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How to Survive MISSING a Con

13 May 2013 by 2 Comments
No more PAX tickets. Even Spock is sobbing over it.

There comes a traumatic moment in every young geek's life where they must confront the sad but unavoidable truth; sometimes, you just can't ATTEND ALL OF THE THINGS. Whether it be due to finances, other obligations, or the ever-common problem of tickets selling out too fast, we've all had to miss out on a convention we really wanted to go to (unless, of course, you hate conventions, in which case, congratulations for making better life choices than I have!) Once upon a time, that would have … [Read more...]

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Which Witch Is Witchier? Review of Little Witch Academia

29 April 2013 by Leave a Comment
Poster of Little Witch Academia

It’s not uncommon for the anime lovers I follow on Twitter to be talking about this or that new anime; it is, however, unusual for the non-anime fans or former anime fans to start gushing about a new show. Thus, when my Twitter feed started to light up with multiple mentions of a show called Little Witch Academia, I took notice… and when it turned out that it was legally available with English subtitles on YouTube, I knew I had to check it out. Little Witch Academia is a 26 minute short … [Read more...]

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Someone Call CPS! Bad Parenting in Anime and Manga

15 April 2013 by 4 Comments
Gendo Ikari, Father of the Year

  The relationship between parent and child can be one of the most varied, complicated, and interesting dynamics in media. So why is it that anime seems to have this weird habit of consistently presenting Exhibits A, B, and C for Worst Parenting Ever? It struck me today as I was glancing through my anime collection that every single one of them had parents that would keep most people in therapy for the rest of their lives. And sometimes, the parents that look the best of all are actually … [Read more...]

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GDC Megapost: GDC 2013, and How/Whether to Survive Your Own GDC

7 April 2013 by 4 Comments
GDC 2013 - From Official GDC Flickr feed

I returned from GDC 2013 a week ago, and I brought back four important things: - an inspiring vision of what games still have to accomplish - a wonderful memory of time spent with new and old friends, of relationships warming and growing closer, of challenges and cheering and all that great stuff - a sense of apprehension about my own role and path in the industry and about where I will end up going with this - a horrific case of Convention Plague which has crushed my entire respiratory … [Read more...]

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Too Much of a Good Thing: Avoid Overstuffing Your Games and Stories

18 March 2013 by 2 Comments
A zombie on a dinosaur on a shark with a laser beam.

Like J, I am a longtime devotee of World of Warcraft, and like her, I am loving the new expansion. Between all the new factions, the pet battles, the rare monsters, the huge amount of raid content, Achievements, farming, secret treasures, scenarios, finding transmog gear, rare mounts, new race, new class, and dailies dailies dailies, there's so much to do! Too much, sometimes. Mists of Pandaria, for all that I love it, is an excellent example of the adage, "too much of a good thing." There … [Read more...]

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First Episode, First Impressions: Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn #1

4 March 2013 by 1 Comment
Mobile_Suit_Gundam_Unicorn

Our parents always told us that first impressions count, and while I suspect they were gently trying to explain why scruffy shirts and unwashed hair is not the best ensemble for a job interview, the statement is particularly true of anime, manga, or indeed any serial entertainment that starts out with a pilot, or Episode One. And it makes sense… our time is valuable, and we need to know in a reasonably short span whether this new manga, comic, anime or TV show is worth our commitment. To this … [Read more...]

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Newton Meets Escher: Review of The Bridge

25 February 2013 by 1 Comment
TheBridgeScreenshot8

  The world of video games is diverse and broad, nowhere more so than in the indie community. Among the many, MANY genres of games out there in the untapped wilderness of the Internet, however, one in particular has become a consumer and critical darling: the genre I can only define as Artsy Indie Puzzle Platforming. You probably know the type... a very polished and distinct art style, cutesy characters with a sort of dark twist, a sort of broody, mysterious narrative, mechanics that … [Read more...]

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5 Worst “Leave You Hanging” Moments in Anime and Manga History

18 February 2013 by 3 Comments
filler arcs

A series should never waste the fan's time, and yet, they do it constantly. We can all think of examples: the comic story arc that just goes on and on and on for too long, the series finale that doesn't provide any closure, the video game that has at least twenty hours worth of padding which makes no impact to the plot. And it's always frustrating as a fan to be left hanging, either waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen, or wondering, "Wait, that's IT???" Anime and manga are both … [Read more...]

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5 Reasons You NEED To Get a Wii U (and 3 Reasons to Procrastinate)

4 February 2013 by Leave a Comment

  Confession time; I love love LOVE the Wii U. Since getting the little system that could for Christmas, I have been consistently impressed not only by what it’s able to do now, but the almost limitless potential for the future. When I have that gamepad in hand, I feel like I’m holding something on the threshold of a revolution in the way we game and the way we interact with gaming as a whole. Sadly, I seem to be in a bit of a minority; sales for the Wii U have been pretty soft … [Read more...]

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Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition – A Review by M

21 January 2013 by Leave a Comment
Cover of Romeo and Juliet: The Manga Edition

(Trigger warning: discussion of suicide in relation to the plot of Romeo and Juliet) Time for a bit of manga-style Romeo and Juliet! No, no, not THAT version of Romeo and Juliet… I’m pretty sure that has about as much relationship to the original text as I have to Marilyn Monroe. Today’s dabbling in the crossroads of bishoujo and the Bard comes from an American produced manga by Adam Sexton and Yali Lin, published by everyone’s favorite “WTF Shakespeare?” publisher, Cliffs’ … [Read more...]

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