Konnichi wa, minna-san! (Hello everybody!)

I'm bored right now and I'm procrastinating so in the meantime I'm going to discuss my upcoming awards. For Game of the Year, it's pretty simple. I list off the best of each genre and console before moving on to more personal ones like most disappointing or most surprising. Then I move on to overall Game of the Year. Of course, these are my awards so the games will be based off of my personal experience and not off of critics' scores so there will be some occasional bias (sorry!) And this goes without saying but I have to have actually played the game to include it.

Now Anime of the Year Awards will be different. Because I only just got into anime this year and I've got a lot of learning and catching up to do, my awards will be different. Because it will probably take me a couple of years to watch all the big name or popular animes up until this point, I'm going to include both the ones I watched this year, and years previous. Since I only saw a few animes growing up, it won't impact the ones I watched this year that much. So here's how it's going to go down:

I'm going to use Animage's Anime of the Year format so that includes: Anime of the Year, normally they also do Best Episode but I'm going to exclude that, Best Character (Male and Female), Best Voice Actor (Seiyu in Japanese, Male and Female), and Best Song (Opening or Ending). Now since I obviously saw the dubbed versions of animes growing up, I'm going to also divide Best Seiyu and Best Song so that there's categories for both English and Japanese voice actors and English and Japanese songs. This way it's more fair.

Here's also a list of animes I saw prior to this year in the order which I saw them and these are the ones that will be judged in the English category:

Pokemon (Seasons 1 - 3)

Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakura (only Japanese version will be judged because of North America's butchering of the anime)

Yu-Gi-Oh (Season 1)

Megaman NT Warrior (Season 1)

Also judged in here will be Oban Star-Racers which is originally a French anime but I'm watching the English dub of it since it was originally made in French, it doesn't matter between Japanese and English. But the songs for Oban Star-Racers will be judged in the Japanese category since the original songs are in Japanese.

Animes this year:

Cardcaptor Sakura (full version)

Oban Star-Racers

Daily Lives of High School Boys

(will add in more as I go on)

So just in case anybody got confused along the way this is what it's going to be:

Best Male Character

Best Female Character

Best English Voice Actor (Male)

Best English Voice Actor (Female)

Best Seiyu (Male)

Best Seiyu (Female)

Best English Song

Best Japanese Song

Anime of the Year

Ah, the troubles of just starting to watch anime. So many years I have to go back and so many animes I have yet to watch. Anyway those will be my end of the year awards. I'm actually looking forward to writing them.

Mata ato de! (See you later!)

Studio: Square Enix + Sunrise collab

Opening Theme: Shiny Tale by Mix Speaker's Inc.

I really should be in bed since I have class at 8:30 AM but my anime club at university just finished this anime and I feel like writing about it. Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou) is a comedy anime featuring... well the daily lives of high school boys. The three "main" characters are all otakus and how they deal with their friends and girls is hilarious. Each episode is 24 minutes (without commercials) and each episode has 5 or 6 skits in them. There are only 12 episodes to this anime which is really short. I thought Cardcaptor Sakura was short... I really have to keep telling myself that Cardcaptor Sakura was actually one of the longer animes out there.

So being that this is a comedy anime, and the creators even flat out said you don't have to remember the characters' names which is pretty funny, there isn't a real story or any plot. Well, the plot is the group of high school boys going through daily life. There are some girls mixed in mostly for comedy purposes and at the end of almost every episode there is a group of three girls who take on the starring role for a couple of minutes. Their story is obviously told on the side but they do have a relation to the main characters. For the most part the girls in this anime, unless they're not "evil" supporting characters, don't have eyes. I guess it's part of the whole high school part where girls and guys still don't interact with each other much. But anyway, back to the main characters. There are three "main" characters: Tadakuni, Hidenori and Yosh itake (had to separate the name since a bad word is in the name :P). I put main in quotes because they aren't in every skit and Tadakuni, who is introduced first seemingly as the protagonist and gets the anime started, isn't even in one episode at all except for the opening. Tadakuni is the even-headed one which is probably why he doesn't appear as much, Hidenori who I believe has the most screen time is the crazy guy in the group and Yosh itake often follows Hidenori's schemes.

The majority of the skits are comedic in nature but there are a few which focuses on character background and relationships in an attempt to make the viewers more attached to the characters which worked somewhat. At the end you felt enough of a connection to the characters to have a reaction to the ending. Well, that's even if you remember all of the characters' names. There are more supporting characters than there are episodes and they even introduce some new characters in the 2nd last episode. It's a little confusing trying to keep track of all the characters especially since with some of the girls, they don't show their eyes which gets in the way. Usually I'm good at remembering faces but if you don't complete the face I'm not going to remember who it is. To add to the confusion, they don't even give names to some of the girl characters instead referring to them as their sister or friend which doesn't help much since there are so many people in the anime.

For people who are looking for a good laugh this is definetely good for you to watch at least one time. I'll probably go through this one more time for the laughs before I stop. Comedic factor is definetely high; around a 8.5/10 for me. As just a regular anime tough, coming off the back of Cardcaptor Sakura that had great character development this was a tough one. Overall, I would give this a 7.5/10.

We're also watching another one called Oban Star Racers which, I couldn't believe when one of my clubmates told me, is a French anime which got support from Japan. It's pretty good so far but I jumped in halfway so I need to go back and find out what happened beforehand. It's an English dub but it's a pretty good dub actually so far; I haven't seen too many lip-synching fails yet. I'll let you guys know how that one is when we're done with it.

Until next time, keep gaming! I might end up changing this line soon... :P

Man, school is busy. I hardly have time to do the things I love to do. It also doesn't help that I'm a huge procrastinator. XD So anyway, I've had to severely cut down my gaming time but I'm determined to keep playing. I find myself gravitating more and more towards portable games since I can just pick it up and play. So thankfully i'm not too busy with midterms; I initially thought a bunch of things were due but it's not so bad really. What's tough is the reading and my Japanese class. Studying Japanese is a daily activity for me and it has to be if I want to keep the language imprinted in my mind. So I'm watching another anime called Daily Lives of High School Boys. This one is ridiculously funny but it is short. I'm going to see what other animes my school club will end up introducing me to.

Of course, were would I be without Pokemon? Pokemon Black/White 2 released today and of course I'm already on my way to becoming a Pokemon Master all over again. I didn't have as much time as I wanted to play today because I'm distracted by school and that anime I mentioned and also going through Cardcaptor Sakura again. Yes, again. I can't pull myself away from it! I also had to stay and work the whole day today to cover for my manager who wasn't feeling well. Oh well, it was Pokemon launch day so I didn't mind too much. I made a failed attempt to dress up as Ash: got the hat, jeans, running shoes etc. Only thing I didn't have was his jacket which is one of his defining features but anyway I had a good time. Gameplay has been the same for years so no point in mentioning that. One of the changes I did notice was more movements from the human sprites. Bianca bowing and N shaking his head. It makes you think what they can possibly to do for the next Pokemon games on 3DS. I want to include the boy's Pokemon from the Black/White 2 animated trailer on my team so I went for Tepig, going to get Growlithe and I caught a Riolu already. For Black 2 I'll have the female trainer from the trailer and will pick Snivy; the rest of my team will be an open book. Current White 2 team: Tepig, Lillipup, Mareep, Sewaddle, Psyduck, Riolu. Only Snivy so far from Black 2.

So there we go, that's my current state. I'm going to try to hold off from buying anything gaming related until the Wii U's launch. That's 41 days of not buying games which will be a record for me ever since I started working at EB Games. I usually get a game a week because of my short attention span :P Still I'm a university student so I have to focus and study.

Until next time, keep gaming!

I've been meaning to post this for a while but I've been busy with university stuff so...

Anyway this past week has been so hectic. Wii U pre-orders have been insane. I know at my store alone one guy pre-ordered 3. No doubt to take advantage of the poor people who won't get it. Now of course I'm talking about the Deluxe bundle here. I don't think there's been a single pre-order at my store for the regular. Of course it's not just EB Games. GameStop sold out on Sunday, Sears on Sunday, and almost ever single retailer had it sold out by Wednesday. It's always exciting to start a new console generation and this time I'm fully invested into gaming this time to care. I still remember the insane line-ups for the Wii and PS3. I expect Wii U to be the same. New consoles are a shot in the arm for the industry which has been fairly stale for the past couple of years. It needs this boost to get sales back up get the industry back on its feet. Go Wii U!

Until next time, keep gaming!

Today was finally the day all the most important questions about Wii U were going to be answered. I love how Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, says Nintendo's been waiting for this day for a long time. Well, why didn't you just tell us at E3 then? Anyway, the release date of the Wii U in North America is November 18 as has been previously rumoured. Just in time for the holidays. There will be two bundles for Wii U: a standard 8 GB console which comes with the white console, Gamepad, HDMI cable and sensor bar for $299.99. There is a black Deluxe bundle that goes for $349.99 and that includes everything the Basic edition does but also includes a Gamepad charging cable (so it's seperate if you buy the regular? That's stupid.), stand for the console, Nintendo Land (the much marketed tech demo), 32 GB of memory, as well as a deluxe digital promotion which will allow for discounts on digital content with more news on it to come later. For the money, who would go for the standard? You get so much more stuff in the deluxe edition. Nintendo is also pushing for the use of Wii Remotes and Nunchucks again so they will be re-releasing them.

Nintendo then showed a game in Nintendo Land called Metroid Blast which looks ok considering it's a tech demo. This game along with New Super Mario Bros. U are the only confirmed launch games. Speaking of New Super Mario Bros. U, along with Boost mode they also bringing Boost Rush mode much like Coin Rush mode in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Instead of collecting as many coins as possible, the only goal is to get to the end as fast as you can. Miiverse will be a part of the game but more details on that later as it will not be a launch service. Lego City Undercover was shown again and for some reason it reminded me of GTA. It's pretty different for a Lego game. Nintendo then introduced Nintendo TVii, a free service they're offering kind of like Netflix. You can set your favourite movies, TV shows etc. in there for your convinience.

They returned to the games and first came the biggest surprise of all and a game I certainly wasn't expecting: Bayonetta 2. As soon as I saw all of those bullets and it was from PLATINUMGAMES I knew exactly what it was. I was not expecting them to make a sequel since PLATINUMGAMES hasn't done a sequel to one of their games yet. That has me excited but it was just an announcement trailer; the game probably won't be out for a while. It will be a Wii U exclusive since it will be published by Nintendo. Now where was this game at E3? This would have gotten people pretty excited. Now of course, this isn't PLATINUMGAMES' only game on Wii U. They're also making Project P-100 which has been re-named to The Wonderful 101. Kind of a stupid name and it sure doesn't sound like an action game made by the best in the business. It still looks pretty good though. My favourite announcement was the reveal that Capcom is bringing us Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for both Wii U and 3DS due out March next year. If there is one game that just convinced me to get a Wii U soon, it was this one. I know it's also available on 3DS but Monster Hunter would look so good on the big screen. I don't know if this is Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD but if it is... OMFG this game will be AWESOME!!! Sorry, Monster Hunter fanboy here. :D Looks like I'm re-arranging my Top 10 Most Anticipated Games List of 2013 now.

Of course, Nintendo will need the support of other third-parties so Activision is also on board for the ride. Activison will bring Skylanders Giants, Wipeout 3, 007 Legends, Transformers Prime, and most importantly, Black Ops II to Wii U. Using the two Gamepads, one player can play on the big screen while the second plays on the Gamepad. Split-screen will be eliminated if you have two Gamepads or I suppose, the Wii U Pro controller. Reggie stressed there is no set launch date for any of the games with the exception of Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U which will be launch games. There will be more than 50 games launching in between November 18, 2012 and March 2013.

I'm excited to to play Wii U. $349.99 is fairly reasonable given what's included and hopefully the rewards for being a Deluxe member will make it more worth it for me. I'm just glad it's not something crazy like $399.99 or higher which is what I was worried about. Given the fact that it is just slightly higher in power than current-gen the price works out. Going to start saving up now. Launch is just 66 days away according to Reggie's math. It's not a lot of time for marketing but knowing Nintendo, they never rely on marketing that much. Working at EB games has shown that to me. Fans know exactly when these games come out. Anyway, Wii U is now on my wish list for this holiday season and it's probably the only thing on there lol. I may not use it right away but just the fact that Monster Hunter is coming out in March is enough for me.

Anyway, that's enough from me. I actually skipped getting a haircut today to watch the preview. My hair is ridiculously long right now. :P Until next time, keep gaming!

Nintendo is holding a conference in New York tomorrow to hopefully give the Wii U a price and release date. There's also news of a game announcement heading into the conference. Time for speculation. What will the price be? Will it be reasonable? When is the best time to release it? Will there be three different bundles like what has been reported? How do they plan on marketing the system? All of these questions will hopefully be answered tomorrow. Nintendo needs to move soon if they actually do plan on releasing the console this year.

Since I'm always late posting my anniversary blog with the exception of the first year, I'm going to post it early. With university, I don't know how much time I'll be spending on here now but I'll make an effort. Anyway, I became really active this past year as my interest in gaming reached its peak. In this past little while I've made some new friends on here and they make coming on here every day more exciting. I always find it hard to believe that these years are passing by so fast. I fear I may be an old man before I know it! Anyway, I'm not good at these overlong speeches so I'll add in what's on my game agenda for the rest of this year:

Must-haves:

September 16 - Kirby's Dream Collection

September 18 - Borderlands 2

October 7 - Pokemon Black/White 2

Games to play later:

Halo 4

Games to keep an eye on:

Resident Evil 6

Assassins Creed III

Potential Wii U list:

Pikmin 3

Zombi U

Project P-100

Until next time, keep gaming!

With the Wii U approaching I thought it was time to make this list. While the Wii may be the laughingstock of the industry at least to the hardcore gamers there do exist good games on it. Its a shame since they are really good and should be experienced at least once. And believe it or not some of my favourite games this console generation came out on Wii. I actually own more games for the Wii than the other two consoles. Of course, I only try and pick the best the Wii has to offer and so heres my list of top 10 Wii games. Im going to stick to Wii-only games so the ports of Okami and Resident Evil 4 as well as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be off the list. I would love to put those three on here but I like to stick to exclusive games.

From now on, to give the developers the attention they deserve, I'm going to list off the developer and publisher to let you know who made what.

· Developer/Publisher

10. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)

While Mario Kart Wii is not my all-time favourite Mario Kart (Mario Kart 64 is) it was still a good addition to the series. Bikes added another element to the game which got you thinking: Constant speed boost on bikes or strong speed boost on karts? The tracks were fairly memorable and quite a few made appearances in Mario Kart 7. The online was also solid and is the one of the few Wii games that has tolerable online play.

9. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

The sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance does not disappoint. Even though I needed constant guidance to make it through this hard game it still feels rewarding when you finally succeed. The story was great and it threw a few twists in there as well. The story is split between two armies so in a couple of cases, youre fighting the same people you were controlling a couple of missions ago! Ike and Micaiah, the two main characters, have become fairly popular since the games release. Ike made it into Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Micaiah is available as DLC for the upcoming Fire Emblem: Awakening on 3DS.

8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Retro Studios/Nintendo)

While I preferred the original Metroid Prime this was still a welcome game on Wii. Controlling Samus felt as good as ever even with the gimmicky controls. First-person shooter games were supposed to play best on Wii. While this never really happened Metroid Prime 3 proved they could still work and work well. Of course the gameplay and story were solid cementing Metroids place as one of Nintendos more hardcore franchises. If Metroid makes it to Wii U its the one Nintendo franchise I expect to turn shooter in order to appeal to other gamers. I hope it doesnt happen but it is something Im expecting.

7. Xenoblade Chronicles (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Xenoblade Chronicles is something the Wii desperately needed: a good RPG. The SNES and DS are the top systems when it comes to RPGs. The story of Xenoblade Chronicles is excellent and while it feels familiar there are a few twists to throw off what you thought was a predictable story. I wasnt a huge fan of the gameplay but it is something different that a standard JRPG. The game is epic and it will probably take true RPG fans easily over 100 hours to complete. The graphics also bear mentioning. While the textures arent that great, the draw distance is crazy good and often times you just take the time to stare at the landscape. The musical score bears mentioning as well. It fits whatever the situation is and the boss battle music is especially good. Definitely a worthy addition to the Wii library.

6. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)

While I think the game is just slightly overrated I cannot ignore how great this game is. It again shows Nintendos innovation, using gravity and physics as only before seen in Half-Life 2 and Portal. The musical score is fantastic and the scope of the game is epic. It keeps Mario fresh and exciting. The game makes you wonder about space and how gravity affects everything.

5. The Last Story (Mistwalker/Nintendo, XSeed(North America))

While this is a fairly recent addition I think its safe to say this game is incredible. I expected nothing less from the creator of Final Fantasy. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the gameplay since its something youre not used to seeing in a JRPG. Indeed, it feels more like a Western RPG than a JRPG. There are multiple routes to combat, strategies to plan out, and quick decisions to make based on positions. Unlike most RPGs, terrain is factored into the combat which helps the game feel fresh. The love story is typical fair but it is something I can appreciate. You find yourself attached to the characters in your party since they each have their own distinct personality. The graphics are pretty bad but the game makes up for it in detail. Theres great water reflection, flower petals float through the air, particles of magic appear etc. The musical score done by the original composer of the Final Fantasy games is excellent. The songs feel familiar to Final Fantasy fans and again he proves what a great composer he is. The Last Story is a great swan song for the Wii.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)

Not only is this game amazing but it finally proves what Nintendo was trying to accomplish with the Wii. Fully realized motion controls were the backbone of the game. Links sword and shield were yours to control. Never has a game felt more natural to play. Of course there is still the game itself. Guarding enemies adds whole new strategies to each fight as you have to swing your sword in the direction theyre not blocking in order to deal damage. The dungeons were clever and inventive and no one dungeon was like another. They were not overly complicated or too easy. This game was the total package: great story, gameplay and graphics blended together to create one heck of a great game.

3. Super Smash Bros Brawl (Nintendo studio collaboration/Nintendo)

My favourite game series aside from Pokemon is Super Smash Bros. The original is a big reason why Im a Nintendo fan today. Brawl is another great entry in the series but its not quite up to Melees standards. The online play was also disappointing. Its almost like a slide show. Aside from these complaints the game is amazing. Its the perfect party game and my friends and I always play this whenever we meet up. This is the way my friends and I settle our scores. If I played this game by myself it would rank a lot lower but since my friends and I are such huge fans and we play a lot together, it ranks high for me. The gameplay is as frantic as ever. Im really excited for the next SSB games on Wii U and 3DS. Just the inevitable roster reveal has me excited.

2. No More Heroes (Grasshopper Manufacture/Ubisoft)

HELL! YEAH! This game is by far the most satisfying way to use the Wii Remote. When this game, along with MadWorld, came out it showed the Wii was NOT just for kids. This game is beyond bloody and gory. To kill guys you actually HAVE to decapitate them or cut them in half. I find it surprising how the blood was actually censored in Japan. The boss battles are amazing and original. One has you fighting a stage magician who can flip the screen upside-down and another has you avoiding pitfalls and rockets while trying to attack. The musical score is also great and they fit each boss fight. This game along with the sequel cemented my love for Grasshopper Manufacture.

1. Monster Hunter Tri (Capcom/Capcom)

How can number 1 not be from Nintendo? Because Capcom nailed the perfect Monster Hunter experience here. I personally have a deep love for RPGs. While Monster Hunter isnt a RPG per se, there are lots of elements in here that make it one addicting series. If youre a person who loves to collect everything then this series is probably for you. I cant say how many hours or days were spent trying to get one weapon or that next armour set. Or the next upgrade to your weapon. Then the weapon tree splits so you have to get another of that weapon and so you go back into missions to get what you want. Oh but now you need more money so its back to the jungle or the volcano to get what you need. This may sound boring, until you face off against creatures more than three times your size or in one case, a monster so big you need a ship to face it. Taking these beasts down is what makes Monster Hunter so rewarding to play. Theres nothing like spending a good half hour wearing the monster down and finally killing or capturing it. This is all great but it gets better. The online play for Monster Hunter is amazing and its surprising that a third-party can nail great online play but Nintendo cant even with games made by Nintendo themselves. Teaming up with other hunters and going into missions together ends the sense of isolation you get from the single-player. Being on a team to take down these beasts is what defines Monster Hunter. Now I really can go on and on about Monster Hunter Tri but I think Ive covered quite enough. Simply put this game is incredible and I think it should be owned by anybody with a Wii. I hope after this, someone goes out and buys it since the community is dying slowly so fresh blood will be great to have. Monster Hunter 4 on 3DS as well as the rumoured Monster Hunter Tri G for 3DS has me pumped and I cannot wait for them to release here in North America. I hope North America gets MH Tri G but as long as Monster Hunter 4 comes out here, Im good.

So theres my list of top 10 Wii games. The Wii has changed Nintendos image to video game fans. While there are now more people who play video games, the core gamers were alienated by the Wii and moved on to the other consoles. Nintendo, to core gamers, is the company to stay away from since the image in their mind now is that Nintendo just makes casual games. Wii U hopes to bring them back. Whether Nintendo can nail both the casual and hardcore market has yet to be seen but if they do accomplish this goal, it will be one of the greatest gaming accomplishments. There has never been a video game system to bring in both the casual and hardcore together. We will see if Nintendo and Wii U has what it takes.

I wanted to put out one more countdown before I started university. I had a nice 7 month break from school and it feels good to be going back. While I never was bored during my time off, it helps to have something productive to do for most of the day. We'll see how much time university will take out of my gaming and Internet time but I'll try and stay active.

Until next time, keep gaming!

Honourable Mentions:

MadWorld (PLATINUMGAMES/Sega)

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Retro Studios/Nintendo)

Little King's Story (Cing/XSeed)

Kirbys Return to Dreamland (HAL Laboratory/Nintendo)

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Vanillaware/Ignition Entertainment)

My previous blog about this anime was all messed up. For some reason, whereever there were commas or apostrophes question marks would be there instead. I went back and edited them out so now it's a lot easier to read. I also changed the blog a little since I just finished watching it again and I have a better understanding of it.

For anyone who knows anime and is wondering why I watched it please hear me out. As a kid I wasn't allowed to watch anime aside from Pokemon. My parents were always worried about the violence and sexual content to be found in animes. The only two I was allowed to watch as a kid was Pokemon and Cardcaptors. I wasn't a huge fan of Cardcaptors but I liked it. My parents let me watch it since it was on an approved kid's channel. Now that I'm older, I can reminisce over certain things. Since April was such a dead month for games I figured I would do something different. While I was searching over classic video game and cartoon themes from my childhood I remembered Cardcaptors. I've spent a good part of April watching the anime and I'm going to say what I feel about it.

For those of you who don't know, CardCaptor Sakura or Cardcaptors outside of Japan is targeted mostly for girls. Again, since I grew up sheltered away from anime, I figured I would watch the one I do know about. I did some research before watching and what I found out was weird. Apparently the North American version of the anime was edited into 39 episodes, completely cutting out certain episodes. The editors focused more on action-oriented episodes in order to attract male audiences. I suppose it did work since I'm watching it now. The story follows Sakura Kinomoto, a young energetic and cheerful girl who has a caring family. Her mother died when she was 3. She's in the fourth grade and has many friends. One day she finds an old book in her father's library. The book is full of cards. These cards aren't ordinary though. These cards were created by a half-Chinese, half-English sorcerer named Clow Reed many years ago. Each card has their own unique power. When she reads the first card Windy, the cards are blown all over town. She wakes the guardian of the book Keroberos who tasks her to become a CardCaptor and retrieve the cards. That's the basic part of the story. Now of course, it wouldn't be focused on girls if there was no romance in it. The romance in the anime however is actually fairly complex and not straight-forward like other love stories. There's actually a big focus on different sexual orientations which is a good lesson to teach viewers about. For example, Sakura's best friend, who's a girl, loves her a lot and it's clear from the beginning. What's funny is that Sakura thinks she's just really enthusiastic and caring.

*SPOLIERS PAST THIS POINT* If you don't care then read on! I?'ll be summarizing the anime here:

The beginning reminds me a little bit of the beginning of Sailor Moon. Both are tasked out of the blue to save the city by doing their ancient duty. (I own the first three episodes of Sailor Moon on VHS so that's how I know.) Both believe they are not up to the task placed before them but they do it to protect those they care about. As the series goes on however, it's clear to the viewer that something big is about to happen. Sakura often has the same dream and each time she meets a significant person, they appear in her dreams. An air of mystery surrounds these episodes and Kero (Keroberos) is often worried about these upcoming events but is unwilling to tell Sakura for fear of worrying her. One person she meets is Shaoran Li, a distant descendent of Clow Reed who hails from Hong Kong. He comes to Japan to collect the Clow Cards for himself. After learning that Kero chose Sakura for the sole role of CardCaptor he reluctantly agrees to help her. The other is Kaho Mizuki who was her brother's ex-girlfriend. She had left Sakura's brother Toya a few years before the start of the anime to study abroad. Mizuki's role is unclear and she never explains why she has returned to Japan. But she has an ability to tell the future and has powerful magical abilities. She also knows about the Clow Cards. The first season focuses on character development and slight plot advancement. The second season focuses on advancing the plot forward. Sakura now has her dream more often as she collects more and more cards. One card in particular shows her the future and she learns her invincible spell "Zettai daijoubu dayo" (I will definetely be ok.) Near the end of this short season she finds out there is one other person in her dream she doesn't know about. This culminates in her learning that there were in fact two guardians of the book. One was Kero, the other is Yue. Yue is the alternate form of Sakura's crush Yukito and he is the judge on who should become master of the Clow Cards. This is called the Last Judgement and should the CardCaptor fail, an unknown disaster will befall the world. Since there are two people in possession of Clow Cards Li is tested first and falls to Yue's power. Yue has the ability to control any Clow Cards that fall under his jurisdiction which is the power of the moon. Sakura refuses to fight Yue because she doesn't want to hurt Yukito. Yue easily wins as a result and the disaster of the world is that everyone will lose the feeling of love towards the person they have the most feelings for. After experiencing a day where everyone forgets about the people they love, she is saved by Mizuki who reveals her role at last. Her role was given to her by Clow Reed himself; should the CardCaptor fail, she can give the CardCaptor one more chance. After her experience, Sakura uses her invincible spell and her wand transforms. The wand's new powers allow her to overpower Yue despite the fact that she used a card under Yue's jurisdiction. Even though Yue basically just tried to ruin her life she still wants to be friends with him which I think is a true display of character. Yue declares her the new master of the Clow Cards. Shortly after, she meets the spirit of Clow Reed who explains her new power.

Now at this point, if you're a male, you can stop watching at this point. The main part of the story is done but there are a few loose ends. That's ok. But if you're a female or just like a good love story, get ready. The third and final season is focused on the growing relationship between Sakura and Shaoran Li. At first, Li has a crush on Yukito just like Sakura. However, Yue later tells Li that he is only attracted to Yukito because of Yue's magical power and because Clow Reed and Yue were intimate with each other. Yue tells him to find someone else he has feelings for. After Yue tells him this, Li realizes his feelings for Sakura are true. Meanwhile a new student arrives from England named Eriol Hiiragizawa. As soon as he arrives, strange things begin happening around town. When Sakura tries to stop these events she discovers she cannot use the Clow Cards Just when she is about to die after being trapped in a vortex of water she remembers what the spirit of Clow Reed had told her in her dreams after she had collected all the cards. She discovers her new-found powers and learns that the cards don't work anymore because she is the new master. So for the third season, Sakura's next step is transform all of the 52 Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. Doing this requires a lot of magical power, something that Sakura does not possess because of her age. As a result, she gets tired after changing each card. As the season progresses her power grows giving her the ability to transform more cards at the same time. During each event, Sakura, Kero and Yue realize that Clow Reed's presence is often felt even though he is thought to have died years ago. Usually after each event, Eriol is shown to have been involved in some way. It's then shown that Eriol possesses astounding magical powers and is the cause of each event. At first, anyone would think he is evil. But after a while it appears like he is helping out Sakura. Each time an event happens Sakura converts different Clow Cards into Sakura Cards in order to escape or stop the event. While all this is happening, Li tries to figure out how and when to tell Sakura he loves her. This is the part that killed me throughout this season. It reminded me of me, trying to reveal my feelings toward a girl. Even when alone with her, he cannot say anything. Sakura is naive by nature so she cannot tell that Li has a crush on her even when his face goes so red it's like a tomato. So much like me when it comes to girls I like...

At the series finale, Eriol reveals himself to everyone as the reincarnation of Clow Reed which is why Clow Reed's presence is felt during each event. (Eriol revealed it earlier to the viewers.) Eriol places a final test before Sakura. He puts everyone in the city to sleep, shrounds the city in darkness and says if she does not solve the problem in a couple of hours everyone will die. She transforms the remaining Clow Cards into Sakura Cards but discovers the last two left to be transformed are the Light and Dark cards. Both of them need to converted at the same time and Light is the solution to the darkness. Even though she has the ability to transform multiple cards at the same time the two do not convert. Realizing what the problem is, Kero and Yue absorb themselves into Sakura's wand to help convert the cards. Li also lends his assistance as a descendent of Clow Reed. After everyone pools their energy together and Sakura uses her invincible spell, the two convert and everyone is saved. Eriol praises Sakura and then disappears. Li manages to finally tell Sakura he loves her. Eriol plans to move back to England but before he does, Sakura and her group go to Eriol's mansion for an explanation.As the reincarnation of Clow Reed, he decided when he died, he would want someone new to become the master of the Clow Cards and their guardiians. So in order to ensure Sakura did her duty and converted all of the cards, he placed challenges before her so she would be forced to convert all the cards. If she did not change the cards, they would have lost their magical power and become ordinary cards. Eriol would head back to England now that his task was complete. With the complete conversion of the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards, Li is also called back home to Hong Kong. However he doesn't tell Sakura he is leaving. While Sakura tries to figure out her feelings for Li, Sakura's best friend Tomoyo calls her and tells her about Li leaving. She cries over knowing that he is leaving and inadvertently creates a card on her own. She finally figures out her feelings and rushes to the airport in order to catch him. The series stopped there with Sakura holding a teddy bear that Li made for her. Li had been thinking about giving it to her for most of the season but her never got the courage to give it to her. The card is then shown to have a heart on it which helped Sakura figure out her feelings.

While the series stopped there, they made a movie which serves as the true conclusion. During summer break, Sakura and Li meet up again. Li and his cousin Meilin are in Japan to visit but its actually a set-up by Tomoyo and Meilin to allow Sakura to respond to Li's feelings. Throughout the movie, Sakura tries to tell Li she loves him but she can't. The two have basically swapped positions; now Sakura cannot tell Li she loves him. During this, a 53rd Clow Card is revealed. This card has the power of the 52 Clow Cards combined and it can steal the other cards at will. The card can also make things disappear around it, including people. Eriol calls from England and tells Sakura about the card from his memories of Clow Reed. She has to seal the card and then convert it but to do that, someone has to give up their feeling of love. The card will decide who's but it will be the one with the most magical power. At the movie's conclusion, everyone has disappeared except for Sakura. She manages to convince the card to join her and she seals it. Li is shown to have survived the card's previous attack but since Sakura used so many cards in one day, Li is now the target for the card. After the card attacks Li Sakura, thinking it's too late, confeeses her love for Li. Li to her surprise and relief, has not lost his memories thanks to the card that Sakura had made in the final episode. The card had taken the attack for Li. He replies he loves her too. Before everything reappears again, Sakura wants to be with him despite the fact there is a 10 foot gap seperating them. She jumps anyway and says "I love you!" and that's how the movie ends. There was a poster released with the special edition DVD which shows she did make the jump into Li's arms.

*SPOILER END*

I actually really liked this anime. I could definitely see this was made for girls what with the whole focus on romance and love throughout the whole series but I don't mind that kind of stuff. It's a good mix of magical girl and romance. There's enough action scenes for guys and more than enough romance for girls. The story is just well told in general. There are a quite a few touchy moments in there and I will admit, I cried for some of them. If not, then a tear came to my eye. Sakura is an easy to love character with her personality. It makes you feel bad whenever she faces something she isn't prepared for especially for someone of her age. She's a cute and adorable character (not trying to sound like a pedophile or anything!) Even as a kid when I first saw this anime I thought these things and it hasn't changed. The vast majority of the characters are great and well developed. You can easily attach yourself to any of the characters since most of them embody a distinct personality. Whatever my friends or anybody who reads this may think, I think this is a great anime and if you have a thing for love stories you should definitely check it out. It?s more than just that though. It casts people of different sexual orientations in a good light, teaches us the importance of perseverance and courage, friendship and trust. I think this would be a great anime to show to young children so they understand these things. I love forms of entertainment that have meaning or a moral to their stories. This is one that does. Now I really wish the North American version wasn't so screwed up! Why did we get the only messed up version? It actually makes me want to re-release it to everyone here and show them this is how it was supposed to be. Still I'm glad I had the chance to watch this series in its entirety. Hooray for things like this on the Internet!

Overall, I think I would give this anime a 9 out of 10. My biggest complaint is that it's too short. I actually would like to watch more of it. There is actually a pseudo-sequel to CardCaptor Sakura called Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. It once again stars Sakura and Li but their roles are reversed. Li is the main character while Sakura plays the supporting main. I'm thinking about starting on that one but with school so close I don't think starting another anime is a good idea.

School is less than a week away. Hard to believe I'm going back. I've been out of school for 7 months now. I used that time to work. I'm looking forward to my first year of university. I think learning Japanese will be my favourite class. I think watching this helped me with the decision to take a Japanese course but it's a language I've always wanted to learn. In any case, I still plan to keep playing video games. I WILL find time to play in between work and school. I'll stay up to 3 in the morning if I have to! Anyway until next time, keep gaming!

I just got back from Fan Expo which is Canada's version of Comic-Con. I'm going to post about my day and my experience there. For one thing it started off bad with me not being able to sleep. It was just one of those nights where your mind just wanders. So after 3 hours of trying to fall asleep I do but problem is I had to get up at 6:45 to get ready. So after that, I made my way down with my friends. Since it's Saturday we wanted to get down as early as possible so we left at 7:30 even though it didn't start until 10:00. Good thing we did since even though we got there by 9, there was already a huge line to get in. To accommodate everybody and not get rushed at 10:00 they let people in early at 9:30. So after waiting in line for 55 minutes I finally got in.

As soon as I got inside, I made a beeline for Zombi U. Because the game is only over until you die, if you're good you can finish the 30-minute demo. For those who do not know about Zombi U, the game is over if you get bitten once. After over an hour of waiting (since the people in front of me were good) I finally got a chance to play. The Wii U Gamepad still feels like a natural controller so if people were worried about its bulk, there's no need to worry. You just have to spread your hands out a little that's all. As for Zombi U...not as good as I was hoping. While the game is still good and I'm sure it will be good it's not the killer app I thought it was going to be. They went for a more realistic approach to Zombi U so that means that you suck at shooting guns. It's no Call of Duty when it comes to guns that's for sure. It's hard to aim with the gun though shooting with the crossbow was pretty cool. I feel melee attacks are the way to go in this game and I was able to make it through the majority of the demo with it. The way you loot and check for materials is pretty cool just make sure the room is clear before you do or you risk a zombie attacking you. I almost completed the demo but I got taken out before I finished. I like the game but now I don't feel as strongly about it as I did before. Part of my problem was the camera which was too sensitive which I'm sure can be adjusted when the actual game comes out.

Since waiting for Zombi U took a while and I wanted to go to a Pokemon DS party ay 12, I wandered around for a bit and came across some Japanese imported games. While most were anime RPGs that didn't get Western releases because... well they're anime RPGs the one game that did catch my attention was Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD on PS3. Since all PS3 games (except for Persona 4 Arena) are not region-locked it was something I was considering but paying $70 on it wasn't in my best interests. Besides I wouldn't have understood the text because it is in Japanese. They also had Pokemon Black and White 2 in Japanese but those were $80 apiece. I'm patient so I'll wait a couple of months for their release here. I go to the Pokemon DS party but it turns out it was full before I got there. I even went 10 minutes early.

Since there was nothing else for me to do except wait until 3 when I would go to a Q&A panel with Veronica Taylor, the voice of Ash Ketchum from the English dub, I checked out some more games. I played PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale which feels different that Smash Bros I will admit but in the wrong way. The control is awkward and the premise is still stupid. They also need to work on balancing issues since the people with guns are way too strong. God of War: Ascension was there but it was the same as the E3 demo shown so nothing not already shown. Dishonored was featured but I will admit, it's not looking as good as I thought it would look. But then again, it's not my kind of game. The lineup for Halo 4 was ridiculous so I didn't bother with that. I took a quick look at Assassin's Creed III which looks as good as ever, tried to play Scribblenauts Unlimited on Wii U, and I played a demo of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Injustice plays great and it feels like Mortal Kombat for sure just minus the blood.

Taking a lesson from the Pokemon DS party, I went to the Q&A panel 40 minutes early. It was a good thing I did since 10 minutes later, the line got really big. Since I went so early I was able to secure a spot near the front which was perfect since I could hear everything. What followed was a lot of questions fans had about the anime, her roles in it, and questions about what she thought of the anime as a whole. It was a pretty enjoyable time, thinking about the earlier episodes of the anime and taking a trip down memory lane. She also did a few Ash impersonations which got a good response from the crowd. She talked a little about her career as a voice actress and how she never thought Pokemon would become her best-known role. Indeed, almost all of the questions were about Pokemon. Only once was a question brought up about her role as April O'Neill from the 2003 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Right after her Q&A she was doing signings so I rushed down to the area where she would be signing. Most of the people who were lined up early were not at her panel so by the time I got down there the line was huge. She would only sign for two hours and by the way the line was moving it seemed I would not be able to get anything signed. But thankfully, she decided to extend her signing session much to my relief. So after 2 hours and 45 minutes of waiting in that long line, I finally got my Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon DVDs signed by her. By the time I was done the convention centre was getting ready to close so I went back home with my friends mission accomplished for the most part.

I thought I would have more time to do things after the signing but I underestimated the massive number of Pokemon fans in attendance. I never got the chance to play Halo 4 which would have helped my decision to get it on day one or not but I got done what I really wanted done. I played on the Wii U, and got to meet Veronica Taylor and got her to sign things for me. Those were my main goals; everything else was extra. I had a great time although my feet are sore, standing in that line for almost 3 hours along with the walking around. I wish things were a little more organized but things are bound to get out of hand at a huge convention like that. As long as the events are good and there's some exciting new game to try I'll be going every year for the foreseeable future. So there it is, a good year at Fan Expo.

Until next time, keep gaming!