Moogy’s Anime Blog

After Story 01: Although it’s a small thing…

By Moogy on October 4, 2008

I’ve decided to make a post about every episode of After Story and ef 2. Let’s see how long I can keep it up, eh? And by post, I mean a short overview of the themes of the episode, any other interesting observations I have, thoughts on where the show is heading, etc. The works, basically.

By the way, ANN’s previews of this show are pretty awful (not that shit on ANN isn’t awful in general). I especially like the one that says the music is MIDI-esque, which is probably the most hilarious and inaccurate complaint I have ever heard about any Key+Kyo-Ani anime.

I’ll probably post a general fall overview post in a bit too.

Anyway, jump past the cut for my ramblings. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: After Story, Anime | 2 Comments »

The Rosario+Vampire season 2 OP is amazing

By Moogy on October 1, 2008

Holy shit, this is the best OP animation + song in a while.

Too bad GONZO likely used the show’s entire budget on animating and syncing Moka’s dance. Oh well. Epic Nana Mizuki is never a bad thing!

The PV is pretty amusing too. Not quite as awesome as the OP animation though.

…Fuck it, I’m gonna watch at least the first episode of this.

Topics: Anime | 4 Comments »

Code Geass Tactics; an expository analysis on the nature of allegory

By Moogy on September 30, 2008

Well, the seminal series Code Geass has finally drawn to a close, and thus there are many different viewpoints and essays regarding it to be found amongst the anime blogosphere in the wake of said monstrously successful show. These posts are surely each worthwhile in their own unique way; however, I believe that, somewhat unwittingly, I alone have stumbled across the “answer” to Code Geass.

And what is this answer? Why, simply the fact that Code Geass is nothing more than an elaborate allegory for the events of the Lion War, as depicted in Squaresoft’s phenomenal 1997 SRPG, Final Fantasy Tactics. Those who have played the game should be slapping themselves in the forehead with an expression of utmost realization right about now.

Clearly, the obvious parallels to draw are… Suzaku as Delita, Ramza as Lelouch, and Alma as Nunnally, right? Wrong. The actual level of depth in Taniguchi’s reinterpretation of FFT proves such petty comparisons to be nothing more than the refuge of the intellectually unfit, as I shall explain past the cut. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Anime, Code Geass R2 | 5 Comments »

Ar tonelico 2 USA preorders now open

By Moogy on September 26, 2008

From Rosenqueen.

Only 40 bucks for a nice set with an artbook and shit. Not bad at all.

Note that Rosenqueen’s shipping is hilariously random. I got Mana Khemia the day after it was released, but Disgaea 3 took like a week and a half to reach me.

Topics: Video Games | 1 Comment »

R2 countdown page updated!

By Moogy on September 24, 2008

In honor of the stunningly brilliant plotline of Code Geass R2, and in preparation for the final episode, I have taken the liberty of updating my countdown page.

The End of Geassangelion approaches.

Topics: Anime, Code Geass R2 | 2 Comments »

Happy World! English volumes!

By Moogy on September 23, 2008

Okay, so the title is misleading. I have to say that I doubt Happy World! will ever be released in a bound format outside of Japan. However, a member of pew pew saw fit to make some excellent glossy prints of our scanlations and send me bound copies. And man, do they ever look great.

Here, just take a look. (contains spoilers for volume 11)

And if you haven’t read Happy World!, I highly suggest doing so. You can grab all of the volumes from this page.

If you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, HW is a manga I spent much of this past summer scanlating with some friends. We ended up spending around 400 dollars on translation for it, so it’d be great if you could check it out if you haven’t already! (We only did from halfway through volume 6 to the end, by the way. Some of the earlier groups are quite bad. I may redo those chapters myself at some point.)

But man, these things look great. So shiny!

Topics: Happy World, Manga | 2 Comments »

Oops, I forgot to update my blog

By Moogy on September 21, 2008

Never fear. Fall shall bring great things. I guess.

If you want an excuse it’s because I’ve been playing Disgaea 3 and going to school. Yeah, school… yeah, that’s it.

I, uh, started actually watching Koihime Musou. It’s pretty entertaining. Note that I said entertaining, not good.

I also recently watched Nadesico. Pretty cool series overall, with a lot of genius episodes and parodies. Too bad the movie sucks ass and there’s no real conclusion, ever.

Right now I’m watching Angelic Layer. Who would have thought that someone could manage to make Clamp’s designs at least somewhat distinct? Such is the power of BONES, I suppose.

Next up after Angelic Layer is probably Godannar. Followed by Aquarion or something equally hilarious.

I’ve been watching a lot of mecha recently. I guess? Or at least I plan to.

Oh yeah, Strike Witches is probably Gonzo’s most legitimately entertaining show. It’s uh, better than R2, at least. Not that they really have any correlation other than… Britannia. And Geasses. And yeah.

Only one more episode of Macross Frontier! I wonder what deus ex machina they’ll whip out at the end. Wait, this isn’t R2 either!

But R2 24 airs in about 20 minutes! I’m sure it will continue the trend of fabulosity. I like how “fabulosity” is actually a word. Well, kind of.

I should probably stop making blog posts when I am very tired.

Topics: Anime, Other, Ramble | 2 Comments »

魔界戦記ディスガイア3/Makai Senki Disgaea 3 review

By Moogy on September 14, 2008

The short version:

The best N1 game, no question
Writing quality drastically improved compared to previous games; this includes the characters
Engine makes a PS2 version impossible, PSP port unlikely; sprites are all redrawn for HD and animations are much more fluid
Decent length at around 30 hours; N1 games are typically on the short side due to their absolute lack of chaff; note that there are only eight main chapters, yet it’s still longer than D2
Postgame now has its own chapter and functions as a silly sequel to the main storyline
Difficulty level is ramped up compared to previous games, especially toward the end; ending up with overpowered characters during the main game is still quite easy though
Rather significant changes to many aspects of unit growth and design; probably won’t matter too much during the main game though
Incredibly catchy music
9.5(+.25=9.75)/10 score from me (+.25 from reviewer slant toward Disgaea series)
If you have a PS3, play this game; if you don’t, buy one and play it

And, for the long version, just go past the cut. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: D3, Video Games | 1 Comment »