Abandon All hope, ye who enters......


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Bunraku


Epic Movie, Epic Gackt.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

At the Islands of Madness

From a notebook found in the belongings of Professor Harker, University of Arkham.

Chaos. The only thing on my mind now is chaos. I have seen things during my stay on this island that will haunt me until I die, which I know will be soon. The darkness is closing by, but I must finish this tale before all strength leaves my body.

It started when a ship chartered by the East India Company, bound for the Orient set sailed from my native town of Innsmouth. The ship, carrying a significant amount of gold, spices and a secret cargo that of which was only privy to the captain and a few crew members was constructed by the King’s own navy, and a sturdy one at that. We set sailed on the 31st of March, a day foretold by the Almanac to be an auspicious one.

The journey itself through the channel was uneventful, with some minor storms that hit us on the way. In fact, the journey itself bored me, and eventually curiosity got the better of me. On the 10th night of travel, I entered the hold to sate my curiosity regarding the contents. What I found in the unlabelled cargo was a small statue.

The statue was carved in the effigy of a creature, which gave me a sense of paranoia and fear when I held my gaze upon it. The face…THE FACE!!! I cannot forget it even now!! It is indescribable… tentacles upon a face so hideous! I turned my eyes away from the accursed statue, and in that moment, tragedy struck.

A waterspout came out of the water, enveloping our ship. I remembered nothing after that, my head being struck by the effigy. What I remember was waking up on this island, with the accursed statue in my hands. I discarded the statue in the fading light of the sun, searching for food. That was when I heard the voices.

From the sea, an abnormal tide came closer and closer to the island…and in the fading ray of the sun, I saw fish-men riding the wave. With them, a slow whisper…Cthulhu, Cthulhu…Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn, Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn….

The voices overwhelmed me and I gave a scream. The accursed effigy glowed with an eldritch green flame, and in the light of the flame, I could see the fish-men turning their heads to me. I made the mistake of staring into the effigy, and in a moment my eyes were open.

I was underwater, in a sunken city. The whispering grew louder and louder, deafening me. I gave a scream, but only bubbles came out. A sudden movement to my left and I saw a gargantuan creature: The creature which the accursed statue was based on. Powerful wings stayed closed…the face was the same! FOREVER BURNED INTO MY MIND! I gave another scream and the creature stirred for a moment, regarding me as an insect. It sneered, and pushed me away, and in that moment, I was brought back to the island. The Fish-men bowed reverently at the statue, and looked at me once again. I realized then that I was to become their sacrifice.

Now I hide in a cave, hoping futilely that the fish-men will not find me. I hear the whisperings getting louder…Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn…. Let him rise from R’lyeh. Let the master rise from his slumber. IAKSDJIASFadfsahidfasfdasd'asd asdafasgtrehg'nxczjzdjx

The remaining pages contained only vague sketches, most probably product of a deranged mind.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Review + Summary: Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle

Today's review is on Gokager Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle:


This movie is made to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Sentai, and the DVD and subs just came out. So let us begin with a short summary. SPOILER WARNING

The movie starts with an extension of the Legend War shown in Gokaiger Episode One. This time, we have the addition of Bangai Heroes such as Dekamaster, Knight Wolzard and all that jazz. So just like in episode one, the Zangyack comes, Akaranger got the idea of sacrificing all the powers of the sentai to wipe out the fleet.

GoseiBlack: Eh Akaranger, who died and made you boss?

Well, Akaranger's questionable plan is accepted by everyone (Why did they go through with it is a mystery). Zangyack's fleet is thwarted, and as we all know, the powers of the Super Sentai are turned into ranger keys. The Goseigers are quite miffed since they can't protect the planet anymore. But who gives a shit. So the planet is super sentai-less for a few YEARS (#nonsensicalplothole: why the hell is it years later I don't know since months later would put everything in better perspective but what the hell we watch sentai for fun not logic). Fast Forward.

The Gokaigers are fighting Zangyack AGAIN, with Insarn and Barizorg standing there like dummies with trollfaces on. As usual we have the shenanigans of the Gormin and Zgormin getting their asses whopped. For some reason Marvelous wants to use the powers of Goseigers. He takes it out, and shit gets real. Agri and Moune jump out of nowhere and grab all the keys! Turns out the Goseigers are stalking the Gokaigers waiting for this moment and they think the Gokaigers are underqualified for this job. Understandably, the Gokaigers are pissed at that "Protecting the Earth is an Angel's duty" shit that has been thrown around for a year. (#nonsensicalplothole: Has anyone realized that the Goseigers piss off every previous sentai with this statement? Because that sounds conceited.) Anyways they get their powers back and change into Goseigers once again!

Yeah. Angels. Again.

They finish off the remaining pawns and Marvelous tells them to give the keys back, since playtime is over. Alata refuses, and they battle, wanting GoseiKnight's key. Poor GoseiKnight. Now nothing but a talking robotic head. Skip battle, skip battle, skip battle.

The Gokaigers return to the GokaiGalleon, randomly searching for GoseiKnight's key. They find it, then BOOM! Douchebag angels got into their mecha first. Time for GokaiOh! A Mecha fight ensues, and shit get real again.

Meanwhile, at the Gigant Horse, Waruzu Giru is getting miffed. Again. [Facepalm]. Black Cross King revives out of nowhere (#randomlypullingshitoutoftheirass) and gives Waruzu a deal: he kills all the sentai, and Waruzu gets all of Earth. The dick agrees, because his balls are terrified to death of this guy and Black Cross King departs to Earth.

Completely unrelated to this is a scene showing Denziblue, the tough-as-nails old guy working hard selling bread. [Facepalm at his job]. He meets a kid who has a DaiDenzin figure, and soon meets, by coincidence, Both DaiRed and DekaPink and a sad little man who lost everything and planning to sell a Variblune model for some cash. Mint grade Variblune. Bear in mind that this guy and the kid has a role to play.

On the other hand, Alata, the sneaky douche, sneaked onto the Galleon to steal/find/pilfer/snatch GoseiKnight's key. GokaiRed catches him red-handed and they take the fight outside. The box of keys is taken out as well. The fight between mechas escalates and they get the hell out of the mechas to have a Mexican Standoff. Then POW! Black Cross King arrives. He resurrects Dagon, SomeguyIWon'tbotherNamingWhoHasADamnLongName and Bura-f*cking-Jira.
Hi Kids! It's me again! AGAIN! THIS TIME WITH A MOTHERFACKING BELT!

Black Cross King activates some sort of bullshit ray and transports the Gokaigers and Goseigers to different places, splitting the team into the trademark team split. Yawn.

Marvelous gets stuck in time with Alata, Joe and Luka get stuck with Agri and Moune, and Ahim and Doc gets stuck with Eri and Hyde.

Marvy and Alata end up fighting Burajira, Joe and his peers fight The One With The Long Name and the others fight Dagon. The fights are pretty standard, so I won't bother with the details. Predictably they win, and before they can celebrate, they have to fight Black Cross King.

But Black Cross King has a secret weapon: A pimped out version of Basco's trumpet! He calls all the other past sentai, reusing the same scene that I see on every episode of Gokaiger AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THE MOVIE.

Toei: Kids won't notice if we use this again.

So they change and say all their phrases, and fight the Sentai senpais. It's just a larger version of a Basco fight, and there are some notable scenes, like these below:





Those are actual scenes from the fight. Toei gave us stock footage. In a battle. Dammit.

So they get all their ranger keys back by defeating them Basco-style, with a bit of colour-on-colour action. Black Cross King gets pissed and grows big and I mean BIG! The teams are forced to a corner but WAIT! SOMETHING'S HAPPENING!
Something. Is. On.

The Akaranger key shines, and soon the other keys shown here shines as well. We are treated to scenes with an Unhenshined Akaranger, Big One, DynaPink, TurboRed and a few others too tedious to name. Akaranger gives Marvelous their Great Power, and POW! All the Previous Rangers are called!
Dragonball!!!
This is a technically predictable scene since they were fighting here.



What are those steps for?! The mystery!

So the past rangers are summoned. And to defeat Black Cross King a weapon called the Super Sentai Bazooka is pulled out of nowhere and used against him.

Black Cross King dies, the past rangers become keys once more, and things become quiet...for about a minute, then Black Cross King becomes Black Cross Colossus. Back to the Mechas.

GoseiKnight tries to attack Black Cross Colossus, to no avail. The Mechas are losing as well. Everyone loses hope, then the guy who met the sentai members previously with his Daidenzin tells them to Never Give Up, and the kid with the Variblune tells them to keep hoping. Then their toys shine, and BAM! We get ALL mechas from Variblune to Shinkenger's Mecha.

Gosei Knight is amazed and states that this is the greatest miracle on Earth. And now here comes a part that makes me facepalm. We are treated to stock footage of Daidenzin Slashing Black Cross Colussus. Black Cross Colossus calls some villains, including all incarnations of Buredoran.
It's me again. Burajira, 2011

So all the mechas use their finishing moves on all of the monsters, and we're treated to more and more stock footage. The Gokaigers use the Great Power of Gorangers and becomes Goren Gokai-Oh. I won't put any images because I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. Black Cross Colossus dies with the finisher of Goren Gokai-Oh.

The movie ends with a nice note, with Goseigers giving back their keys to the Gokaigers. A passing the torch moment ensues, with Gokai Silver outside the Galleon, smirking I think, and the movie ends.

REVIEW:

This movie is quite interesting as it shows that the Gokaigers completely accept their role as protectors of the Earth, no less. Goseigers however still have the same vibe as they always have, completely caught up in the duty of being an angel. Alata shows really good leadership skills, but I still think he's a pussy. Not cool enough. The role of Zangyack was kept to a minimum, which kinda sucks. Plotholes? Yes. But utterly negligible. The involvement of all past rangers and mechas? EPIC.

It's kinda sad that this movie couldn't be combined with Let's Go Kamen Riders, but this is an epic movie nonetheless.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Monday, October 24, 2011

Suddenly....I feel like writing this song.

http://youtu.be/PtsVSxgjUY0



Above is the link for the original version of this song.



Whispering out your name to the stars,

The silent shadows fill my heart,

I cry.


Sitting there just looking at the sky,

A sudden teardrop from my eye,

I sigh.


Standing there I reach out for the moon,

The graceful moonbeam shines on me,

I shout.


Taking out a picture of us both,

Smiling there just telling jokes,

Us both...


What has happened now?

My silent pleas have fell on deaf ears.

I tried to love you but

Many things stood in our ways.


Walking down the path we used to walk

Looking at the place we sat,

I left.


Sitting on the grass I screamed out loud,

The neverending pain I feel,

Won't stop.


I just want to tell

You so many times that I had loved you.

But for some reason though,

You were always so distant...


My letter won't reach you,

My words won't ever show,

What has been will never be again,


I just want you here now,

So I'll say I Love you,

Why do these things happen always suddenly.


I don't what'll happen,

Even though I feel numb,

I just know that you'll never be mine,


Before you leave my life,

Belonging to another,

Before you disappear

Please listen once.


I will never give up,

I'll always stand by you,

When you're down remember that I'll always be there.


Walking home I'm just an empty shell,

You leaving suddenly from me,

Goodbye.

I wish you well....

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

FOURZE, SANJOU!!! UCHUUUUUUU KITAAAAAAAAAA~

Series logo intended for the title card.

UCHUUUUUUU KITAAAAAAA~

Kamen Rider Fourze has arrived, Fourze, sanjou! The first episode of Fourze started last Sunday, a quick rundown of Fourze is as below:


Kamen Rider FOURZE

  • High school student who henshins into a Kamen Rider!
  • Has a shitload of switches that enable him to fight fight fight!
  • Has support robots called Foodroids!
  • Has a "partner" who absolutely, absolutely hates him, but has to aid him nonetheless
That last part reminded me of this guy


and this guy



An interesting thing about Fourze is the high school setting. We have several characters named after past riders who are part of the Kamen Rider Club:

photo from Orends: Range

From left: Tomoko Nozama (Amazon, with tomoko being reference to his frequent "tomodachi-ing"), Miu Kazashiro (V3, Shiro Kazami), Kengo Utahoshi (Kamen Rider #1, Takeshi Hongo, the Ankh+Goto guy), Gentaro Kisaragi (Fourze!!!!), Yuki Jojima (Riderman, Yuki Joji), Shun Daimonji (Kamen Rider #2, Hayato Ichimonji) and JK (X, Keisuke Jin).

The characters all represent token stereotype characters, with Nozama being the Goth, Kazashiro as the "Queen", Utahoshi as the sidekick, Jojima as the token good girl, Daimonji as the Jock and JK as the cowardly slacker. This is somewhat interesting as Gentaro has made it his aim to be friends with everyone.

Up until now, Gentaro has used several switches, namely:
Rocket Arm
Launcher Leg
Drill Leg
Radar Arm
Chainsaw Leg

Apparently Gentaro is somekinda prodigy for using Fourze.

But nonetheless, after watching the first episode, several questions are on my mind, namely HOW DOES THE SCHOOL PAY FOR ALL THE DAMAGE.

I'm guessing under government grants, citing "Collateral damage due to reckless fighting'..... LOL

Well, episode 1 was great, and I am really looking forward to episode 2.



Once more, UCHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU KITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Differences between Kamen Rider W and Kamen Rider OOO

Today We are going to compare

And





DOUBLE
  1. Two guys who transforms into one rider with a cool-ass bike
  2. Uses Gaia Memories stolen from the Antagonists.
  3. Fights against antagonistic group called the Museum who uses Gaia Memories to wreak havoc on the city.
  4. Has a berserker state called FangJoker.
  5. Aided by a rogue member of the Museum.
  6. Has a shitload of forms on account of the Gaia Memories with Half-Changes.
  7. Has a partner who starts out initially wary of the main rider. (Ryu Terui/Accel).
  8. Has a main female lead who starts out annoying then becomes a good friend/companion. (Akiko Narumi)

OOO
  1. One guy who transforms into one rider with a cool-ass bike.
  2. Uses Core Medals stolen from the Antagonists.
  3. Fights against antagonistic group called the Greeed who uses Core/Cell Medals to wreak havoc on the city.
  4. Has a berserker state called PuToTerano Combo.
  5. Aided by a rogue member of the Greeeds.
  6. Has a shitload of forms on account of the Core Medals with Combos and random combos.
  7. Has a partner who starts out initially wary of the main rider. (Shintaro Gotou/Birth2)
  8. Has a main female lead who starts out annoying then becomes a good friend/companion. (Hina Izumi).

The similarities DOES NOT END THERE. The biggest similarity is this.

Has a shitload of merchandise to sell to kids.

There. my review of Kamen Rider Double and OOO.