Elfen Lied: Spoiler Free Review

Going back into the darkest depths of Anime, I return to review one of my favorites.

Elfen Lied has one of my favorite introductions of any Anime.  With an opening that oozes with symbolism while biblical passages are sung in Latin creates a truly amazing and surreal atmosphere.  Then the anime begins.

Elfen Lied pulls no punches.  Within the first five minutes of the first episode, there is already a very large body count.  Courtesy of one of the main characters going on a rampage. Alongside Yuno Gesai in Future Diary, Lucy from this anime is one of the more notable Yanderes that I am aware of meaning that in general there is a lot of unstoppable rage and violence.

It is an understatement to say that Elfen Lied would be better called "Everyone Needs a Hug" as this psychological thriller reveals itself. While my greatest criticism of the Anime is that it stops halfway through, forcing one to read the Manga to get the full story,  for what is provided it is among the best.

An emotional roller coaster ride is Elfen Lied and its nonstop from beginning to end as this story explores what it means to be human and showcases the values of friendship, betrayal, hatred, and despair in equal measure.

Also there is a beach.  Attacking girls with unusual hair colors on said beach is ill advised.

I highly recommend this Anime, and recommend even more to read the Manga it is based off of.

Space Dandy: A Spoiler Free Review

Space Dandy Review is a Review Dandy in Space.  Taking a slight break from the media I typically consume, I stumbled upon a much more lighthearted Anime.  This one comes off as a parody of Cowboy Beebop which rarely takes itself seriously.  It is notable that at the time of writing this blog post, one of my roommates considers Space Dandy to be himself in Anime Form.

What happens in this Anime is really too bizarre to truly write down in review form without spoiling things, but one of the best parts of Space Dandy is watching the Anime all the way through and then watching the show a second time once you understand everything.  There is a reason I pointed out that it only "mostly" does not take itself seriously.

Space Dandy's protagonist is the character by the same name and the story follows the many adventures he partakes to find and document rare aliens that have yet to be found out in space.  Since Space is an Ocean is in full effect here, the party is hunted by an Imperialistic organization known as the Gogol Empire that have some nefarious purpose in mind. Space Dandy does not know that they have an interest in him.

Supported by his crew mates Q.T. and Meow (who is really just a leeching stowaway), the three go on adventures while taking breaks at the restaurant "Boobies" better known as "Space Hooters". Laughs are plenty and the action is better than I had originally expected.  Keep watching as you enjoy the comedy as there are some really powerful symbols played around with in the story.

All in all, Space Dandy was just the Anime I needed to recover from the procession of Dark Anime I had consumed leading up until it.  However, the break ended and so the next couple reviews will be of the sort of Anime you would expect of me.

Also, my review of P.F. Davids' Lesser Evil will be coming soon.  Stay tuned for that.

Future Diary: Spoiler Free Review

I have fallen very very very far behind on these reviews to the point where its gonna take some rapid fire skills to catch up.  I watched Future Diary months ago and needed to properly review the story for the sake of this review.

With that in mind, lets delve into the Anime that is made most famous by the Queen of Yanderes: Yuno Gasai.

Future Diary is a Battle Royale Style anime where 12 individuals have been chosen to fight it out.  The winner gets to be God. But as mentioned above, its a certain girl with pink hair that really makes Future Diary stand out.

First off, I should define what a Yandere is.  This is a character type that is commonly associated with women in stories but not limited to that gender.  These types of characters are most well known for their psychotic obsession with their love interest.  Saying that they will let nothing, and I mean nothing get between them and their love interest is an understatement.  Another person speaks to their beloved?  Nothing a knife to the gut will not solve. Their love interest is in danger?  Time to break out the axe.  Their foolish love can't take care of themselves?  Better drug them and hold them hostage.

With that in mind, while Yuki Amano is the true main character of the story, Yuno is the one that is meant to be watched.  Her psychotic rampages and her very large body count are the reason I enjoyed this anime so much.  Add onto the fact that despite everything pointed out until now, and she is still one of the most sympathetic characters.

Speaking of other characters, lets talk about Minene, also known as Ninth in the anime.  If one mentioned Future Diary and are not talking about Yuno, its very likely this is the next most likely character to be brought up.  Without getting into spoilers, despite being a mad bomber terrorist who kills children in a school in her first appearance, Minene is one of the most sympathetic characters in the entire Anime.  Take from that what you will.

All in all, as Future Diary is among my favorite Anime at the time of this blog post, I would highly recommend it to an onlooker. With plot twists that constantly outdo themselves, ideas about the meaning of existence that kept me up at night, and an unforgettable cast this Anime never fails to deliver from beginning to end.  Equal parts romance, battle royale, and political intrigue.  There is something for everyone when experiencing Future Diary.

Dark Rebirth

What is it that drives a person to evil
That forbidden fruit we are warned to avoid
but still grasp all to readily

What is it that drives a person to inflict pain
That ultimate sensual experience
that presses negative energy onto another

What is it that drives a soul to turn dark
That perversion of light
that blackens the very essence of hope

A desire springs from a seed
trying  desperately to grow
reaching towards the sun.

but finds its way blocked.
trapped in the shadow of a tree
light refuses to nurture life

feeding on itself
the shadows grow
gnawing, begging for more

The plant lusts for energy
Surly its need can be sated
if only it could have a little more

The plant becomes a glutton
feeding on its surroundings
growing ever bloated

The plant grows envious of the tree
the dead ground nearby exhausted
it siphons food from its rival.

The plant is greedy
Feeding on the soil of the tree too long
Its rival begins to wither.

The plant becomes slothful
Gorged on food it needs rest
leaving its neighbor to die

The plant gains wrath
The rotting tree drops a dying branch from above
the demise follows soon after

The plant is filled with pride
It has won out over its neighbor
And sunlight belongs to it.

Many years grow by
the desire plant is now a tree
surrounded by grey dead soil

Twisting deep beneath the ground
searching for more food
and finds it through destruction

Desire is always hungry for more
it is never sated
dreams are a poor excuse for fuel

The fruit drives a person to evil
We choose to accept it
because if we do not, another will

A sensual experience drives a person to inflict pain
We choose to accept it
because if we do not, another will

We pervert our own souls
Hope is only a minor setback
because if we do not, another will

When one is born into this world
They choose between eating or being eaten
Inflicting harm, or being harmed

Do we desire to live so much
That others must die
so that we may thrive

Are we born into evil
or do we choose to accept it
as a result of advanced instinct

Writing a Story and Breaking Writer's Block

There are many things to consider when one decides to write a story.  All of these things can seem overwhelming too.  Where should I start? What direction do I take? What do I create?  Why will the reader care about this story? Should they care about this story?

By no means are any of the above the most important questions to ask.  I'll admit, they were just the first to come to mind. However, every one of the problems listed above have a few things in common with one another.

First, every one of those questions has a string of complex answers.  None of the above will have a solution that is a one size fits all situation. In this same vein, sometimes, as will be discussed a little further down, these types of questions, and the form of contemplation are not worth exploring at least initially.

Second, and most importantly, letting oneself get bogged down in these questions creates a very oppressive form of writers block. For those unfamiliar with the term, writers block is essentially being unable to write for a whole host of reasons.  It can also apply to a person being unable to know how to proceed with their writing. And since there are so many different ways that writers block can manifest, it is wise to avoid as many of the factors that cause it as possible.

As a published author in my own right, I have decided to share some of the information that has helped me write and escape the confines of my own blocks.  I hope this to be helpful for writers of all levels.

First and foremost, and this cannot be stressed enough, the most important part of writing a story is to write.  I know, it is a crazy concept correct? But the most noticeable side effect of writers block is the inability to write so I cannot stress this important strategy enough. For those who have trouble writing down their ideas because they fear of lack of coherency, my advice is to use the powerful tools given by computers and spell checkers.  Put whatever words come to mind in the word document, google doc or whatever equivalent you are making use of. SAVE OFTEN! Few things are as destructive to writing compared to a couple hours of work completely lost.

Next, should you feel lost, and need more inspiration, the wonderful, and all mighty power of the internet is near limitless fuel for imagination. Literacy and technology intersect at every corner within this realm.  There are novels of every genre to consume for examples of what works and what does not in a story, and past that, we have incredibly detailed wiki website for just about every story on the face of the planet.

The next thing I will discuss deserves a paragraph in its own right.  There are Wiki pages for stories, and then there is Tvtropes.  This website has so many tools at the fingertips of writers, that words cannot even properly express how helpful this page has been in my own writing process.  Need help constructing characters?  Pages for that on here.  Need to ensure that an idea you have has not been done hundreds of times already? Plenty of pages for that too!  Seriously, no matter how many times I repeat it, I cannot stress enough how important this very specific website has been in my own writing process, especially in the vein of writers block.

One final aspect that is equally important to writing, and goes into the same vein as above, make sure to read as well as write.  Literacy is required for writing.  It is called literature for that very reason.  I was once told that "for every hour you write, you should read two" and it is true.  Remember that reading on the internet, or listening to music is as much consuming literacy as reading a book.  With that in mind, the number of ideas hat exist to help with the writing process is limitless.

But for those who need one final push, there is one final strategy that can make use of all the concepts outlined above. A handy stopwatch can help a writer to commit to putting their ideas down on the page. Whether through a phone, or a literal alarm timer, doing work in short spurts can help ease the load and overwhelming feelings that are associated with writing.  This final step can help those struggling to crush their writers block run over the mountain to find the downhill slope on the other side.

Final Fantasy 15 Review (Post Chapter 9)

This is my second half of the Final Fantasy Review and starts with chapter 9 and beyond.  This is the phase known by the fanbase as the section where the game completely falls apart.  A sentiment I now agree with.

I had some serious problems with the plot of this game, but with the open world nature of the first half of the game, I was willing to ignore this major flaw.  But with the second half of the game really focusing on plot, now I was forced to come to terms with Final Fantasy 15's biggest weakness. 

Minus the big four main characters, a couple supporting leads, and the main antagonist, I did not care about any of the characters.  Chapter 9 is where this begins to really hold the game back.  As major deaths of characters starts to happen, I felt... nothing from their painful ends.  Perhaps I am spoiled by powerful plots with characters that really speak to me on an emotional level, but I really could care less about most of the characters in the plot.  As a result, their deaths don't matter to me much.

Worse is what happens when the open world aspect suddenly ends, and the game is literally railroaded.  There are a few good parts in this segment, though the twists require a little bit of suspension of disbelief.  There was one notable part of the game that I really did enjoy and it comes at odds with most of the fan base.

Chapter 13, hailed by almost everyone as the worst part of the game was actually one of my favorite segments.  Sure the plot was still weak, and a villain that most of the time I liked, decided to act even more hammy than usual as I stealthed through his base.  Without mentioning specifics, just know that lots of people hate this part of the game due to the drastic changes in gameplay.  Suddenly Noct is the main character of a survival horror game with jump scares a plenty, and none of his weapons save the Ring of Luci which is an item that I only recently figured out how to use properly.

The part of the game that really pissed me off and really showed me why the games ending segments are getting so much hate is what occurs right after Chapter 13 ends.  Once again avoiding spoilers, Square had a chance to effectively double the main game in both scope and size, and decided not to. 

With an ending that was very obviously rushed, I was very disappointed in the second half of the game. There was a chance to follow in the footsteps of Final Fantasy 6, my favorite video game of all time, and this did not deliver.  So while I am getting a chance to enjoy the bonus dungeons, this is not one of the best games in the series which is a shame because this game was stuck in development hell for so long. 

With Square hopefully realizing what they did wrong with this game, perhaps the next game in the series will remedy the decreasing faith I have in the Final Fantasy Series of late.

Romasanta Father of Werewolves: Review

Whoa boy, this was an incredible read.

After Reviewing the first book in the Cedric Series, I jumped right into this one, and continued to dive until the end, cause it really enjoyed it that much.

This novel showcases a world where fantasy, myth, and a bit of magic collide.  But unlike the first book in the series which focuses on the lives of two increasingly important characters, Romasanta focuses on the titular Werewolf who has a much larger impact on the world than Cedric.

From humble beginnings as a farmer that leads to an incredible bad string of luck, Romasanta finds himself sharing his body with Fenrir the great wolf, and finds himself on a quest for revenge against Merlin, the man who made him this way.  Alas, Romasanta's bad luck does not stop, or even start there.  On a quest to reunite with the woman he loves, this poor man becomes the most powerful of all Werewolves.  Also due to the fact that Vampires are a mutation of the Werewolf curse, he is the master of their race as well.

With an action packed adventure, cunning Demons (Like Lilith who never fails to disappoint in this book) and an extremely manipulative sibling, I could not put this book down from start to end.  It certainly helps that I am a sucker for seeing prior events with more puzzle pieces revealed.  For those who have read Cedric the Demonic Knight, this book offers more insight into those same events and one can really see the scope and intrigue that Cedric failed to notice while he was strung along in the previous book.

All in all, this book addresses some key ideas such as what love means as well as how one is and is not human. The emotional impact is a nonstop experience and I highly recommend this novel to just about anyone.  The romance that I tried to avoid a bit more in the first book did not distract at all in this sequel.  The high fantasy elements are, of course, my preferred draw in this novel, but there is something to find for everyone within its pages.

I cannot wait for "Oracle" which will be the next book.