Escapist

Back from the dead

2011-03-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm not dead. I just haven't updated this blog or put out new cartoons or drawings for some time.

Why? Because real life happened. That's really all that needs to be said. Thankfully, I'm settling back into a routine and, as as soon as my usual laptop is fixed (I'm typing this from a relative's computer), I'll be back to work on Wario and Spacious.

In the meantime, if you were ever interested in the show Dragon Hunters I mentioned long ago, the whole series is now streaming on Netflix, available in a torrent floating around (Not linking that, but it should be easy to find), and someone is putting every episode up on Youtube, so you really have no excuse to give it a shot now if you're even slightly intrigued.

Also, of the last three movies I saw, Rango was really good, Mars Needs Moms was surprisingly decent, and Battle: Los Angeles was painfully dull. I'll be putting up more reviews at http://www.examiner.com/user-behonkiss in the future.

Back with a vengeance...and a rant about this year's bunch of animated movies.

2009-12-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yeah, for those who ever read this blog and still want to read it, I'm starting it up again. I haven't been having personal problems or anything preventing me from working on the blog, I just kind of forgot about it. But in any case, I'm going back to art school and working on a new Wario cartoon, so the Internet (and hopefully the animation industry) has not seen the last of me.

I'm updating this blog because I think there's something wrong with me. Anyone who knows me in real life knows how much I love cartoons. And last year I thought had two stellar animated films in WALL·E & Kung Fu Panda, with the latter becoming one of my all-time favorites. (Yes, I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda more than WALL·E. Deal with it.) Bolt wasn't half-bad either, despite all the behind-the-scenes turmoil it had.

So why has this year been so weird for me? You're probably expecting me to say that I hated most or all of the animated films I saw, but that's definitely not the case. Or you're expecting me to say that this was an absolutely stellar year for them, like many people are saying. That's not the case either.

Here's my weird thing: I've seen seven animated films this year (Probably a personal record), and I've had the same opinion about every one: Good. Not great. Not bad. Not mediocre. Good.

Let's take a look at my reasoning behind this:

Pixar's Up was easily the most critically successful animated movie of the year. People praised its heart and originality, citing the extremely emotional and touching first 10 minutes. So why is it that this emotion- Hell, this series of events that drives Carl's character- is thrown to the wayside for most of this movie in favor of wacky birds and talking dogs? Not to say that it isn't funny or entertaining (It's both), but really, this had so much more potential than what it ended up with. It's easily one of the "least good" Pixar films in my book- but that's still saying a lot with their standards. It's still a fun film.
Dreamwork's annual entry, Monsters VS Aliens, made a killing at the box office but didn't do so hot critically. I actually wasn't planning to see the film at all, feeling that aside from one funny bit, the trailer looked like crap. But my brother ventured to see it, enjoyed it, and convinced me to go see it. And you know what? It was actually pretty good. There are definitely some problems, such as some lame pop-culture jokes that fall flat and little character development outside of Susan/Ginormica, but it's a funny movie with some great action scenes. This is actually one that I would LIKE to see a sequel to, both because the movie itself hints at further adventures at the end and I feel like it would be a good opportunity to flesh out the other monsters, but it's not going to happen- Katzenberg said some crap about it disappointing overseas, even though it made like $300 million over here.

Along with a movie I'll get to later, Coraline was praised for fantastic visuals, a surprisingly dark plot, and keeping theatrical stop-motion movies alive. So why did I walk away from it just thinking, "Well, that was decent"? I can't really place what I did and didn't like about this movie, but I can't even call it forgettable because of some of the more memorable visuals (The disintegrating world at the end looked PHENOMONAL in 3D). It's good, and that's all there is to it.

Shane Acker's 9 was being praised before it even came out for its surprisingly dark atmosphere and story, but didn't do so well with critics or audiences when it finally got released. Some called it too bleak for its own good. Others felt there was too little character development. Others hated the ending. And yet I enjoyed it even with these faults. True, the characters weren't developed, but I felt like most of them (Outside of the mute 3 & 4) had some amount of personality. As for the ending, how else can you end a movie where mankind is already gone and the world has been destroyed? Again, I chalked this one up as decent.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs wasn't a critical success on the same level as, say, Up, but many people did indeed praise it- My favorite online movie reviewers, Spill.com, even gave it their coveted "Better Than Sex" rating, so I went in expecting something great. And yet, while I laughed, loved the visual style, and had a good time, I failed to see what makes this so phenomenal. Once again, good but not great. Seeing a pattern here?

I saw Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox opening weekend, and was apparently one of a select few, since it pretty much bombed. And it's a shame, because this is a fun and unique film- and yet again, not a great one. Much like its stop-motion sibling Coraline, I can say I certainly enjoyed it and can call it a good movie, but I can't quite place what held it back from greatness for me personally.

And finally, we have The Princess & The Frog, which I literally saw a few hours ago. Going in, I was realizing this was my last shot. Even if I hated this movie, it would at least differentiate from my opinions of everything else I've seen this year. Guess what I thought? It was good. I will say that I thought the first half-hour was great- The songs are awesome, the visuals are awesome, the pacing, the jokes, etc. But once Tiana and Naveen are both frogs and end up in the bayou, things slow down a little. The songs aren't as good, the visuals aren't as inventive, and the jokes aren't as frequent. The romance angle also felt underdeveloped- There were some very good scenes of the two coming to respect each other, including one with a cute payoff later in the film ("You minced!"), but I didn't buy Naveen falling for Tiana by the climax. And yet after all of this, I sound like I didn't like the film. Turns out I did- it just seemed like at the beginning it might be the standout animated movie this year instead of just being a good one.

My three favorite films this year are all live-action- Star Trek, District 9, and Where the Wild Things Are were all great. I don't know what all this says about me. I don't feel like my feeling on animation have changed at all- I still feel that there are an infinite amount of different ideas and concepts that can be done with it, and I feel confident that I'll see more films I love in the future. Yet why was I so middle-of-the-road this year? Many critics and filmgoers alike feel that this has been possibly one of the best years for animation ever, yet why can't I feel any emotion other than "That was pretty good" for these films? I might actually feel better if I had bashed 9 or Monsters VS Aliens like so many, but I felt much the same way about them as I did the other films. Here's to better luck next year.

P.S. Yeah, I didn't see Astro Boy, Planet 51, or Ice Age 3, but it sounds like I didn't miss much.

Rock Revolution- What's the point?

2008-07-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

We already have Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band for the complete virtual band experience, but Konami's trying to hop on the bandwagon with a crappy-looking knockoff that has no master tracks. Their E3 presentation did absolutely nothing to convince people of the game's merit (Watch to the end):

On a positive note, it was very smart of Activision to make the Rock Band instruments compatible with World Tour. Now I can pick up both.

O Canada

2008-07-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

AGH. Had most of this entry typed out and deleted it. Let's try this again.

Our trip to Canada has been a mixed bag so far. We started in Quebec, which is a fabulous city with European styled architecture, horse carts all around, street performers, and great shops and restaurants. Montreal, on the other hand, is a bore, simply because it's like any other U.S. city. Most of the places there are just like those you'd find in your neighborhood.

The good news is that tomorrow, we go to Ontario and pick up a pup! We're thinking about naming her Addy.

Hey readers.

2008-06-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

If anyone here is willing, would you be able to post in the comments how you found this blog? It'll help me in knowing how to promote it.

Hey Activision, Stop Playing Copycat

2008-06-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

To recap things: The company Harmonix developed Guitar Hero 1 and 2. Activision published them. MTV bought Harmonix away from Activision. Now Neversoft and Vicarious Visions develop Guitar Hero. Through EA, Harmonix made Rock Band, an expansion on the GH formula that added drums, bass and vocal playstyles.

Guitar Hero 4, or rather Guitar Hero: World Tour was recently announced, with the press release stating, "For the first time, guitar players can also play bass, play drums and sing vocals!"

Um.

It also seems that the controllers for each game may be incompatible with the other. In other word, you'd have to pay almost $400 if you wanted to play two songlist's worth of what is essentially the same game.

I have no plans to get World Tour but do plan to get Rock Band and its announced sequel. The only positive announcement has been Activision announcing the "Create-A-Song" feature for World Tour, giving players a music-making application and letting them upload their creations online for all to play. If Activision wants Guitar Hero to stay a viable property, they need to do more like this, and add unique and creative features that Rock Band didn't beat to the punch.

Kung Fu Panda, Number One Super Guy

2008-06-13T09:05:00.001-07:00

When I saw the trailer for Kung Fu Panda in the theater, I rolled my eyes. I turned to my sister next to me (She's 11) and said it looked like crap. She agreed wholeheartedly. In fact, it becamse a running gag between us over the next couple of months, ie, "Kung Fu Panda, MOVIE OF THE YEAR!" every time we saw a mention of it. And then it came out, and people started to go crazy over it. So we went and ate our words.

This is a good movie. The humor doesn't have any soon-to-be-dated pop culture references that I caught, there's some good elements to the story (A villain with a REASON for his ambitions?!), and a surprisingly authentic Asian look to the whole thing. The action sequences make the movie. The most stunning scene to me involves a prison escape, and all I'll say about the craziest shot is that it involves lots and lots of arrows. There are also some neat looking 2D sequences at the beginning and end, the former of which is super-stylized and could hold a movie on its own.

I'd actually recommend this not just to cartoon fans and kids but fans of martial arts films, because they got the Crouching Tiger-style fighting down pat. The only real bad news about the film's success is that Stephen Katzenberg is hoping to make not one, or two, but FIVE sequels. I smell some crap headed our way if they try to rush these out.

User-made content: The next step in rhythm games?

2008-03-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Let's do a review.

Stepmania is a still-thriving Dance Dance Revolution PC clone, with the ability for users to take their own MP3s and make custom levels based around them. Osu! does the same with the Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents playstyle, and Frets on Fire with Guitar Hero.

On the professional side, Phase, from Harmonix (the same people who brought us Guitar Hero and Rock Band) automatically analyzes your songs to make a game that is essentially a simplified version of their premier series for your iPod. Beats does the same for the PSP. As does Audiosurf for the PC.

Combine this with dozens of amateur Flash games, and it becomes obvious that music games supplied by the input of the masses is getting big. And the next big step may come with Rock Band, as a Harmonix rep has mentioned that they are interested in a similar system being released for the game at some point.

In other words, get those MP3s, check these programs out, and have fun making your own levels.

Genius Party

2008-02-15T19:55:00.001-08:00

The fairly new (It's been out in Japan for a few months) anime anthology Genius Party made its US premiere at the Kennedy Center a few hours ago, and I was lucky enough to be there. Shinichiro Watanabe (AKA director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and the detective segment of The Animatrix), who directed the last segment, showed up and talked about the film before the screening, with the help of a translator. I grinned like crazy when, instead of exiting the room, he went and sat down three seats next to me and watched with the rest of us.

Genius Party is a treat. It is a great display of creativity and variety, in the vein of classics like Robot Carnival. I have a feeling that whenever the U.S. is able to get a widespread look at it (either through limited release or a DVD), it will be quite popular. Now for a look at each short and my thoughts:

Genius Party (Intro Short)
An abstract and engaging short. A field full of head-shaped rocks, many glowing hearts, and an odd-looking bird at the beginning make up a barely cohesive story, but the visuals and music are compelling, getting more and more intense as it goes on.

Shanghai Dragon
A shy, bullied little boy finds solace in chalk doodling on the walls and floors, and everything changes when he discovers an odd glowing pen that makes everything he draws a reality. But this is not an unexplained mystical object- it's a secret weapon developed by a far-off alien planet at war, and it must be recovered before the enemy gets it first.

This is definitely one of the better shorts. It is engaging, gorgeous, funny, and fast-paced, with some amazing action sequences and clever visuals. The ending, though, feels a little abrupt.

Deathtic 4
The only short done in 3D CGI, and the visual style is perfect for it. In a bizarre gothic world of zombies and odd creatures that feels like the lovechild of Tim Burton and Jhonen Vasquez, a zombie boy leaves for school only to be shocked by a frog falling out of the sky- not just any frog, but one that's actually alive. He discovers a team of three misfits who know of a way to return the frog to its own world, and they set out on a wacky ride in a shopping cart while chased by small red policemen who talk through cans that make cow noises and ride tricycles. (No joke.)

A definite favorite, the visual design is excellent and the overall short very engaging and funny, despite a few fart jokes. If the characters were ever to be merchandised, Hot Topic would be all over them.

Door Bell
The middle of the road short, both in order and quality. A young Japanese man inexplicably has a double come out of him, who begins to take over his life by somehow causing him to vanish from sight and sound for his family and friends. Eventually, he is still able to contact her girlfriend, and heads to her in hopes that the double will not beat him there.

After the craziness of the previous shorts, this one is down to earth despite the odd story. There's nothing that stands out about it, but it's an entertaining diversion and a fun watch overall. Not so much...

Limit Cycle
A guy who seems to be a living hologram stands still and looks around as random people and computerized images dance around him, while monolouging endlessly about God, the soul, technology, and other stuff. There is no true plot to the short.

This is junk. There is not much to gain from the dialogue, which is more pretentious than insightful, and the image rush soon becomes repetitive. It's a real chore to sit through, but thankfully it's the only stinker in the bunch.

Happy Machine
Though also abstract and with very little plot, Happy Machine avoids the problems of Limit Cycle and focuses on visual wonders and little else. A baby is inexplicably in a room where he is nursed by a robot made of monitors displaying a live action girl, but that breaks down, and the room soon falls apart. The baby finds himself in a bizarre world, sparse and stylized. He curiously explores the world, making friends with creatures and discovering new and exciting things.

Entertaining and endearing, the baby is both animated and voiced in a very appealing manner, and you grow to care for the creatures he befriends as well. Though the animation style is simplistic, a lot of emotion is brought out of it, not to mention a creature walk straight out of a 1920s 'rubber hose' cartoon. The ending is ambiguous, but not in a sense that will make the viewer feel cheated and abruptly cut off.

Baby Blue
Feeling ambitious, a male student decides to skip school and invites a friend who is a girl to wander about the city for the day. They screw up a subway trip and have to get home the long way, and some interesting events happen that result in both their return home and a last conversation that reveals a bit more of their personal lives and feelings for each other.

Watanabe described Baby Blue before the movie with a single phrase, "Genius Party is a feast, and you can consider Baby Blue the dessert."The final segment stands out in that it is the only completely down-to-earth segment in a movie dominated by the fantastic, but this does not have an effect on its quality. Character and vehicle animation is very nice, the voice acting is great, and Watanabe's directing style shines through. My only real gripe with the film is that it feels like it saves all of the character development until the end, but it still manages to have a touching final scene.

Overall, I highly recommend seeing Genius Party whenever you get the chance. It is not limited to anime fans in terms of enjoyment, as it also can appeal to arthouse film fans, artists in general, and probably stoners. Go see it.

Sony Defense Force- One of the greatest comedy blogs ever

2008-01-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

I don't think there's anyone who visits Sony Defense Force and not think it's run by Sony themselves. And if it actually isn't, then it's by someone hilariously insane. An example of their stuff that makes the rounds on various sites:

Overall, to say Mario Galaxy is a disaster is an understatement. If you’re an easily amused child with a hard-on for nostalgia, pick up Mario Galaxy. Otherwise, if you’re an intelligent gamer that is interested in a real videogame experience, pick up a Playstation 3 and have a turn at Uncharted, easily this year’s best.

Short Circuit 2: The Comedy Series

2008-01-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

I've never even seen the Short Circuit movies, though I've seen enough bits and pieces to get the idea, and yet this absolutely cracks me up. A lot of foul language is ahead.

The single goriest movie ever?

2007-12-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

If someone knows of anything more gruesome and gory than the anime Genocyber (not in a disgusting way like some ridiculous form of porn), I'd like to see it. Obviously, this video is for mature audiences only.

Podcasts worth your time (If you're a geek)

2007-11-04T02:55:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Movie EVER!- Gooberzilla and Co. have fun discussing various cult films, B-movies, and anything that can fit the podcast's title, along with some earning the title of Worst Movie EVER. Good for anyone who enjoys popcorn-type flicks.

Movies You Should See- A bunch of Brits who know their movies discuss their favorite movies, both recent and old. They are very well educated in their knowledge of the medium, so that any type of movie lover can enjoy them.

Scene Unseen- A podcast reviewing recent movies, with a twist: One cohost sees the movie, while the other doesn't. This works very well.

Channel Frederator- Very well-known, and for good reason. A showcase for indie animators to show their stuff, and there is tons of quality and creativity to find.

Play Value- A videocast that has similar vibes of Icons on G4, except much more professional and informative. Great info on the history of the video game industry.

Anime World Order- I haven't been into anime much lately, but this is still a great show. The three cohosts often review older and/or more obscure things, which makes for much better entertainment than "HERES WHAT HAPPND IN BLEACH TODAY GUYS". They are also very, very funny.

Fast Karate for the Gentlemen- Also anime, but not as devoted- these guys often talk about why they hate the title, also discuss gaming just as much, and basically sit around going off on crazy tangents that are fun to listen to, regardless of your interests.

Worst Movie Ever!- The polar opposite of Greatest Movie EVER- kind of. They do have a tradition where they discuss a bad movie in the later parts of each show, but the first parts are reviews of newer movies and discussion on industry news.

Beautiful Katamari: A haiku

2007-11-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Best music in the
series, yet most guys hate it.
I have crappy taste.

Baby steps across the room...baby steps out the door...

2007-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Two noteworthy for me things have happened in the past two weeks. The first is that I've made money and shared some of my art. Namely, a simple Chupacabra sculpture that a guy replacing my windows really liked. The second is that I've gotten involved in a real animation production a group of fellow college students are working on, one that will actually qualify for a resume spot and portfolio. Basically, it's an environmental short about littering and contaminating animal habitats that also has Teddy Roosevelt in it for whatever reason. I'm currently doing ink and paint, with a very talented roommate of mine doing some of the sketches. (Hopefully I can find a site with some of his drawings sometime.)

Regarding games, it's a real shame that Donkey Kong Baarrel Blast has turned out so horribly. I was hoping for a decent DK game or Mario Kart substitute for the Wii, but it's total crap. Hopefully something along the lines of the Country trilogy or Jungle Beat will come out in time, just like how I'm still waiting for a Rayman game that's an actual action-adventure with fantasy elements. (NERD RAGE GRR)

And a word of warning: Don't try Dragon Blade for the Wii. I rented it out of curiousity, and it's the worst game I've played for the system so far. The developers set out to make a God of War-type game, but everything is so half-hearted and unpolished that it feels like an indie student project.

Do try Phantom Hourglass, though. I didn't care much for it at first, but a little while in it really takes off. There are nice uses of both the two screens and the stylus, and sidequests like treasure hunting are very addicting. I wish they hadn't incorporated repetitive stealth bits, though.

Also, a solemn farewell to Bobobo. I don't have any reason to watch Toonami for now.

Hey Nintendo, keep doing this

2007-10-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

In fact, Sony and Microsoft should take notes as well.

Nintendo's just released the Nintendo 64 game Sin & Punishment on the Virtual Console. The point? This game has never been released out of Japan before, despite having all-English dialogue and no reliance on text for playing it.

This has opened up the long talked about possibility of putting untranslated and unreleased titles on the Virtual Console. Mother 3 and Star Fox 2, perhaps?

So that's what dehydration feels like.

2007-09-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's not pleasant.

I made some big mistakes today. First, I skipped breakfast. Soon after, I decided to go out for a bike ride in the 90-degree weather without water. I proceeded to bike uphil for half an hour, saw a yard sale, and went in to check it out. 3 minutes later, my sight grew dim, my body went numb, I fell down, and the next minute was a blur of muddled memories as my body began to be wracked by aches and nausea. I was fortunate enough to be seen by the friendly couple running the sale, who proceeded to sit me down on their stairs in the shade, rest, and get some water.

For the next 5 minutes, the pain continued, as I drifted between consciousness and half-consciousness, a feeling difficult to describe due to it being so rare for me. I was telling them thank you and that I would probably be fine in a moment, but on the inside I was terrified- Having never experienced severe dehydration or heatstroke, I was honestly worried I could be dying or affected by this somehow. Eventually the pain subsided, I was able to rest peacefully, and a relative was called to drive me home.

This was a scary experience, due to my inexperience and how out of nowhere it was. I owe a lot to the couple, and things have returned to normal very quickly. From now on, I will be sure to eat all three of the day's major meals, avoid nonstop uphill bike rides, and bring water on especially hot days. Anybody who doesn't do those regularly should take note.

Sorry that I didn't talk about cartoon or some geeky topic this time. This was just something that I'll probably recall vividly for some time.

Joining the Buy Zack & Wiki Campaign!

2007-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

When I first heard about Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbados' Treasure for the Wii, I was intrigued by the idea of a point and click adventure made ground up for the system. After seeing this video, I've gotten very excited. One of the big selling points of the game is playing it as a group and figuring puzzles out together, which is much easier to do around a TV than a computer monitor. The colorful and appealing art style will also help grab different people.

If you're dying for a new adventure game or something to play on the Wii in October, look into this. At least give it a rental.

The madness of Otakon, Pt. 1

2007-07-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

Funny thing: my trip to Otakon was totally last-minute. I ran into a friend at the beginning of the school year (Year-round scheduling), and while catching up, she briefly mentioned going to it. I don't keep track of cons, didn't know it was so soon and so close, and wanted to try something new. It's only the second con I've ever been to (First was Katsucon '05, working at the booth for the store I was working for at the time), so I was still a novice to how everything worked.

Highlights:

-I don't know if I'd call the registration line a highlight, but it was memorable. The length was crazy: Across the street connecting the buildings, a huge loop in the opposite direction of the entrance then back, and hot weather with many people in thick suits. Some people were crafty enough to sell water. I spotted many memorable costumes, best of all a guy in full Spartan warrior gear walking down the middle of the loop for pictures. I got one, but like the others, it still needs to get developed.

-Many incredibly huge and creepy/handicapped-looking people. A guy behind me at one panel seemed to have four chins, and there were several points where I literally gagged while walking past certain people and catching a whiff of them.

-I spent a lot of the day walking around, trying to figure the layout of the building and where everything was. It was very confusing trying to get to the dealer's room, and it wasn't open immediately, resulting in long lines at the start.

-The dealer's room seemed decent, but there was a lot of identical merchandise at various places. I ending up getting Bobobo, Genshiken and Harlock DVDs, I Feel Sick, a Golgo 13 manga, a Mario mushroom phone strap, and best of all, a Robot Carnival cel, which inspired me to go make a topic about it. I ended up visiting a booth solely devoted to doujin, which had a section that was allegedly tradition shonen-based stuff. I looked at the first three, almost immediately found a topless Winry on a cover, and left.

-The Steve Blum line was a disaster. I got there a half hour early, sat in front of the door, was told that it was moved to another area, got in the closest line, was told 10 minutes later that it was for Vic Mignogna, moved into the real line, stood there for 20 minutes with very little movement, and a rep finally came out and said that everyone who hadn't got a reservation ticket had to leave. Some of this was my fault, but they could have tried to say that sooner. I heard that he might come back tomorrow, though.

-The Michael Sinterniklaas made up for that in spades. Due to traffic, he was 15 minutes late, but he felt so bad that he decided to make it up to the crowd by throwing change and pins into the crowd, and offering us to come up and get some of his gum. The guy was an absolute riot- Very friendly, enthusiastic, and funny. He had many funny stories and info about his time in the industry (Including the time when he first entered the VA business, and got a warning from his boss that he'd be stuck voicing hentai if he did badly). There was naturally a lot of Venture Bros. talk, along with two girls dressed as Triana and Dr. Girlfriend. The most memorable quote had to be him talking about times where he had to read a line without knowing the context of it in the script: "Grab hold of that shiny metal ding-dong!" This got a huge laugh, and when the time came for autographs, I had him sign my Venture Bros. Season 2 set with that, and a regular signature on Season 1. I also caught the second half of Stephanie Sheh's Q&A because I didn't have much else to do (She was under the alias of Jennifer Sekiguchi for some reason, probably union-related), and while I'm not a big watcher of most of the things she's involved in, she had some neat stories and answers, and belched into the mic in the middle of a question.

-One oddly funny event did happen to me in the Steve Blum line. The guy next to me was dressed as a Bleach character, and as we struck up a chat, he showed me some pretty bad Jhonen Vasquez ripoff stick figure comics he did (One of them was almost completely a copy of the toilet bit from Squee), and showed me a picture of Orihime he had Stephanie Sheh sign. What was the memorable moment of this whole talk was what he told me he said to her: "Orihime is a goddess, and you're the one who gives her life." Maybe the other way around, but still just as weird. (If you ever read this, sorry, guy. You were cool otherwise)

-Geneon's screening room showed the first four episodes of Dragon Hunters, covered in a previous blog entry. The bad news is that it was the rather lousy first episode, and it was the only one I could see before Sinterniklaas' panel started. I ended up leaving early, and I only hope the viewers stuck it out to the better episodes (And didn't get pissed that it wasn't anime).

-All sorts of crazy cosplay. I got a Kodak instant camera and won't be able to see everything for a while, but I remember a Spartan warrior, a female Prince of All Cosmos, several guys dressed as V, many, many Kingdom Hearts characters, SO I HERE YOU LIEK MUDKIPS, a 'Ph3r-bot' made entirely of cardboard, and a terrifying blue moogle complete with snout, which is going straight into my nightmares and leads into this.

Courtesy of HedgeHodge from Something Awful:

I couldn't think of anything clever, so I simply said to him, "So, you're a gay furry?" He looked at me, but didn't respond.

Looking forward to Day 2. Hoping I'll see some of you guys and the friend who told me about the con.

So.

2007-06-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Out of both nostalgic interest and boredom, I watched Ferngully for the first time in 15 years. I had never had strong feelings one way or the other about it as a kid, and now, I find the backgrounds and some of the soundtrack to be nice, but everything else rather blah. One thing struck me, however: It's one of the most opinionated and ridiculously preachy movies ever, animated or otherwise.

If you haven't seen the movie, the rainforest (LAST rainforest? The hell?) is portrayed as a mystical utopian wonderland with lush vegetation, crystal clear rivers, and magic all around. And then the villains- Two dumpy, stupid lumberjacks using A GIANT MACHINE OF DOOM to cut trees, and some evil spirit of destruction who's basically a living glob of oily goo- come in. The lumberjacks aren't really given the clearest of intentions aside from, "cut down absolutely everything and leave desolation behind". Forgive me for arguing, but I don't think the industry works that way- they're a bit more selective about what to cut down and try not to destroy everything willy-nilly. Don't get me wrong, this has been proven to be harmful in the long run, but they try to be careful about it.

Also, the rainforest is not a utopia. The South Park guys' opinion is the polar opposite of Ferngully- they have an episode where it's portrayed as a hellhole of snakes, giant bugs, and cannibals. I don't base my life around these guys' opinions and am against quite a few of them (No proof of global warming exists at all? Michael Jackson was framed?), they raise some points. The rainforest is not a good place for a person to live in, but it is an ecosystem important for many species.

This got me thinking about other things TV and movies seem to want us to believe are the absolute truth. Here are some of them:

All lawyers are evil, money-hungry liars. These guys do a lot of good for people, and almost all of them are honest and hard-working. At least we have Harvey Birdman and Phoenix Wright.

Parents are stupid. This is especially evident in children's entertainment. It really would be nice to see stuff more often with parents who have at least the same intelligence as their children, as stuff like The Incredibles shows that it adds some good dynamics and dialogue.

All gay men are fruity, girly sissies and all lesbians are fat, ugly and butch. Huh?

And now for something you've never heard about

2007-03-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

If you're someone who's actually kept an eye on this blog, I'm both surprised and a bit thankful. Sorry I've been neglecting it as of late, but I've got plenty of stuff to talk about now.

The show I'm about to discuss is something I'd be willing to bet money you've never heard of if you're American. However, it's apparently pretty popular in Germany, Arabic countries and France (Its country of origin), and possibly Canada. Not sure. In the U.S, however, it has never really gotten a chance.

The show goes by the name of Dragon Hunters (Les Chasseurs de Dragons originally), and is a fantasy-adventure mix. Taking place in a world made of numerous floating islands (Think Skyland, only good), it usually focuses on a team of three: Lian Chu, the muscle, Gwizdo, the diminuitive negotiator, and Hector, a tamed dragon and assistant. The world they live in has dragons of many varieties scattered throughout it, and they are a common problem for people trying to make a living. Our heroes go about looking for bounties and people in peril, slay the dragon/s, and collect their reward (Sometimes- the show reminds me of Cowboy Bebop in that the guys rarely manage to get cash for their efforts.) The three take up residence as tenants at The Snoring Dragon Inn, a restaurant and lodge run by a portly brunehilde-type named Jennyline and her young daughter Zaza.

One thing notable about this show, and one of its greatest strengths, is the character of Gwizdo. Whoever translated the scripts to English (As well as Rick Jones, his voice actor) did a great job. The guy is a total penny-pincher, coward, and sneak- but it's all pulled off in a way that makes him funny. His dialogue is very natural and often funny- there are very few times where he does stuff that seems out of character. The other two hunters have their merits. Lian Chu, despite being a hulking warrior, spends most of his time knitting and playing with Zaza, and Hector spends a lot of time panicking and speaking pidgin English.

This show has some nice backgrounds. The concept of floating islands is one that I've always liked, and this show does them nicely. They're of all shapes and sizes, and while most of them only serve as scenery, they do a good job of giving the show some atmosphere. When the hunters are on land, the landscapes look very nice and appealing as well.

What keeps me from heralding the show as a true gem is the side characters. The leads are designed and voiced very nicely, but I can't say the same for most of the others- they often look ugly or simply unappealing (Is this a French thing? No offense.), and while the French version might be another story, most of the English actors used for them are awful- apparently the dubbers felt that the main characters should be the only real priority, as they're well-voiced.

Also, this is not a show where you're guaranteed good writing with every episode- there are many well-done ones, but there are also some total duds. Plus, the show has a tendency to do the completely awful "lame joke that everyone laughs at for 30 seconds fade out okay" shtick that wasn't funny when it started in the 70s and isn't funny now.

The reason I'm willing to bet that American cartoon fans haven't heard of this is because Cartoon Network, being the trainwreck they are today, totally botched their plans for it. Originally, they showed it for about a month on Saturday mornings in early 2006 with no promotion other than a 5-second bit in a single commercial for the block it was in, and it was unceremoniously pulled after that, randomly put in months later, than pulled again after two weeks. Whether it was because of ratings or the network just didn't like the show, I'm not sure. But maybe if they had actually made people more aware of its existence, and maybe put it on a prominent block like Toonami or Miguzi, it would be a different story. As it is, the only way Americans can watch the show now is CN's online on-demand service, which will require a PC located in the U.S.

So go give this show a try, as you've got nothing to lose. If you like what you see, Geneon has released a couple of DVDs in all of North America that can easily be obtained through online retailers. Give it a chance- broadcasters certainly haven't.

Gaming in 2006

2006-12-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

Highlights:

Everything Telltale Games did in 2006- What a turnabout. After a shitty first entry, the sequel to Bone added some real meat to the gameplay and resulted in a satisfying adventure. Sam and Max have been even better.

Elite Beat Agents- EBA/Ouendan is the best handheld game since WarioWare. This is the kind of game the DS was made for.

Viva Pinata- I only bought it because I'm a Rare devotee and expected it to just be decent, but it's their best game in years. Shame it's not selling well.

Saints Row- It may be wrong to many, but I enjoyed this game much more than any GTA. It fixed a lot of gripes I've had with the series, and I got totally sucked in. Here's hoping Rockstar takes some advice from this game.

Tomb Raider Legend- A bit on the short side, but very fun, atmospheric, and involving. The first Tomb Raider I ever played to the end.

Kirby Squeak Squad- I was hesitant to play this after seeing many so-so reviews, but it's turned out to be great. It got the essence of Super Star's gameplay much better than the GBA titles, and has a ton of unlockables.

Daxter- The best PSP title of 2006, and better than any of its PS2 brethren. Pure platforming goodness.

Letdowns:

Dead Rising- Clunky, frustrating controls and game structure. There are glimpses of something great in this, but it never gets to come all the way out.

Gears of War- Maybe it's just because FPSs aren't my favorite, but other than the pretty graphics, I saw nothing special about this game. Give me Unreal Tournament any day, Epic.

Rayman Raving Rabbids- Michel Ancel finally came back to the Rayman franchise. This was the chance for another classic platformer. But then he played the Wii and decided to make a Mario Party clone.

Children of Mana- It wouldn't be hard to make another Mana game that actually played like Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. It also wouldn't be hard to make it online. So how come they don't?

In between:

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess & Kingdom Hearts II- Neither of these blew away my expectations or went under them. They just delivered the goods, and I had fun.

Calm down, morons

2006-09-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

The amount of whiners I'm seeing regarding the Wii's U.S. release date (Nov. 19th) and price ($250) is bordering on excruciating. While all these guys have a right to complain, they're griping about how it is launching a few days after the PS3, which is odd since they've been shitting on that system and shouldn't care about it. And the price? Nintendo had said many, many times it would be "no more than $250", and a rule of business is that the maximum promised price is likely the closest to the final one.

I just wanted to get that off my chest quickly. There are some really idiotic posts I've been seeing.

Character Test 1

2006-09-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

The first batch of basic poses for some of the main characters in my next series. They're still going to be tweaked here and there, and the one on the very right is actually a one-time-only pose that won't be seen often.

If the Wii's release date isn't announced during this Thursday/Friday batch of press conferences, I'm going to get a bit nervous.

New Stuff

2006-09-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Despite how this has looked throughout summer, I haven't totally forgotten about this blog. College has just gotten in the way of things.

Besides working on Wario Ware Tooned 5, I've started work on an entirely original Flash 'pilot' that I intend to expand into a series. Scriptwriting and casting is done, and character designs are nearly finished and just being polished a bit. I'm trying to come up with a better style for backgrounds- possibly have everything handdrawn in Photoshop and imported in as picture files. Because I'm alternating between both of them, WWT5 will probably take a while to be released, but only about 20 people really seem to care so it won't affect the Internet as a whole.

Random game note: Star Fox Command is actually very addicting and is a worthy entry in the series. It makes up for Assault and almost for Adventures, but the fanbase will have to fix their own problems.

The plague of Kiddy Sidekick Syndrome

2006-06-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I found out that a fair amount of time in the live-action Michael Bay Transformers movie coming out next year would be dedicated to human characters, played by Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voight among others. While the director alone was enough to get my hopes lowered, finding this out dashed almost all my interest in seeing this upon release. Kiddy Sidekick Syndrome has claimed another victim in American cinema.

KSS is a common disease in Japan. Symptons include the following: An adaptation or new iteration of an established franchise, be it a TV revamp or an anime series based on a video game; a completely new child character, often announced out of the blue following initial press releases or with no announcements at all; and said child character proceeding to fuck things up by having plodding subplots, needless focus, and a tendency to get in the way of things and attempt to make the viewer forget what the show is based upon.

Famous franchises such as Sonic, Kirby, Viewtiful Joe and Gundam have fallen prey to this baffling disease, and Transformers was once afflicted previously with Armada. The cause of KSS is still unknown, as no people seem to want these kids to exist, and they tend to turn viewers off. Some theorize that executives and writers may be the root of the disease, and hopefully these can be sterilized in the near future. Until then, look for more signs of KSS in future shows and avoid them.

If anyone reading this cares, Wario Ware Tooned 4 has been finished for a while and can be viewed here:
Part 1
Part 2

Things that need to change in animation

2006-05-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

American theatrical features need to stop being so formulaic. In the 1990s, everyone made musicals just because Disney did it well. These days, everybody makes CG silly animal-populated movies full of fart jokes because Pixar made some.

Maybe the kids like these now, but these movies will prove to be very forgettable and never get so much as a nostalgic mention from them when they're older. They offer very little outside of what is hip and flashy at the moment, and rely more on endless promotional tie-ins than good writing for high box-office. The sad thing is that this is unlikely to change, as this is pretty much the way Hollywood has always worked.

American TV animation needs to have less corporate intrusion. People who know little about the art are responsible for what gets made and what gets passed on, and the amount of stuff that will never see the public's eyes is countless compared to what tripe does get put on. Executives are terrified of shows that dare people to actually think to understand a joke, or have a well-done action scene that they're too scared to spend the money for a new surround sound system on. It is purely business to them, as opposed to a creative field.

The Japanese industry has these same problems and then some. A lot of disturbingly perverted jokes get on the air, and I don't just mean the normal big-breast stuff- there's a lot of bizarre loli stuff going on over there. Apparently these are too big a part of the crazy Japanese culture to go away completely, but the amount of shows that revolve completely around it is mind-boggling, not to mention embarrassing to those who enjoy anime but hate fanservice.

Also, no country should ever try and emulate an anime style in their show if it's made outside of Japan. There's just nothing good that can come from that.

On Family Guy 2.0 and sucking

2006-04-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Family Guy sucks. Or rather, Family Guy 2.0 does.

See, the show, as of its miraculous fourth-season-and-beyond renewal, is not the same beast it once was. Wether it be the new writers, the amount of time the veteran writers have been working on other stuff, or the reasons I will list below, it has changed for the worse. It is still technically Family Guy, but it's a new version. A 2.0. And as many will say, an upgrade does not always mean better performance.

Family Guy has always had a high amount of non-sequitor cutaways and flashbacks. Anyone who denies that is mixed up. But that doesn't excuse 2.0for absolutely skyrocketing their rate of appearance. Not only that, but they have leaned less toward being funny and clever and more towards being straightforward nostalgic bits for children of the 80s. And when I say straightforward, I am being literal- many of the pop-culture references play themselves completely straight with no joke other than the fact that so-and-so is randomly appearing. I never thought I'd say this, but Robot Chicken is coming up with more clever nostalgia-based jokes than Family Guy now. And that is not a good thing.

Hey, look, it's Evil Monkey! He's funny, right? Well, not after whoring him out so that he now appears in every other episode instead of every 10-15 or so. Not only that, but 2.0 has inexplicably decided to ressurect one-joke characters who never made additional appearances before and beat them into the ground. Herbert the pedophile. Greased-up Deaf Guy. The vaudeville players. And so on. And this is in exchange for Joe and Cleveland's sons vanishing without a trace. Smooth move.

When the writers run out of stock characters and references to use for jokes, they do the cheapest thing they can think of: drag a scene out endlessly with endless "Ummmmm....."s and "......Huh....."s. These scenes are not just torture; they're insulting.

I never thought I'd be analyzing Family Gut's plots, but there is no longer any effort put into them. The last new episode that I will watch for now went like this:

- Peter starts publishing erotica with funding from Lois's dad, who gets sued and loses all his money due to the books.
- Without any mention of the erotica, things turn into a sketch show of sorts as Peter and Carter go through various wacky (And very, very drawn-out) sketches to earn money.
- In the last 40 seconds of the show, Lois's mom, who married Ted Turner, walks in and says she earned half his money from divorcing him. The end.

Also, at 3 random points, there are scenes of Stewie doing Olympic training. There is no setup for this, and no real resolution. It's there, once again, just to pad time- they had the material but didn't bother writing an episode to fit it in.

So in the end, Family Guy is now just a vehicle. A vehicle for worn-out characters and catchphrases, old cartoon references for those who don't know better to laugh at, and characters who show off little of their old personalities. But Seth MacFarlane and company could hardly care. They get paid, so what difference does it make? God forbid they try and make something worth watching.

Something to think about and someone to remember

2006-03-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened today while I was in the supermarket parking lot. A haggard but friendly-looking man approached me near my car, and explained that he was just laid off from his job and was scrambling to get $115 to pay his rent, and was looking for donations. Because I'm a horribly compassionate person when it comes to this kind of story, and because I had just bought Kingdom Hearts 2 the day before (Great game, by the way) and had no must-buy-right-away items, I pulled out $10 and wished him luck.

Now, this man could have very easily been a liar and a con. He also could have easily planned to grab my wallet when I pulled it out. He didn't do the latter, and I'll never be able to disprove the latter. And yet I did what I felt was right because of both the situation and my conscience. If there was so much as the chance that I was really helping someone in need, I hopefully did the right thing. What would you do?

On a much, much, sadder note, tomorrow is going to be a very tough day. Sometime before 10 AM, Nellie, our beloved golden retriever of almost 10 years, will be put to sleep to end her sad battle with cancer. This is a sorrowful and tough experience, no doubt, but I am at least looking on the positive aspects, such as the fact that Nellie has lived a long and happy life, given and recieved much love, and is promised that the last thing she sees will be me holding her and telling her how much I love her.

1996-2006

NINTENDO SIXTY-FOOOOOOOOOUR!!!!!!

2006-03-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

NOW WE CAN RENT GAMES FROM BLOCKBUSTER!

A tote bag of miscellaneous ramblings

2006-03-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

3 AM, work tomorrow morning, and still not sleepy. Curse you, Sunkist, for making your orange soda so tasty.

Something that I didn't elaborate on in my admittedly crazy post on games and animation as art was that something that is still holding games back from being truly immersive is the ever-elusive goal of attaining total immersion. By this, I mean how there is still much fine-tuning to be done in games to make them look less glitchy and more realistic. I'm still seeing cinema scenes where character's heads clip through their collars. As smart as ragdoll physics are, there are still many incidents with them that make deaths look just silly. And, of course, there's the immortal problem of a lot of dialogue being given looped body animations and flapping mouths instead of lip sync. Wether or not this problem will ever become much less noticeable really depends on how much the industry grows and how much time and money a company is willing to spend.

But enough rambling. Let's talk about stuff everyone else cares about.

While I attempt to get the hang of Ghost Recon on the 360 (my first go at trying a realistic squad-based game), I am getting hooked on the newly-released Arcade game Astropop. The visuals and soundtrack are very slick, and the gameplay structure is both very original and challenging. And while many puzzle games offer different playable characters, this is one where the one you play as actually makes a difference- all four characters have different special attacks to charge up that can blow up blocks in an emergency. The game has also been out on the original Xbox's Arcade and the PC, so go try out a demo.

In making Wario Ware Tooned 4, I am continually frustrated by my utter inability to make decent-looking backgrounds. I've basically been forced to stick with stylistic UPAish stuff because I can't do any better- perspective and I have a long and bitter history. On the other hand, the episode is shaping up to be better-written and better-paced, and once again co-written by the very funny Sean of kisland.net. Still no clue of the release date, as not even all the voice recording is done.

I finally got around to purchasing Laputa/Castle in the Sky, and it is still my favorite Miyazaki movie. So I am excited that it will finally get some real nationwide exposure by airing on Toonami next Saturday. If you haven't seen this movie but like any sort of animation, or film in general, watch this. It is perfectly paced, genuinely exciting, and skillfully animated. The only problem is the English dub, something even Mark Hamill couldn't save.

There's a small fortune to be made cleaning out your shelves for eBay selling.

A plea to all those involved with Futurama

2006-03-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Please, if there's a possibility that the show will be revived with new episodes, DVD movies or whatever, do not go around telling everyone until it's going to happen. Yesterday, Billy West said the next season was almost ready to start production- then retracted it today. This is at least the fourth time this has happened, and many fans are being let down hard by all the false alarms.

Let's get something out of the way

2006-03-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

In your typical elitist animation geek's blog, and especially in any gamer's blog, there seems to be a topic that pops up frequently: The argument over wether these fields should ascend to the ranks of painting, film, literature, and so forth, to be considered legitimate art forms by the public.

And so I'll just go and say: Why the hell not?

In their early years, it would be hard to classify either field as art. And yet animation managed to make itself stand out in its infancy with Winsor McCay's famous short/performance, Gertie the Dinosaur. Do a little research if you don't know anything about Gertie; the entire premise is genious and it's a shame that anything like it has ever been replicated.

Animation itself was also limited by the early limits of film itself. Low budgets, deteriorating film, no color and no sound presented obstacles to those with big ideas, and they had to find clever ways to get around them. Nowadays we have digital surround sound, multimillion dollar budgets, high-definition color, and several totally different techniques for animating. Quite a difference.

Quite a difference, too, is what a 30-year difference makes for the video game industry. Pong is not really art. Sure, anything can be called art, but calling Pong that is like calling a kindergartner's crayon scribbles a modern masterpiece. But yet, when you stop and think about it, Pong is art in its own weird way, because it was not only a technological marvel but launched an industry that would lead to truly amazing ideas. It's essentially the seed of a plant.

With animation, the amount of expression and originality has always been totally dependent on the animator and writer. There are now few limits to what can't be done (outside the realm of censorship) because of the techniques and technology available. For games, on the other hand, there are still many limits. Even with all the big features of the Xbox 360 and PS3 being touted, processors are not yet able to handle realtime graphics on the same level as that of a professional CG production. But that is not the only thing- so many aspects of the fact that video games are interactive are actually still holding the industry back. For example, it is simply too costly to have all the dialogue be voice-acted and given lip sync and unique body/face motions for every bit of most 20-30 hour games. It's things like this that prove the industry is still in its infancy.

But the question remains for some: Is it art?

Animation can easily be proven as an art form. One of Walt Disney's driving forces behind Fantasia was to combine visuals and audio like never before, not deliver the same slapstick or fairy-tale adaptations the studio was known for. While there are many who will make an animated project just because it "looks cool" (Think about how many imitation anime ads you've seen), there are also many projects that people do because it would be impossible to pull off in live-action. Cartoons are a way to pull off what you can't do in real life.

And video games? They're a way to escape, in the vein of books. Yes, reading Catcher in the Rye and playing Halo are obviously two different types of experiences, but they're both examples of how one can roleplay. Maybe people who didn't grow up with them in this day and age will never show interest, but I believe this will eventually change.

On a side note, anyone who has a remote interest in animated music videos (I certainly do) should check out the Gorillaz' latest, El Manana. This is how I like videos to be done- the atmosphere of the video goes very well with the song.

My inner clock is on Tokyo time.

2006-03-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

Sleep is a funny thing.

I'm pretty sure that most of us take it to simply be the body's way of giving its sensory duties a break- much like applicances are turned off to prevent overheating. But now we have a bunch of scientists who keep studying it, convinced that there's something more to the whole thing and we have yet to fully understand it. I can't necessarily say they're wrong since I have no means to do so, but this is something that I've always found a bit extreme. What are they trying to understand that they don't already know?

The reason I'm posting about sleep is because it is 2:20 AM as I type this sentence, and I still have at least another hour on my clock before fatigue sets in. And on Saturday night, for no real reason at all, I developed a sudden case of tiredness and fell asleep for 2 hours from 9 to 11 PM, got up, and could not fall back asleep until it was 6 AM and sunlight was starting to show.

Stuff like this is the only thing related to sleep that I can imagine scientists studying, but it's still not that complicated: I've turned myself into a nocturnal creature through too many late nights spent on the TV and computer. Voila.

The Oscars were a disaster presentation-wise. I can't remember Jon Stewart dishing out such unfunny material; it would be horrifying to learn if he himself wrote it. Other aspects confounded me, such as doing a pointless bunch of clips from the most obvious films to be considered classics (With the possible exception of The Fifth Element). On the subject of cartoons, the cringeworthy Chicken Little appearance made me realize that I can't recall a time where animated characters have given out an Oscar and been funny. This needs to change. The good part? Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Rabbit, an old-school slapstick film fine-tuned in every way, deservedly took the Best Animated Film Oscar. It's nice that this category finally exists (Though at the same time saddening that it nullifies the chance of an animated film ever getting Best Picture).

I have recently gotten a copy of Dragon Quest 8 for the PS2 to see what all the hubbub was about, and I'm having an enjoyable time. Granted, there's nothing about this game so far that puts it in the hall of fame, but it is a solid game that takes the better established conventions of the RPG genre and uses them. An earlier title, on the other hand, felt less deserving of its hype to me- Tales of Symphonia had a battle system that, while in real-time, ultimately felt clunky and confusing to me, and the presentation was horrid; instead of, say, trying to make character models that emoted, they stuck to ugly-looking semi-deformed ones that relied on emoticons to express themselves. EMOTICONS. (Luckily, the character design in this game wasn't the best to begin with.)

That's Dragon Quest on the left and Tales on the right. Would it shock you to know that no less than four of the Tales characters shown here are male? Yep.

Finally, on the topic of animated features, one I am nervously anticipating this month is the sequel to Blue Sky/Fox's Ice Age. I say nervously because, while the original Ice Age was one of the better non-Pixar CG films, Robots (from the same studio) let its fantastic design and potential get hampered by many juvenile and/or unfunny jokes. I guess I'm also apprehensive about all the new characters being added to this sequel- the distinct personalities of just the three guys in the original was great already. I'll be sure to post opinions when I see it.

Why I Enjoy These #1

2006-03-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Here's the way I've decided things will work: One cartoon and one game will be in each of these review columns. It's here that they will be examined. They will not be given a score or even reviewed. I will simply say what it is about them that causes me to enjoy or despise them.

Animation: Bobobo-bo-bo-bobo
Bobobo is an oddity. I say this not because of the pure wackiness that the show obviously is, but because of the fact that I think you can say the show is a steaming pile or a gutbuster and be absolutely and justifiably right either way. It all depends on what kind of humor you like.

Of course, I have the type of mind necessary to enjoy a show like this, but it still misses the mark quite often. One of the show's greatest jokes is right at the 2nd episode, where one character is turned to stone by a Medusa stare, Bobobo recieves the stare and a similar close-up screaming shot/dramatic music, then everything slows down and zooms out to show that he became a carrot instead for some reason. The execution of this joke is done well enough to get a snicker out of me every time I watch it.

And then we have jokes like Bobobo dressing up as a cat and fidgeting and muttering nervously for almost a full minute. This isn't funny. I don't know how it's supposed to be funny. It seems more like something to fill in time that is also trying to be pushed on the audience as a joke. While there are less dragging jokes in recent episodes, we still have ones that are either likely the victim of cultural differences (Jelly Jiggler briefly turning his head into a lighter) or unfunny ideas to start with (Oh, hey, this talking collar's attracted a dog! The dog thinks it's his! Humor!). In the end, however, the great jokes are worth enduring through the worse ones.

My primary exposure to the show has been through the English dub, and I am indifferent to the numerous puns and minor changes to the script- many of them make bizarre Japanese lines a bit more tolerable, but otherwise they do not amplify the show's quality level (and the same goes for the Samurai Pizza Cats and Duel Masters dubs, only those shows were shit to begin with). The voice acting is primarily the key factor, and Bobobo in English is a winner. Richard Epcar does a great Shaft-y macho voice for Bobobo, and Kirk Thornton, who is faced with the big responsibility of pulling off the many lines and moods of show-stealer Don Patch, succeeds with flying colors. The only real problem I have is Philece Sampler's Beauty- not just because the character is dull to begin with, but because Sampler's voice for anime is one of many screechy and annoying ones that plague dubbing.

Bobobo is not deep in any way. It should not be taken seriously in any way. It is a perfect show to turn your brain off and have play in the background, or sit down and watch on a lazy day. If you do not enjoy totally random humor, then you will absolutely hate it and have a perfectly good reason. It's just one of those love-hate things.

Games: Ratchet and Clank series
Ratchet and Clank gives me hope in today's video game industry. With all the worries and arguments over a lack of creativity and enthusiasm in major titles, this series shows both in a wonderful way.

One thing that Insomniac absolutely nailed in this series is the atmosphere. It may be because I enjoy seeing a sci-fi franchise with a more cartoony look to it, but it may also be because a lot of effort is put into it. There are so many wonderful things crammed into the entire presentation that many people would not appreciate. All of the weapons have their own little popping-up animation when activated, as if to suggest that they have actually been in compact form and are not popping up full-sized out of nowhere. Every bit of dialogue from every character is given full lip-sync and unique, charming animation, and not a looping, bobbing head and flapping mouth job. The characters are also given unique personalities, wonderful voice actors, and many laughworthy lines. As another nice little touch, the beginning of every level always begins with a custom camera angle to give a cinematic view of the wonderful landscapes and backgrounds for each world. The angle quickly switches to a normal view when you start, but you can take your time to stand still and look at what awaits you.

The gameplay is equally great. The enemies are not given health meters or incredibly advanced AI, but they make up for it with strength in numbers and clever spawning points. You never feel cheated, and when you eventually level up your weapons (A nice and addictive RPGish touch) and take them out, you are pumped and ready to keep going. The levels are very linear, but you are given extra incentive to revisit and unlock more areas and secrets upon obtaining other items. The addition of extra features in the Challenge Mode (think New Game+) adds a lot of replay value.

Deadlocked, the latest entry, falls far short of the other three due to the toning down of the adventure elements and the slimmer cast- and yet it is still a great game. That is a good example of just how well-done this series is- It deserves every bit of its success and the Insomniac team all its accolades, and I can't wait to see where it heads upon its return.

Introduction

2006-03-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Hi.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Behonkiss. I am a constant poster on the Something Awful, Toon Zone and Donkey Kong Universe forums and an admin on the last. I have a deep passion for the art of animation and video games, and so far the output has been some crappy drawings and several mediocre Wario Ware cartoons. These will keep coming and getting better.

The purpose of this blog is to share my feelings about certain things. I spend a lot of time thinking about these fields (Way more than a person probably should), and as a result I have a lot to say about them. However, that will not be the sole purpose of this blog. Besides my thoughts, there will be sporadic reviews of games and cartoons I find notable to discuss for both positive and negative reasons, and occasional real-life interjections that I promise will not obstruct things much.

The other purpose of this first post is to, of course, make the blog able to be formatted. Later.