Freezing

Episodes:  12

How: Fansubs

Rating:  3 out of 5

Plot Summary: {From Wiki} Set in a slightly futuristic world, Earth has been invaded and is at war with aliens from another dimension called the Nova. In order to counter them, Pandoras and Limiters, genetically modified girls with super fighting skills and their male partners who use special "freezing" powers to limit their opponent's mobility, are made to fight against the Nova. The series focuses on Kazuya Aoi, a Limiter whose late sister was a Pandora, and Satellizer el Bridget, a powerful Pandora with a cold personality, both who are enrolled at the West Genetics Academy, one of the many academies where Pandoras and Limiters are trained. In spite of the warnings of all his friends about Satellizer, who has intense aphephobia {fear of being touched} , Kazuya decides to be her friend and Limiter. The story follows Kazuya's friendship with Satellizer, the students of the Academy and Earth's war against the Nova.


Thoughts:  Even with all the nudity this show wasn't all that bad.... I had initially dropped it at episode two but gave it another chance when six episodes were out..... The following is a post I had done at the half way point....

Half Way Mark.

Earth has been invaded and is at war with a race of Aliens called the Nova.  Genetically enhanced females called Pandoras and their male partners Limiters are the only defense against the threat.

Kazuya Aoi

-Younger brother of Kazuha Aoi, A very talented Pandora who gave her life to destroy a Nova
-Newly Enrolled in West Genetics Academy.
-Has a bit of a sister complex.
- Causes Satellizer to loose her Number One Rank when he pounces her in the beginning, Allowed Gennesa
    Roland to defeat her and take the Number One position.
- Persistent. Bent on becoming Satellizers Limiter.
- Uses the Limiters skills {at a very high level} without being Baptised.

Satellizer el Bridget

- The Untouchable Queen, She hates being touched to the point of killing most who do so.
- Has a strange soft spot for Kazuya.
- Wears glasses when not fighting.
- Very anti social.
- Loves to eat Hamburgers....
- Thinks of the Baptism as Dirty, Doesn't have a Limiter because of this.

Little Bits,  Most of the show has been Kazuya trying to become Satellizer's Limiter and her slowly warming up to him.  As of episodes five and six however there is another girl who wants Kazuya to be her "Soul Mate" {Limiter}.

Rana Linchen

- Enrolls at Second Year Level, Even though she's new.
- Physical fighter.
- Has six stigma's or "Tears of Kunlun"
- Wants Kazuya as her "Soul Mate" Limiter.
- Can hold her own against Satellizer.  {they fight for Kazuya in episode six}
- Seems very friendly so far...


Why?  Surprising enough there's more to the show then chicks kicking ass while getting their clothes ripped off.  With episode four, Ingrid Vernstein a third year student who lost a very close friend against a Nova a year ago.
     While they were still second year students, Marine {her friend} gave her life to protect the first year students from a surprise attack by a Type S Nova. Ingrid had always been angry and believed that the first years ran away and abandoned Marine but that wasn't really the case... Marine knew the first years didn't stand a chance so she basically sacrificed herself so they could escape.
     The episode made things feel a bit deeper, Gave better character to Gennesa, Kazuya and a number of the other characters.

The End 7 to 12
      It's been a while since I've watched these episodes, I stopped around episode nine and then restarted just recently... The whole series almost seemed like character building to lead up to more episodes but all we got was a three episode Nova battle.
     In the end?  After some of the students were absorbed by the Nova and turned into Nova Form Pandora Slaves, A fight ensued...  Most people survived.  At least the important ones.   Satellizer finally wants to preform the baptism with Kazuya and all is happy.... Okay. Bad explanation.
     I'm still not sure why I liked this series.

Favorite Character{s}:
                 Chiffon Fairchild ~ The Smiling Monster; Fox Like even.
                                 
                Cassie Lockheart ~ She wanted to be a writer but, Her father forced her to become
                  a Pandora. She's the highest ranked third year fighter but doesn't "feel" or act like
                  she is...

Least Favorite Character{s}:   Most the Limiters ~ They were just kiss ass little boys in most cases, Kinda useless too...

Psycho-Pass 1 - 11

Thoughts; This is different... In the future every person is installed with a device {Psycho-Pass} that measures their mental well-being. If this becomes too "cloudy" the authorities are alerted and the individual is arrested or killed.
         Sounds crazy?  Yep, It is.


Terms...


Psycho-Pass - Every individual has their own Psycho-Pass or magical mood determination device, Seriously though apparently this thing can measure a persons personality or what not to show just how likely it is for he or she to become a criminal.
     The Pass is regulated by a Private company named Sibyl, As of episode 11 I really don't know much about this Sibyl company but it's probably up to no good. Anyway... If it's determined that a person is latent criminal they are locked up in this prison/psych-ward type place until their Hue's stabilize{maybe never} or they are recruited to become an Enforcer.

Public Safety Bureau -  They are basically the mood police, When someones Hue gets too cloudy they are sent out to apprehend or kill the person.  Depends on just how clouded their Psycho-Pass has become and what Sibyl tells them to do.
   
Enforcers - A branch of the Public Safety Bureau that is made up of latent criminals, They are basically dogs on the inspectors leashes.  They are basically there to do the dirty work so the less clouded inspectors don't become clouded themselves... Yea, They are slaves.

Inspectors - The "Good Guys", Sort of.  They are the tip-top of society, calm, intelligent, stable. The job is extremely stressful and can sometimes push them over the edge into Cloudy Criminal Land, Which when this happens they are demoted to Enforcer... or probably killed.  Lots of killing going on here...

The Dominator-  It's the Bureau's weapon, Which as seen in Episode 11 can be pretty damn useless. It quickly grades a targets Psycho-Pass {via Sibyl} to determine if they are a "threat" or not.
       It has three levels, Stun, Kill and Pretty much decimate. The latter seems to be used on non-living objects such as robots and the like.  Every level the gun takes a different shape and one must be registered to the weapon to actually use it.
     If a persons Psycho-Pass is reading below a certain number the gun is useless, This... should have been thought of before hand but yea.. It wasn't.


Who we have....

I'll only touch on the main four who have had any actual character development...

Akane Tsunemori -  The Newbie with a bright, budding future. Maybe.  She is really just thrown into the deep end of the pool when arriving at her new job, With only a brief meet up with her Senior Officer Ginoza she is given her two "pet" enforcers, her weapon and sent on her way.
      The first case was a little messy but, She proved that she could use her brain and not just do what Sibyl tells her to by saving a Victim whose Hue has become too Cloudy by shooting one of her own enforcers with the Stun force of the Dominator.
    She's a bit naive at times, thinks a little bit too much with her heart more then her brain though her Hue remains fairly pretty considering all the crap she's gone through so far.  It's kind of obvious she is developing some sort of feelings for Enforcer Kougami but only time will tell on that..
    Unlike Ginoza she treats everyone equally, Enforcer and Inspector alike. This seems to be gaining her some love from all the Enforcers who were probably use to being treated like pets.
    She's really just your normal main, female lead.

Ginoza Nobuchika - I can see this guy dying eventually, He's not completely unlikable per se .... he's just... Annoying.   Akane's Senior Officer basically, He's been in the Bureau for a while at least.. not sure how long.  He's really had bad luck though...
     Before the Sibyl thing went into effect his father was an inspector, After he was an inspector who Sibyl found to be an Latent Criminal. The whole Sibyl thing was new back then so Ginoza and the rest of his family took a lot of abuse for being related to a "Latent Criminal".  If that wasn't enough....
    His first Partner in the Bureau also delved down into Latent Criminal territory after one of their Enforcers were killed on the job and the person responsible was never caught.
   So yea, He's a bit of a jerk and pretty much hates all the Latent Criminal/Enforcers.  He's always warning Akane about becoming too involved in things in fear that her Hue will also become too "Cloudy".
     More on him Later.

Shinya Kougami -  An Enforcer, The Enforcer in ways.  He's the only one they really fleshed out in the first 11 Episodes.   He use to be an Inspector, Ginoza's partner even until his Hue became too Cloudy and he was dubbed a Latent Criminal.
    How did it become too Cloudy?   One of his Enforcers died, A terrible death. Sasayama. Seems he was dismembered while he was still alive and this his body parts were made into some sort of Art Piece. It wasn't pretty.   This sent Kougami down the rainy road and now... He's an Enforcer.
     It seem that Akane may be developing some sort of crush on Kougami but only time will tell on that, His infatuation with the guy who killed Sasayama could be considered a bit unhealthy and of course that won't lead to good places.


Shogo Makishima -  The Bad Guy, The hot bad guy might I add. He really kept himself more behind the scenes until episode 11, That's where he showed his true "power" so to speak.  The Dominators won't work on him, His Hue is never Cloudy enough for the guns to even stun him... Even when he's about to kill someone right in front of an inspector.
       He's pretty much the brains behind every case so far {besides the first episode}and he's the one that Kougami is after, The one semi-responsible for Sasayama's death.  Of course, He seems to be equally infatuated with Kougami now... treating him sort of like his play toy.


Breakdown...

Episodes 1 thru 3 - Introductions and such, Getting to know you and some I have friends outside of work stuff for Akane.  There's some squishy times in there for Akane and the Enforcers, Especially  Kougami who she stunned in the first episode.
     Third Episode takes them to an offline facility where Akane shows that she does trust the Enforcers enough to work along side them and not just handle them. Yea, Character Building and a little Plot device on where did the crazy guy in Episode 3 get the disc that sent the Robots nutty.

Episodes 4 and 5 -  Introduces the CommuField, An online Community where people meet and chat via virtual reality avatars and stuff. The owners of the "Fields" tend to make money on how many people visit them so... the rivalry for popularity is major.
     For some reason Makishima has stuck his nose into this, Backing some crazy guy which whom I forgot his name... The group of badies end up killing Field Owners and taking over their online personas. I'm guessing it was just amusing for Makishima for a while and then he... ditched the guy when he got bored of him.

TidBit;  Akane has a cute Avatar called "Lemonade Candy" and for some reason Ginoza's Avatar is a floating Quarter...

Episodes 6 thru 8 -  This case is pretty messed up, It's also a look back into the past in ways. The case that Kougami was working before he became a Latent Criminal even.  Rikako Oryou is the perp, With the help of Makishima she creates sculptures made from her victims bodies and puts them on exhibition within holograms in random locations.
      At first the Bureau thinks that it's the same person from The Specimen Case but Kougami, Even after being booted from the current case figures out that it's not the same.  There's no "meaning" to the Sculptures and the places that they are being placed.
     Anyways, Long story short..  Rikako is found out to be murdering females at her school and making the sculptures out of their bodies.  Why?  Because her father use to paint similar paintings and after the Sibyl system came into effect it ruined his life and so on and so forth.
     Makishima comes into play because he was working as an Art Teacher in the school, Rikako was never arrested though since Makishima had the crazy half robot man hunt her down and kill her while she's trying to get away from the Bureau.


Episodes 9 thru 11 -  Things getting serious, Makishima has his eyes on Kougami as his next plaything. Makishima kidnaps one of Akane's friends{Yuki} and uses her as bait, Akane doesn't realize what's going on but Kougami ends up being "captured" as well.
      A long with Yuki, Kougami is put into a game of sorts. Where Mister Half Robot man is hunting the two of them down like bunnies.   End Result,  Half Robot Man is dead, Kougami is shot multiple times, Akane can't rescue her friend from Makishima because her Dominator won't work on him and she can't shoot a shot-gun to save her life.
     Proving, Without Sibyl Akane is a terrible Cop. She can't do what has to be done....  Yuki is dead.
 
   

Mirai Nikki 1- 14

Thoughts:  So Far.  This is a little messed up, The main character has a psycho girl stalker who has been watching him for a year {or more}.  Though, She is far more "manly" then he is... He's a been pretty useless and really whiny.  Episode 14, Was probably the first time he manned up.
      Of course there's a lot of blood, death, body parts, explosions and some really freaky characters in general.  It's addictive... I just hope it continues to be "good" and doesn't go bad in the next set of episodes.


Who we have....

Yukiteru Amano - The Main character, Also known as "First".  His Diary is his cell phone and it tells him what is going on around him but not what happens to him.  He's quite talented with darts and with Yuuno's help he was the first to kill one of the other contestants by hitting his diary with a dart.
     He's a pretty weak character so far, Pretending to like Yuno at first just so she would protect him. Before episode 13 he really seemed to be warming up to her.

Yuno Gasai - Crazy stalker girl, She's also known as "Second". Her diary is her cell phone and it tells her what Yuki is doing and all the stalkerish info she needs.  Time and time again she has proven that she is willing to die and kill for Yuki, She can't live without him.   For some reason she has killed both of her parents and in episode 14 has their skulls with her, Which she calls "Mommy" and "Daddy".
     She also gets jealous really easy of anyone else around Yuki...


Diary Holders~

Third -  Takao Hiyama -  Serial Killer - He was a teacher at Yuki's school that figured out that he was a Diary holder.  His Diary is known as the "Murder Diary", It tells him where his intended victim is. He didn't last long, Yuki and Yuno made pretty short work of him but he was seen a little more in a flashback with Ninth.

Fourth - Keigo Kurusu - Cop - He holds the "Investigation" Diary, It too is a cell phone. At first he was friendly with Yuki, Helping he and Yuno with multiple situations... Then suddenly.. He gained interest in becoming "God" when he was told his son only had months to live.
      He went a little crazy at the end, His Diary is pretty much useless unless he's chasing a perp so he had to make Yuno and Yuki criminals before he could track them with it. After a standoff in the hospital his son was in {his wife was there too} he ended up being taken off the police force causing his diary to stop working.
     He destroyed it himself.

Fifth - Reisuke Houjou - Creepy Little Kid - He holds the "Super Vision Diary" in the shape of a coloring book, It only updates three times a day however so it seems a little useless.
     It was after the whole Cult fiasco in episodes 4 and 5, His parents had been killed in the slaughter and somehow Yuki's mother ended up playing babysitter for the psychotic little brat.  I'll give him one thing, He was creative... he tried to poison them with poison filled tomatoes, electrocute Yuno, poison them with gas and yet he failed each time.
   In the end, Yuno kills him.

Sixth - Tsubaki Kasugano - Blind Cult Leader -  Her diary is a little unusual, It's a scroll and it's called the "Clairvoyance Diary" with it she can see the future of her followers. She's had a hard life but then.. Most the Diary users seem to have in one form or another.
     Her parents used her to form a cult, locking her in a cage within a temple.. never allowed to go outside.. Her parents however died in a car crash. The cult members raped her and...who knows what else. It was a hellish life for her.
     At first she pretends to be uninterested in the game but, Her Diary had given her the dead end warning and she wanted Yuki/First to help her break the Dead End. For his help she would turn over the captured Ninth to them/the police.
     After lots of rioting, some zombie-ish fun, a Yuno jealous freak out and tons of body parts flying Sixth turns on Yuki and Yuno and she ends up dead.  Yuki "damages" her Diary.

Ninth - Minene Uryuu - Terrorist - She likes her bombs.  Her Diary is known as the "Escape Diary", It's also in the form of a cell phone and tells her how to escape situations.  She first pops up in episode 2 trying to kill Yuki, She pretty much ends up blowing up his entire school and still ends up escaping.
       She flip flops a lot, She has helped Yuki and she has tried to kill Yuki.  She's actually one of the better characters so far and one of the few users who have shown up and are still alive as of 14.

Tenth - Karyuudo Tsukishima - Wacko Dog Guy -  Owner of the "Breeders Diary", It allows him to control his doggies and see what they are up to.  He's the father of one of Yuki's new  classmates and had been randomly killing potential diary users with his dogs, Thinking one of his daughters classmates had found him out he allowed her {Hinata} use the Diary and go after him..
    Yuki and Yuno wind-up in the middle of it all of course, In the end they "save" Hinata from herself and all is good.. Well not all is good  Fourth ends up killing Tenth.

Twelfth - Yomotsu Hirasaka - Big EyeBall Guy.-  Owner of the "Justice Diary" it's in the form of a voice recorder.  Instead of seeing stuff like Sixth, He hears it.   He's a crazy ass guy, Able to create illusions and hypnosis he thinks he's the Defender of Justice, His Justice...
     When Ninth was on the run from the cops, he's the one who captured and did naughty things to her. Okay, I don't know how naughty but he did pluck her eyeball out.  He's been the funniest character in the show thus far but... Yuno ends up killing him.


More to Come.

Just being 14 episodes in, I am not really sure where this is going. As of episode 14, Yuno and Yuki are no longer "together".  In 13 she pulled a pretty psycho stunt with drugging him, then chaining him to a chair in the basement of a hotel while they were supposed to be going to the mountains to look at stars together.
     Lucky Yuno though, He had made some friends in his new school that had lived through Tenths dog attacks.. One being Tenths daughter.  Hinata, Mao, Akise and Kousaka come to the rescue along with the new cop dealing with the mess {I forgot his name}, Almost being gassed to death in a room in the process.
    Oddly enough with Kousaka's dying post on his very own cell phone Diary, He somehow achieves an "Apprentice Future Diary" status... His Diary is known as the Kousaka King Diary, Since he liked to post about himself doing cool stuff, That's all it does...

Episode 5 has positively been the strangest most screwed up episode yet, All thanks to Twelfth... and the Power Rangers.

Rideback

Episodes: 12

How:  Netflix

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Summary: {From MAL} Ride Back is about a girl who is the daughter of a famous dancer. During one of her performances she falls and then quits her dancing career. Some time later when she joins the Theatrical Academy, she finds out about a Ride Back club and then rides the bike to waste some time because of the very rainy weather outside. But something is wrong with the bike and she loses control. While trying to stop she finds out that the bike responds to her movements. She is able to sort of dance with the bike and gets inspired by it.


Thoughts:  I was reluctant to try this show, Thinking it was just going to be about an ex-ballet dancer who finds a new hobby in motorcycle racing while strange political crap is happening in the background. The first few episodes met this assumption head on but then came episode four.... Rin uses Fuego to save her best friend from a Terrorist attack/hostage situation/crazy militant action at the mall.
       This turns the idea of a racing show into a chaotic government, terrorist crazy show.  That wasn't the greatest explanation but, The end has me wondering if I would have liked it more if it had stayed a racing show with some government battling in the background...


The End:  It's a happy ever after type end, Other then the chick that got killed by the military when they thought she was Rin.....  The terrorist leader kills his ex-buddy currently crazy military leader and then vanishes off into the day {So, I didn't notice if he died or ran off}, Rin's brother is no longer being charged with murder and everyone seems... happy.

Darksiders

System:  PS3

Bought:   January 16th   {Free on PSN+}

Started: January 16th


Beat:  February 1st

Trophies:  28 of 43


Idea:  A long time ago Heaven and Hell fought, A lot.  Beings calling themselves "The Charred Council" showed up and started to play Mediators, To aid them they created The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Then Humans showed up, humans were weak and such so the Council talked Heaven and Hell into a cease fire and all was good.  Well, Maybe not...
      Seven seals were created, When these Seven Seals were broken it would be the sign that Humankind was ready for the Endwar. The Four Horsemen would awaken and ride into battle to slay the guilty...
     You are War, One of the Four Horsemen.  For some reason you're awoken and apparently the other three are not, When you arrive Heaven and Hell are all ready trashing Earth and the not quite ripe Humankind.  An Uber Demon named Straga ends up kicking your ass, The Council then accuses you of siding with Hell and sentences you to death.  After a bit of protest and the offer of finding who actually was responsible for creating the giant mess, You are stripped of your powers and given an annoying Babysitter to "Watch" over you.
     Off you go, No one likes you and you pretty much hate them too. 

Thoughts:  I had never even heard of this game before I saw it was free on the PSN, Really glad I did though. It's a fun game, I adore the story and am actually quite fond of War even though he's a bit of a grump.  The best part of the game was probably the end where I get to rip a certain irritating characters head off... Yes! DIE!  
     The game is a bit short, Well.. to me it's short. Even after getting lost {a lot} I only clocked like 21 hours on the first playthrough, The second run will be much faster since I'll know what the heck I am doing.  Also, Normal Difficulty is pretty easy... everything but Tiamat that is... Dear Gods I must have died there 50 times.
    Anyways, I probably won't actually buy the physical copy of the game since the download version remains good as long as I have Plus... I will more then likely buy Darksiders 2 even though I all ready read spoilers for that game.

The End:   The Council set War up.  Yep, They knew what Abanddon was up to.  They also knew that the Horsemen would never become assassins so... They summoned War up and sent him into the giant mess only so that they could hold him responsible.
     With all the blame falling on War, They knew he'd want to clear his name and that he'd go kill/find those that were responsible. Then they were going to let their annoying little Watcher guy kill War after he killed The Destroyer.
     Well, guess what Council...  A Tree foiled your plans. After releasing Azrael from Straga's prison, He takes War to Eden where the Tree of Knowledge stands.  The Tree gives War the Truth, That he's being used and that the Arch Angel Abanddon is actually The Destroyer.  He uses this information well, After the battle with the Destroyer/Abanddon everything the tree shows happens...  
    The Destroyer had been protecting the Seventh and Final Seal, Upon his death the seal is dropped and just as War starts to pick it up the Watcher slips in and grabs it.  Using his hold on War to wrack pain through his body the Watcher teases him with the Seal, That he was so close to freedom and that now War would die... Enter Uriel, She runs War through with the Armageddon Blade and then slices off the arm of the Watcher.  The Seventh Seal falls to the ground and shatters..  All the Seals have been broken and The Horsemen have been Summoned.
     War is now at 100%, No More Leash and it's time to squish the Watchers head.  Yey!   Uriel says the debt's been paid, A bit of chatter...  How do you expect to take on Heaven, Hell and the Council alone... In the background you see the other three Horsemen descending from the sky.

    
Characters...

Abaddon-  He was the leader of Heaven's Army {The Hellguard} and he was a naughty little archangel. With the help of Ulthane and Azrael he planned to break Six of the Seven Seals, That way the Horsemen would not be summoned.
       His plan went a little awry when War shows up on Earth during the pre-mature End War with the Demons, Taking the distraction to his advantage Straga {A large Demon} kills Abaddon. Abaddon's death marks Hells Victory in the End War and the portals to Heaven are closed, Leaving the rest of the Hellguard and Uriel stranded on a Demon infested Earth.
     After his death, Abaddon is taken to Eden by Azrael and is approached by a woman.  This woman gives him the choice to either serve in Heaven or Rule in Hell.  He chooses the later and thus becomes The Destroyer.
   

Uriel -   She's a bit irritating.   Gaining command of the Hellguard {Heavens Army} upon Abaddon's death, She blames War for his fall.  With this blame she and the surviving Angels hunt him down throughout the game. 
        It's pretty obvious that she loved Abaddon but had no idea what he had done and of course no idea that he was The Destroyer.  Until War Tells Her.
       She and her comrades go after The Destroyer, This isn't going very well at all until War shows up and... well... defeats him.  Uriel still needs to kill War due to some nonsense pact she had made with herself but... In the End.  She is the reason War survived..  She's the one who accidentally shatters the Seventh Seal and awakens all the Horsemen.

Ulthane -  I like this guy, He's amusing and treats Demons and Angels the same.  He's known as The Black Hammer,  He aided Abaddon in his plans to destroy Six of the seals and he's the one who forged the Armageddon Blade.
        Oddly, He's still alive at the end of the game and War didn't seem all that angry with him for aiding Abaddon.  Not that he could have done much to the large man seeing that he needed him to reforge the broken Armageddon Blade. 

Azrael -  The ArchAngel of Death, He too helps Abaddon with his plans to destroy the seals.  When War first meet him he's being held captive by Straga,  He's pretty straight up with him about all the wrongs he's done and is fairly resigned to whatever fate may hold for him due to his actions.
       After Straga falls he takes War to Eden, To the Tree of Knowledge where War finds out everything and yea.. He's the old, calm, wise person of the game.


Samael -  This guy looks sort of like the Evil guy from the movie Legend, At least in some aspects.  An extremely powerful demon that would not bow to The Destroyer's will and ended up imprisoned for eternity.
       That was the plan until War frees him.   Samael makes a deal with War that if he brings him the Hearts of the Four Chosen that he'd get him to The Tower in which The Destroyer resides... Well.. It was The Black Throne area where Straga was hanging out but same difference.  War ended up where he needed to be.
     Samael is quite helpful for an evil, demon dude.  Pointing War in the right direction, giving him stuff and even helping him re-engage his Chaos Form.

The Destroyer -  Abaddon's "Hell Form" essentially, He's basically the Ruler of the now Hell Infested Earth and protects the Seventh Seal at all costs because he does not want all the Horsemen Summoned.   
        A giant dragon, covered in fire he's actually a real push over when you fight him.  


The Watcher -  I HATE YOU.  Never have I been so glad to see a game character die, This little shit was an annoying little prick throughout the game.  
            The Council ties the little bastard to War to keep an eye on him while he's tracking down the reason for the premature Apocalypse. He gives you clues every now and then but for the most part he's just a giant pain in the ass.   He treats War like a dog, using his "leash" to reign him in quite often.
           He likes to try and give War orders which, he never follows and at the end he steals the Seventh Seal from him and pretty much attempts to kill War.  Well, Uriel sort of kills War at the end but she also lops off the Watchers arm which causes the Seventh Seal to fall and break.
        Yey!  War Crushes his Head.   haha

Samael

xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Episodes: Movie

How:  DVD Rental

Rating:  B


Summary: {From Wiki}  A woman comes to Yūko to ask for assistance because her key won't unlock her mansion. Later, Yūko receives an invitation to the mansion. Yūko sends Watanuki and Dōmeki along with her to the mansion. They aren't the only people there. Many collectors were invited. When collectors start disappearing, Watanuki starts to suspect that something supernatural is happening.


Thoughts:  Coming in at around 60 Minutes, It really just felt like a double TV Episode.  This is not really a bad thing and there was a Cameo by part of the Tsubasa crew at the end.
          The Summary pretty much says it all, Something Supernatural is happening and Yuuko has to fix everything  {With a little help from Watanuki}.


The End:  Turns out the supernatural host of the Manor is a "Collector",  He Collects Collectors even.  His target is Yuuko since she in a way is the ultimate collector.  The woman who had come to the shop in the beginning  of the story is a person from the "Collectors" past...
         I'm unsure what the relationship between the woman and the man is but, When she was a little girl she was living in his house and started a collection of her own.  Of Bean Bags, I think it was. I forgot... Anyways she basically said it's best to collect something that no one else was collecting and this guy took it to heart.
        When the little girl moved away he told her that he'd start a unique collection of his own, She promised that she'd come back some day to see it. When she came back however her key to the house did not work.. and that's why she went to Yuuko.
       Collecting Collectors it an unusual Collection, To say the least.  Yuuko figures it all out and Tada.. The woman who is now quite old is reunited with the man...ghost...whatever he is now.  He sees her as the little girl that left so many years ago and... yea.. This woman has been three ages in the movie alone. I guess the old woman her is the real her...
      It all Ends Happy.

Tsubasa -  I'll have to watch the movie that connects to this movie seeing that characters from that series contact Yuuko for a key at the end of this movie.

Random;   I loved when Yuuko actually ran, She was really a lazy ass in what I've seen of the TV Series so... When she hiked up that dress and started to run it was quite the sight.  Also, When Watanuki was looking for the bathroom... hehe.

xxxHolic

Episodes:  24

How:  Netflix

Rating:   3 out of 5

Summary:  {From MAL} Watanuki Kimihiro can see spirits and other assorted supernatural creatures, which is quite a bothersome ability he strongly dislikes. On the way home one day, while plagued by some spirits, he is inexplicably compelled to enter a strange house. There, he encounters Yuuko, a mysterious woman who claims to be able to rid him of the ability to see and attract the troublesome creatures – for a price. She demands that he work at her “store” that grants wishes to people, and thus begins Watanuki's adventures through weird and wonderful events.


Thoughts:  They have really long legs and arms, Very deformed.  Okay, Got that out of the way. I can see why it took me so long to watch this show.. it's visually intimidating.  It's unique that all the unimportant people in the show are kind of just blurred out silhouettes.
      The fact I watched this on Netflix means, It was dubbed. I can't really say the dub was "bad" since I've not heard it in it's original form but the guy who voices Watanuki... Uhg.  I just wanna die during his hysterical moments.
     As for the good, The character interaction was great certainly Watanuki and Doumeki. The way they "argue" was good for a laugh certainly in somewhat serious situations. Most of the people who came to the shop for their wishes to be granted were just sad.  I'll admit some of them really touched base with me.. Certainly the episode with the twins when one girl had no self esteem, always thinking the worse was going to happen...


Who we have....

Kimihiro Watanuki;  Watanuki is the sweet yumyum of the spirits. Well, Sort of.
   He's a high school boy who can see spirits, both of his parents are dead and he has no/very few friends. In the beginning he happens by Yuuko's shop and enters a "contract" with her that if he works for her, She will grant his wish to not be able to see spirits.
    Throughout the season Watanuki grows, Though I don't really think he even notices it. Always trying to help the people who come to Yuuko's shop, Even when they are beyond helping.


Yuuko Ichihara;  The owner of the shop, She's a witch of sorts...maybe..  She grants "wishes" with an equal exchange price.  With Watanuki she really seems to have become a mentor or almost motherly figure, Which is a little creepy.  She drinks a lot and is quite often drunk, Always using Watanuki as a butler of sorts or even a go-getter it's obvious that she never really plants to make his wish of not being able to see spirits come true.
      It's like she is grooming him.  She cares about him though, Pushes Doumeki on him since she knows that he can keep the smaller spirits at bay and seems to know what exactly is up with Himawari {although she never really mentions what it is.}
     Anyways, She's basically the only adult figure in the whole show so yea...

Shizuka Doumeki; Spirit Repellent!  Watanuki's classmate/rival/best friend, He can't see spirits but he certainly can keep most of them away.  He's in the schools Archery Club and can use his bow to shoot spirits without a "physical" arrow.
    He seems a bit on the slow side, quiet most the time and not easily excitable.  His grandfather use to tell him stories about spirits and what not, giving him at least some insight into what's going on. He currently lives in his grandfathers temple and you never really see his parents during the season.
   In episode 7, He digs in the rain for hours and hours trying to save Watanuki who had disappeared under a Hydrangea bush. In 23; He makes the choice to "kill" the spirit that Watanuki had been visiting in the park so that Watanuki would not disappear.  Stating that he made the choice to do it and now Watanuki had the choice to be angry with {hate} him for it.
    So, There is definitely some  Bromance going on here.  Even if Watanuki would never admit to it.

Himawari Kunogi;  The most positive girl in the world.  She's Watanuki's love interest though, Nothing ever really happens. She really seems to see the bright side of everything, Even when Doumeki and Watanuki are "fighting" she sees it more as them being playful with one another.
     I know there has to be something more to her, she can't possibly be that happy and positive all the time. Though really during the season there wasn't a lot given on her.

Maru & Moro;  Two Little Girls.   Not a lot is said about them, They work in the shop and are cute. Yep, That's basically it...  Other then they can't leave the shop.   Ever.

Mokona;  Nothing like the White Mokona, This guy is loud and loves to drink and eat. He's always getting into little fights with Watanuki and really seems to like Himawari.  He can see spirits, He can even eat them! I don't remember which episode it was but he just sucked down a whole bunch of them...
    Strange Little Critter.


Zashiki-warashi;  An innocent, sweet, slightly ditzy spirit girl who has a crush on Watanuki, When she first shows up in Episode 11 she accidentally takes Doumeki's soul while trying to find a good V-Day gift for Watanuki. She shows up in a few episodes, Watanuki even gives her hair pins in one of them.
         She lives on a Sacred Mountain with strange little Tengu Guardians that like to attack Watanuki anytime she cries {which is a lot} or they think he's hurt her.

Ame-warashi;  A water spirit/sprite that first shows up in Episode 7, After days and days of rain she asks for Yuuko's help to apparently rid a large hydrangea plant of a dead body that had been buried under it. The decaying body was poisoning the plant.
       She doesn't really like humans much, Due to them having no care for nature. She really seems to care for Zashiki-warashi since she's normally seen escorting her around while in the human world.
       She also makes an amazing Snowman.


The End:  I want more!! I want more!  There is more, I just had to download it. Season 2, Yey! It's sitting on the hard drive waiting to be watched.  Anyways.
      The final episode is mainly a flashback to when Watanuki was younger, He meets a boy who can also see spirits while he's being chased by this strange hand monster thing.  They become best friends but, On Watanuki's birthday the boy reveals to him that he too is a spirit.
    The spirit of a boy who had been taken away by the hand spirit thingys a year or more before, They promised they'd always be best friends even though the boy had to leave. Under the same cherry blossom trees on his birthday... Yuuko, Himawari, Doumeki and Mokona show up with a surprise picnic of sorts.
    Of course, Even on his birthday they make him do most the work but... He seems to enjoy it.  Even though he's still loud and over-reacts to everything, He's grown a lot through the season...



Favorite Character{s}:  Doumeki ~ I'm not sure why. He's just...quiet..and actually kind of amusing.
         The Pipe Fox ~  I love that little guy, I'd love to have one for a pet myself.

Least Favorite Character{s}:   I really don't dislike any of the characters but, the dub voice for Watanuki makes him more annoying then he actually is.


Favorite Episode{s}:  14 and 15;  The twins, One with lots of self confidence and the other practically none. In the end the older sister is helped by Yuuko to break her negative way of thinking and the younger twin learns to not put the older one down all the time.  Of course, Both of them get shot down by Doumeki in the end.. He really seems to have zero interest in girls.

Least Favorite Episode{s}:   None

January ~ Lets Go Shopping.

Hmmm, This is actually my first actual post on this Blog.

I suppose I should have done a introduction entry first but, I can wait till February for that.  February, That's the month I decided would be the "start" of this new Blog due to the fact I had the flu for the first two weeks of January {Yey! Uhg.}.
         Anyways...  On to the Spending.  This won't cover any essentials like toothbrushes or such, Just purely entertainment. I really took it easy this month, After December I felt guilty even though basically everything I bought for myself were extremely good deals but.. Whatever....

Loveless 10:   4 Months after 9.  Thank You Viz.
      Back when I picked up Volume 9, Volume 8 had been released by TokyoPop in 2008.  I didn't realize just how long it had been in between TP shutting down and VIZ picking up the series, Now.... Over 4 Years since Volume 8 was released in English.. I'll have to re-read 1 through 8 to make sure the switch in companies doesn't effect the flow of the story.
     If it does?  VIZ is releasing 1 through 8 in Omnibus format with a few extras added.  If everything is all right with the flow however I can't see myself double dipping for just the extras and maybe one colored page that TP had skipped in one of it's Volumes.






Star Ocean 2: The Second Story;  Yes, It's a Playstation 1 game.
      I'm always a little worried about trusting Amazon sellers for used games, They stretch the meaning of the words "Like New" to the point of absurdity.  If it doesn't come in the original box or doesn't have the game manual... It is by no means "Like New".  Meh.
    This one, I somehow found at a local used game/book/movie store that tends to overprice everything.. For 17 Dollars after Tax.  When I saw it in the locked cabinet I thought;  Oh Shit, They are probably going to want 50 for it.   To my delighted surprise it was only 15.99, Thought something could be wrong with it but after getting the employee to hand it over.. Case, Manual, Game Discs all in excellent condition.
     It Came Home With Me.   Now I need to find the time to replay it.

Playstation Plus Membership;   15 Months.
     It's all the fault of God of War Saga, It came with a 30 Day PSN+ Voucher. After activating it the second week in January to mess around with the new God of War Online I sort of became addicted to the Freebies. Well, Okay they are really not "Free" you are sort of paying a monthly fee to "Rent" the free stuff but still...
    Honestly, I was a little iffy about purchasing the membership. A Year for 50 Dollars, Then Sony decides to make it 15 Months for the 50 dollars.   Under 4 Dollars a Month, Not bad.   By the time my Subscription runs out the Playstation 4 may be out... Which I have absolutely no intentions of getting.


Network Purchase;   Machinarium.  I still had 3.99 in my wallet from a previous PSN Purchase and it was on sale so... Why not?  It looks like a cute game.


Loveless -  8.10
Star Ocean - 17.00
PSN Plus - 50.00
Machinarium -  0.00

Total;  $75.10


The total for the month is a bit high but, I have to look at the fact that I did not and will not be ordering the Third Season of Natsume from NIS America.  I'll get more into that later though...