Last week I had a chance to rent one of the very few animes movies at my local Blockbuster. One of them happen to be the subject of this blog, and its one of the best anime movies I ever seen (look at a bunch). The name of the movie is Grave of The Fireflies:

This movie was originally made in the late 1980's, but was released to DVDs by A.D.V films this year. This movie doesn't have any top notch animation, but doesn't even require it. What drives this movie is the relationship between Seita (male above) and his little sister Setsuko. The movie takes place during the WWII era, and their lives are greatly effected by the war.

Scene at the beginning where they flee bombing planes

As the movie progresses the two start to become more dependent on each other.They windup living with relatives, but they soon leave due the lack of compassion from their aunt. The end up living in a bomb shelter were they promised to look after each other. Despite the tragedies going on around them Seita does wonderful job trying to be a good brother. While their parents are gone its Seita who has to fill in both roles as parents. The more hopeless the situation gets, the more determined he got to protect his sister from reality.

Some of the good times the two spent together.

Though Seita was a great support to his sister, the effects of the war continued to loom over them throughout the movie. Many food supplies were rationed, and the value of money plummeted.The hearts ofthe nations people also become cold, and indifferent to the duo's situation. Still Seita foundways to get around their hopeless situation ( by stealing).

A river they lived by in the later parts of the movie.

As the story progressed their living conditions become more unbearable, and forces Seita to risk his life to get their next meal. With everything thing going on Setsuko slowly loses hope, and clings desperately to her brother.

Setsuka waiting for her brother to return with food.

The movie was real eye opener to the effects that war has on it people. The bombing wasn't ultimately the primary threat the two faced, but crushed spirits of their countryman (and women). As the war progresses they recived less help from those around them and eventually they had to look after themselves. With no one to support they led solitary lives that eventually overcame them. I highly recommend that this movie be viewed with Kleenex's because of the many powerful scenes in this movie. Many of them were difficult to watch but came together beautifully in the end. Whether your touched by the story or not the struggles of these kids are unique and very tragic.

The fireflies play a significant role in the movie, and ironically symbolizes the two perfectly.

To those still reading I have a treat for ya. If you want to watch the move here a linkto a streamed version of the movie. Non-subscriber's to megavideo can only watch 45 minutes of the video, so keep that in mind (half now and half later). Anyway I'm tackling the move Voices of a Distant Star this week. It promises to be another emotionally charge move, so wish me luck.

Greetings to those who are still on my friend list lol. Been a while since my last update, however finally found something to talk about. Since the beginning of this year I found daily life to be stressful, but manageable. Even though my days are pack with school (and work), I found some interesting things to do in my downtime. This includes watching up to 100 anime shows this year. It sounds crazy, but most channels were I live hardly air them anymore. I found that the Internet is a great place to watch old and new anime alike. Though I have to pay 10$ a month to watch them, I feel like its worth every penny. Anyway I would like to share the names some of the anime I seen so far this year.I'll try to describe them in a few words. I recommend checking them out on wikipedia.com to learn more about them. Anyway here is a list of the ones I seen this year:

01. Black Lagoon (Punch in the face anime with plenty of violence and shaky morality)

02. Lucky Star (Cute anime parody on Otaku culture)

03. OutlawStar (Anime full of action and surprisingly likable characters)

04. Soul Taker (A dark anime where kid's mom kills him to save him)

05. Fate Stay Night (Interesting characters that have you hooked till the end) (Based on a doujin game)

06. Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure (A very good harem anime with tight mech action)

07. Soul Eater (Goofy anime that has great balance between comedy and drama)

08. Wolf's Rain (Love this anime to death. Last few episodes will leave you sobbing like a baby)

09. Banner of the Star series ( A pleasant space drama between a male human and Alien princess/captain)

10. Neon Genesis Evangelion (The darker side of mecha drama)

11. Speed Grapher (Adults only anime filled to the brim with violence and sexuality)

12. Hellsing ( Brutal vampire action without the sissy factor lol)

13. Tsukuyomi Moon Phase (Cute romance between loli vampire with her slave/lover human)

14. Zero No Tsukaima (Cool anime drama featuring a witch (tsundere)and her human familiar)

15. Gurren Lagann (A great anime that taps into every emotion. Has alot of memorable moments)

16. Strike Witches (Loli's plus suprisingly good military action)

17. Seto No Hanyome (Unique harem anime with ALOT of likable characters)

18. Honey and Clover (Heartbreak and acceptance abound in this one. Very tough to watch)

19. Baccano! (Very interesting Adult crime drama featuring a wacky cast of characters)

20. Buso Renkin (Action packed anime featuring characters that can summon weapon to battle)

21. Ah My Goddess (A guys life throw upside down by a family of goddesses)

22. A i s h i t e r u z e Baby (A High School student takes care of his five year old cousin. Very good anime.)

23. Excel Saga ( A very lame anime, but it did have its moments)

24. Queen's Blade ( Very ecchi anime with lots of fanservice. Action and character are decent though)

25. Gunslinger Girls (Very very very sad anime. Girls brought from the verge of death to become an assassin)

26. Dragonaut: The Resonance ( Dude falls in love with a girl that happens to be a mecha dragon)

27. Witchblade (One of my personal favorites. Amother harnesses a evil blade to help support her daughter)

28. Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (Dude gets mixed up with a goddess he met in his childhood)

29. Kikaider and Kikaider 01 (Great look at defining ones existence, and the price that comes with it)

30. Gungrave (Features a loyal man that fights beyond the grave)

31. Code Geass (Huge fan of this anime. The characters and story are beyond excellent. Must See!)

So far thats all the anime I seen this year. With the exception of Excel Saga, every single one is okay in my book. For those that watch anime online I highly recommend that you checkout some of the ones I mentioned above. Anyway It will be a while before I'll reach one hundred, but I'm already enjoy taking the time to watch them.It will be a while before my next update, but I'll have a new list of anime to share. Thanks for taking the time to read up to this point, and I hope the best in all aspects of your daily life. Peace my fellow gamers 8D

It been a while since I last did a blog, but I figure that now is a good chance to do one. Since my last blog thngs have gotten financially tough for me. The last portion of my college course requires me to attend clinicals, which means I will have to take alot of medical tests. These test promise to drain me of any bit of money I may have. The good news I like to share is a arcade stick I order last month arrived two days ago. This stick was made to come out with the fighting game Blazblue, which I been hyped about playing for a while now. Here is a picture of the stick:

Ive been playing fighting games with the Dualshock controller, so my current skills with the stick are at 0 lol.Even though I'm steadily improving, I still won't fight decently until a month or two. One advantage I notice when using the stick is the motion for some attacks (like the dragon punch) feel more easier to pull off. Another advantage having axcess to more than more finger when pressing buttons. Now that I have the arcade stick,the wait for Blazblue's release this coming week alot easier. Anyway thanks for listening to my random rant :D

After months of being over loaded with college work, my last day is just a week away. This semester has been filled with nothing but grief. Had to write 6 (15 page) essay, and take weekly test (covering a 100 pages worth of material). I managed to get by with straight B's, so I'm proud of that fact. Anyway now I'm ready to get back in shape, tackle my anime mega list (personal list of must watch anime) and drastically improve my fighting game skills. I'm really looking forward to the release of several fighting games (and JRPG) coming out this summer. They include:

Blazblue Calamity Trigger :D :D :D :D :D

Cross Edge :D :D :D :D

King Of Fighters XII :D :D :D

or (have to vote on box art)

Final Fantasy Dissidia (US version) :D :D :D :D

Marvel vs Capcom 2 (PS3 online) :D :D :D

As you can see my interest for shooting games and even action games have drop considerably this year. I did manage to buy Metal Gear Solid 4, and look forward to playing it in a couple of weeks. The pod-cast and mp3 feature in the game really took me by surprise:shock:. Anyway this summer is going to be a great one, and this year is easily the best year for gaming ever for me(fighting game heaven). Hope to see more years like this one more often.

P.S- Hope you guys enjoyed the picture above, kinda of shows how I feel right now (fighting game s t y l e) ;)

Its been a very long time since my last blog. Alot of things have changed since then. My college work has become very difficult as of late:?. So most of my gaming time is spent playing my trusty PSP. Though the PSP has had it share of trouble releasing decent games; there is a series of games that deserve to be checked out. The series in question is the DJ Max Portable series for the PSP. The DJMP games are a series of rhythm based music games that tests your reflexes. The games also accels in featuring all kinds of music Genre's. One moment your playing through some sweet hip hop, and next some very catchy trance. Since I love you guys so much, I decided to list the DJMP games available;). I'll try to give the basic information on each game.

DJ Max Portable 1

The first game in the series, and the most beginner friendly. Most DJ Max Portable games are import games so the best places to look for these games are auction sites like ebay. The music selection in the game is very nice, and the game features mostly user friendly songs. Here is some basic info on the game:

Game Modes

• ROOKIE DJing:: 4 button mode. Uses ←, ↑, , .
• PRO DJing: 6 button mode. Uses ←, ↑, →, , , .
• MASTER DJing: 8 button mode. Uses ←, ↑, →, , , , L, R buttons.
• CLUB DJing: Play pre-made courses of different songs
• FREE**** Consists of all button modes and allow unlimited combos to be done.
• Gallery: Various unlockable images can be seen. The images, depending on the game will be unlocked under certain conditions.
• OST: Allows free listening to DJ Max Portable music while on the move.
• Music Video: Allows free viewing of the BGA (Background Animation) without playing the song.

Besides the DJing modes where you play through 4 courses with increasing difficulty, you also have a CLUB DJing mode where you play through 4 songs which are related based on either musical genre or theme of the song.

In FREE****mode, you can play in either of the three different button modes and play the songs without restrictions. Modifications can be made with the speed of the game and faders. On top of that, a lot of songs have a special harder mode depending on the button mode you are in.(Info from Wikipedia)

DJ Max Portable 2

This is actually the first DJMP game that I played. Unlike the first one this game has the option of using english menu's. This game is also a bit harder than the first one. Wasn't too difficult for me to pick up and play, but others might not have the same results. Here is some of the new features included in this game:

New Features

• 61 original songs
• 5-button mode
• New "Fever" mode
• New "Easy" mode
• Soundtrack across 4 discs -- the "most DJs in the history of gaming"
• Over 500 hidden items
• Linkage with DJ Max Portable for owners of the first game -- play the original songs using the new play systems, players can unlock the O.S.T track for the song in Portable 2's O.S.T. mode by completing the song once (EX: complete Never Say once to unlock its O.S.T. in Portable 2)
• Korean, Japanese, and English interfaces
• Remote control support -- use DJ Max Portable 2's Soundtrack Mode to enjoy songs whenever and wherever
• Customizable control configurations
• Multiplayer using the PSP's Ad-hocconnection (Info from Wikipedia)

DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition

This is said to be one of the easiest version of DJMP released to date. So to those that find the first two games too difficult might want to tryout this game first. Unlike to first two game this one actually features a two button s t y l e

DJ Max Portable Black Square

Its said to be the hardiest DJ Max Portable game to Date(would have to agree from playing it myself). This game hits hard and fast. If you had trouble completing mission modes in the other games, I suggest you avoid this game for the time being lol

DJ Max Fever

This is the first DJ Max Portable game released in the U.S. It can be found in your local major electronic or gaming stores. The music from the game come from both DJMP 1 and DJMP 2. This one has a very steep learning curve and no tutoruial(never none in the other games). Here is some additional info on the game:

• The interface is based on DJ Max Portable 2
• The game contains a song list which combines songs from DJ Max Portable 1 and 2, along with DJ Max Fever exclusive songs (like Hip Hop Rescue).
• Uses the DJ Max Portable Black Square game engine, which means the special notes that stop the music if missed will appear in the game.
• There is the auto-correct function, as for example you hit the ◄ with ▲, your hit will be auto corrected with a consequence of a max 80%.
• The Gameplay reminds you of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or Rock Revolution, the mechanics of DJ Max Fever should be second nature.

Overall this is a great game series, and it can instantly breath life back into your PSP. The game has a very steep learning curve, and can be difficult to find normally. Anyway I hope this blog helped you in some way for those with PSPs. Now I have to get back to writing my essays. Later

Been a while sense I really took the time to do a serous blog. I'm both out school, and work this week so I have plenty time now. During the past couple of months I devoted much of my spare time watching nothing but anime. Sacrificing much of my gaming and social life time. It was worth it because I seen a bunch of great new anime. Now that I have time to talk about it, I'll tell you about the five anime that are a must see.

1) Code Geass

Tv-14 Season One- 25 Ep Season Two 25 Ep

This one I became a fan of instantly. The show is full of intense action and very dark themes.

Plot:

On August 10, 2010, a.t.b., the Holy Empire of Britannia overpowered Japanese forces and conquered the country with their new robotic weapons, the Knightmare Frames, in less than a month. In the aftermath of Britannia's invasion, Japan lost its freedom, its rights, and even its name, becoming Area 11 of the Britannian Empire. The Japanese people, renamed as "Elevens", are forced to survive in poor neighborhoods, while Britannians live in first-settlements. Rebel elements persist, however, as pockets of Japanese organizations struggle against the Empire for the independence of Japan.

After his father, the Emperor of Britannia, failed to prevent the assassination of his mother, an attack which also left his sister blind and crippled, the young prince Lelouch vowed to destroy Britannia. Seven years later, he accidentally becomes mixed up with "terrorists" in Area 11 and encounters a mysterious girl named C.C., who gives him the power of Geass. With it, he finally has the power that he needs to defeat Britannia and fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.

2) Fate Stay Night

Tv-14 Season One 24 EP

I really like this one because of its story and characters are something I never seen before.

Plot:

For the past two centuries, seven sorcerers have gathered and engage in a Battle Royale, each gambling his or her own life to obtain the Holy Grail, a legendary chalice capable of granting wishes. Each of the sorcerers, better known as Masters, is aided by one of the seven summoned spiritual familiars known as Servants, who are the reincarnations of legendary souls from all across time. Only one Servant can be summoned in each war from one of seven c l a s s e s: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Caster.

3) Black Lagoon

TV-MA Season One 12 Ep Season Two 12 Ep

A kick in the face series, Black Lagoon won't let you go until your nothing more than a bloody pulp.

Plot:

The story follows a team of pirates/mercenaries known as Lagoon Company, who smuggle goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the 1990s Their base of operations is located in the fictional city of Roanapur in Thailand, and they transport goods in the PT boat Black Lagoon. When on land, they move around and conduct business using Benny's 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T (with a '69 Plymouth Roadrunner side-scoop induction hood). Lagoon Company does business with various clients, but has a particularly friendly relationship with the Russian crime syndicate Hotel Moscow. The team takes on a variety of missions-which may involve violent firefights, hand-to-hand combat, and nautical battles-in various Southeast Asian locations and when not doing much, the members of the Lagoon Company spend much of their down time at The Yellow Flag, a bar in Roanapur.

4) Lucky Star

TV-PG Season One 24 Ep

The very goofy show is not only funny, but very educational.

Plot:

Lucky Star's story portrays the lives of several girls attending a Japanese high school named Ryōō with a very loose sense of humor. The setting is mainly based on the city of Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture. The main character is Konata Izumi, an athletic and intelligent girl who, despite these attributes, is not in a sports club and has to resort to all-nighter cramming for tests. Her laziness at school is due to her love for anime and video games and lack of interest in anything else. The serialization began with the four main characters in their first year of high school: Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. As the story progresses, they move on to their second and third years. However, the anime starts the story with them beginning their second year. The storyline usually includes numerous references to popular past and present manga and anime series.

5) Soul Eater

TV-14 Season One 51 Ep

My favorite anime show so far. The show has alot of s t y l e and alot of heart. Must see for anime fans:D

Plot:

Soul Eater primarily revolves around students meisters at the Shinigami Weapon Meister Vocational School , or Shibusen for short, located in the fictional Death City, in Nevada, United States. The school is run by Shinigami, the God of Death himself, as a training facility for weapons and the human wielders of those weapons, the meisters. Each meister has at least one demon weapon companion which has both a weapon and human form. Shinigami created the school as an organization that enforces peace in order to prevent the rebirth of the "kishin" the evil demon god that nearly destroyed everything by plunging the world into chaos. Human souls that have become evil by straying from the path of humans have a high risk of becoming kishin, so evil humans are constantly being hunted down and killed by the students trained at Shibusen. The ultimate goal of the students with their weapons is to have their weapons defeat and absorb the souls of ninety-nine evil humans and one witch

Note: If your interested in watching any of these anime I can send you a link to site where you can watch them.

Its been a while since I last posted a blog. Nothing really to talk about. Thats until the other day when my little brother gave me one of his cellphones. Never had the need for a cellphone. After having one for a day, I really starting to love having one:D. It was difficult at first to figure out the phone, but I got the hang of it now. To those reading this blog, were are some good places to get ringtones. Any help is most appreciated.

This will be one of my longest blogs yet, but this game has me hyped up pretty good. The name of the game is BlazBlue.

This game is made by the same people who brought us the awesome Guilty Gear series. The game in other words is the successer to the franchise. From watching both the trailer(Link) and looking at these photos I must agree:shock:

As you can see this game is going to be freakin awesome:D. The pictures and trailers are for the arcade version of the game coming out sometime November this year in Japan, however this game is to be ported to the PS3 in Japan sometime next year. There is a very strong possibility that this game will be released in the U.S. After seeing the game in motion I've officially declared myself a Sony fanboy, and will be getting a PS3 This monday. I'll give my little brother my 360. It was fun while it lasted, but its time to start playing my Brand of choice. For those interested in this game, go ahead a track it to get any information that come out on it.

For more Blazeblue goodness check out the official english site for more (Link)

I would also recommend looking at this Wikipedia link for the character roster in the game (Link)

I'm pretty sure this game will have a online feature when ported to the PS3, so this game will be on the very top of my wishlist:D.

Its been a tough couple of months for me, but I finally got my Xbox 360 back again today:D. As everyone should know my original 360 had the RROD so I had ship it to get repaired. Anyway all that is water under the bridge now, and this time I plan on really using the gold membership this time around. So if any of you guys have the games I about to list below, then consider playing a game with me sometime.

My Current Online 360 Games

Gears Of War

Guitar Hero 3

Lost Planet

Rumble Roses XX

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2

Soul Calibur IV

Guilty Gear X2 # Reload

Games That I'll Buy Soon

Unreal Tournament 3

GRAW 2

Burnout Revenge

Hopefully by the end of this year I have alot more online experence with games:P.

With summer almost now officially over and the school year is right around the corner for most of us its time to get ready for alot of changes. To celebrate the occasion I have decided to highlight and explain to very common terms you hear on the internet. The words are both Trolling and Flaming. These two terms are frowned upon by most boards, but why is that? For those who don't know the answer I'll be explaining what they are and some example of them being use.

Trolling

Here is the definition of it I found on Wikipedia.com. "A troll is someone who posts controversial and irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion." Basically its saying someone wants to cause trouble on boards by purposely saying something rude or very negative without cause.

For example lets say there is a post that talks about the best game on the PSP.

Posted Message - What kind of games do you guys like on the PSP?

Troll - I don't like any, because the PSP sux. The DS is a thousand times better than the PSP.

Flaming

This definition is also was found on Wikipedia.com. "Flamers usely attempt to assert their authority or establish a position of superiority over other users, and is simply an individual who believes he or she carries the only valid opinion." It means that if someone has a opinion about something, a flamer doesn't want to hear it and at times say something very insulting to a person.

For example lets say that there a post that talking about a game on the Xbox 360.

Posted Response - This game is really hard to play:(. It usually take me forever to get to the next stage.

Flamer - The game isn't hard at all:evil:, if you had any skills at all you should be able to get through this easy game.

This is all I have for you guys:P. Try to remember when your out on the boards to avoid being either a troll and flamer, because all people online deserves to be treated fairly and with respect. If you can do that you can meet, and talk with people that may have the same interest you do:D Thanks for taking the time to read this, until next post. I got to get ready for my college courses, see ya later