Disney Animation Trifecta (Wall-E, Tangled, Frozen) [Movie Review]

Okay so my title image is not working out quite right. I probably need to
resize my site. That however is an issue for another day.

I said, last week, during my review of Wreck-it Ralph, that I was going to be doing a large animated movie review. I could have simply said I'd be reviewing a block of Disney films. I probably have not seen an animated Disney movie in theaters since... Pocahontas? Huzzah Amazon.

The Devil is a Part-Timer [Anime Review]

It has been a while since I've watched a dubbed anime series.
However I accidentally began watching this in English, and I always associate the first voice I hear with the character. I did check out the Japanese because I wanted to see if both the English and the Japanese language dubs had the same 'other world language.'

To Love Ru Darkness [Anime Review]

I'm actually shocked that a factoid about this anime escaped me. The name of the series, To Love Ru is actually the English word Trouble. ToRabuRu, right up there in hiragana, is the Japanese phonetic (is that the right word in this situation?) pronunciation of Trouble.

Dance in the Vampire Bund [Anime Review]

I watched this primarily because I had just recently picked up the manga in omnibus form, and found it to be amazing. Then I found the anime on sale, and this review is the inevitable result.

Simoun [Anime Review]

Simoun was a very different anime from a lot of what I've watched before. I've never watched a yuri series before. I have know for a long time about yuri and yaoi, but have never before seen a series dedicated to either genre. That was until I watched Simoun.

So I Can't Play H [Anime Review]

Some anime have titles that are really inaccurate, Attack on Titan's English title is pretty... miserable actually. Shingeki no Kyojin (進撃の巨人), or Titan's Advance, is so much more accurate. So I Can't Play H (だから僕は、Hができない, Dakara Boku wa, Ecchi ga Dekinai) is yet another series suffering from totally inaccurate titles.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia [Anime Review]

There are love stories.
There are love stories where the lovers stay together beyond the grave.
But there are very few love stories where the love is across the grave.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is one of these.

Darkness and Light.

The story begins at Seikyou Private Academy where Teiichi Niiya is a member of the schools Paranormal investigation club.


Seikyou Private Academy is an old school. But when the school grew and expanded, instead of knocking down the old buildings, they just added on. Now hallways turn in odd directions or simply end abruptly. Rooms have been lost. Such an old school has its fair share of ghost stories, so it makes sense for there to be a Paranormal Investigations club.


The benefit for the Paranormal Investigations club is that they have a ghost president. A literal ghost president.

The episode bumpers are quite cute.

Yuko Kanoe, the ghost president is actually the subject of many stories that circulate in the school, but in truth she is a normal (save for the being dead part) high school girl in love. Of course her past is a mystery and she cannot remember any of it. But that does not bother her.

It bother's Teiichi, and he seeks to find what has been lost for many many years.

How to greet in Japan (anime-style): Open palm, apply to breast.

That's the short and simple introduction to the story.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is a very good love story, mixed in with a touch of horror and a good dose of mystery, and just a touch of humor.

The story will span life and death. It will span decades and generations. It will delve into the light and the dark. It is a beautiful story. It is one of love, and one of loss. It is of seeking and finding and hiding.   

And the music. The music is excellent. I was shocked to see the Blu-ray came with 2 CD's but those are a welcome bonus. Listen.

I'm actually having trouble writing a long review because the story is so encompassing, and anything I might mention could be a spoiler. I really don't want to spoil anything. This is one worth seeing.

Dead or Alive, that's a look to speed up any man's heart.

So I'll have to make is short and sweet.


Tonikaku...


This is a really good love story. Is it as good Mysterious Girlfriend X? No... but really close. There are lots of stories were the love story is the side story, tacked on romances and the like. This is not one of those. The romance is central to the story, it is the real story.

4.0 Stars

A ghost dressed as a ghost, how surreal.

Time and Eternity [PS3]

Today I'm going to be reviewing a recent PS3 release; Time and Eternity.

The animation is VERY nice.

The game centers around a trio of main characters and begins on their wedding day. No, there is no mistake there. You see, and this is really not a spoiler, two the characters reside in the same body (it actually makes for one of the better mechanics of the game). Their names are Toki (時) and Towa (東和)... I'll give you until after the next line to guess what those names mean.

  Give up?

Clowns with sickles? At a wedding? How deviant!

I hope not.
They mean Time and Eternity.
Yes.

Ok, well lets get things rolling with a slightly better synopsis than that. I won't go too deep as usual, but give a brief overview of the introduction to the game, then we'll talk about mechanics.

You are the mascot character!

Time and Eternity begins the day before you and Toki (redhead above, in the foreground) are to get married. She is the princess of the kingdom and you are but a knight sworn to defend it. You've already got a house together and her three friends are over. Things happen, mostly they raz on you. 

Get used to this view.

The next day you are 'going to the chapel, and you are going to get married.' Or so you think. You and Toki give your vows, and just when you are about the kiss the bride a gang of assassins show up and cut you down. Of course you threw yourself infront of your bride, but still, you took a blade right in the chest.

Great. Game over man!

Or not.

3D landscapes + Cell-shaded Animation? Ok!

You see your bride can manipulate time. Or perhaps I should say your bride is Time (時 Toki). In a fit of panic over you bleeding out, she sends herself back 6  months. You go back too as your spirit is yanked along.

She goes back and ends up as her self, 6 months before you are going to get married. You... you get jammed into the body of her pet dragon, and you can't speak.

Let the hilarity begin.

It's a JRPG. There is a gallery. Unlock it!

 Time and Eternity is actually a pretty simple game when it comes down to it. I mean overly simple at times.

Skill Tree Example.

The game is super simple. You are given a quest, you complete it. Along the way there are monsters. Some quests are irritating, most are easy. Complete the quest get money and GP (gift points). These unlock new skills for Toki and Towa.

You will fight monsters along the way. These are either depressingly easy to defeat or unfathomably irritating. There is no middle ground. Every monster though is actually rather simple once you figure out its pattern. Every monster has a pattern; some complex, some super simple. Memorize, counter, kill. Kill the monsters, get XP, chronos (money), and a small amount of GP.

When you get enough XP you level up, and Toki becomes Towa. Level again and Towa becomes Toki. They each seem to have affinities for certain types of spells and certain styles of attack. Toki is the rifle user, Towa the knife. Both will use both as you fight, but the rifle seems to be used the most. However these weapons are nothing compared to spells. Spells deal far more damage far faster.

Thanks to the skill tree there is some customization that can occur, but not a lot. Customization allows you to max at 12 spells/abilities and a lot of passive skills. Many of the abilities are shared.

Now, just like Toki and Towa look the same (although for some reason switching souls swaps hair and eye color...) monsters look the same too. There might be two dozen monster templates in the game, tops.

Copypasta Monsters. The monster on the left is the same template as on the right.

So as you fight your way through the game you will run into Ninja Alpha, Ninja Beta, Ninja Delta... and so on. The same tactics employed vs Alpha will also kill Delta. Nothing new. Just stronger. Bloody Palette Swaps!

The odd battle style.

That's pretty much the mechanics of the game. No complex crating... oh, but there is a relationship bar. When Drake (you, the pet dragon) helps in battle by healing, and a few other things, Affection and love can increase. I honestly can't tell you what difference Love makes other than the kind of meal your current fiance will prepare for you. Why do I say that... well to see that you'll need to actually beat the game on your own. Essentially, you can see two of the three endings (not really much of a spoiler) from one play through no matter what the love level is. Just make sure to use multiple save slots (always a good idea in any RPG anyways). This helps fill out the gallery for all you Trophy seekers. 

I made sure to get every treasure chest and do every side quest my first time through, for the Trophies! Save the DLC ones. Not really sure if I want to drop more money on the game.

That being said, final review scores after the next image.

Fan Service, even in battle.

I'm going to do this somewhat differently than I reviewed Tomb Raider 2013. I'm not sure which method of review I like best yet. Give me some feedback.

Review Time:

Game Play: Simple combat, simple progression, no real challenge.

1.5 Stars

Graphics: Nice animation (with the oddity in conversations), nice 3D environs... don't quite mesh.

3 Stars

Story: Simple story. Lame jokes. And I met Ray Amuro, Lucy and Linus. Never thought I'd encounter a Gundam pilot with Peanuts characters. WHY?

2.5 Stars

Music/Sound: This is the winner. The music is really good. Nice wonderful songs. I know why it came with a CD. (So did Tales of Xilia... we'll see how that does.)

4.5 Stars

Overall: A bit of a let down. Will I do the second play through for the third ending? Probably. I'm that kinda person. Still there are some serious flaws that should have been addressed.

2.5 Stars

Mysterious Girlfriend X [Anime Review]