value, so I just might try and chase after those Social Links again. That is, if I find the time and there are no other games left to play.

PLAYER STATUS:
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
COMPLETION TIME: 128 hours 57 minutes
HIGHEST LEVEL ACHIEVED: 88 for female perspective, All S.Links maxed except for Yukari and Aigis
RATINGS: Gameplay 8; Battle 9; Story 8; Visuals 10; Characters 10; Sounds 9; Replay Value 9