I was looking for the Excel Saga Ex chapter, and the pinned post in the manga section was the top result!
The last time I checked this place out, it was overrun with Russians, and the last post I made was 13 years ago...

Still love me Excel Saga, simple as.  I mean, I better...I still have the Japanese logo tattooed on my forearm!

I'll be stopping by to chit-chat once in a while, now that I know it's back, and well taken care of.
God bless you for bringing it back to life, and keeping it safe, Foggle.

E^D

For hard-to-find, or Japan-exclusive Pokemon stuff, I found Pokevault.

Some of the rarer or more popular stuff can be way expensive, but I did buy a little Duskull plush and some Kabuto/Kabutops charms, for a very reasonable price (with shipping, from Japan, the total was under $50 US).

E^D

I just finished Toradora!, which, I have to say, was the most satisfying romance anime I've ever watched.  I stayed away from it for a while, because I thought Taiga was going to be just another annoying tsundere, but that wasn't the case.  Funny, sad, and the ending was absolutely perfect.  Anime needs more weirdo female characters like Minori.

Also in the middle of Yuru Yuri, because, well...  because yuri!  It's pretty damn funny, and I always feel bad for Akarin.

E^D

Quote from: Foggle on March 29, 2012, 10:27:45 AM
On a happier note, E^D Crow's tat is now forever immortalized within the hallowed pages of the English Excel Saga canon!

Damn straight!
I wonder if Rikudo is ever going to see it..?  *sigh*

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...  Every time I look at this tattoo, I think to myself "FUCK YEAH!"

Quote from: Mullon on April 20, 2012, 05:58:08 AM
I can't remember, did we know already that[spoiler]Miwa had cat eyes too[/spoiler]?

I don't think that's every come up..?  If it has, I hadn't noticed.

_________________________________________


I just got it today.  This was a great volume, and nice continuation from the previous.  Personally, I didn't have to re-read the last one to follow what was going on.

I agree that Excel and Misaki were the MVPs for this volume.

Thankfully, I have stayed far away from spoiling what happens in the remaining volumes.  As much as I would like them to be released sooner, I can deal with a year between releases.

I'm going to read it again, then come back to discuss things more in-depth.  So many allusions, and things are definitely getting weirder, even for Excel Saga.

E^D

I thought it was OK.  Not bad, but not "Oh, wow!" exceptional, either.

The story was very interesting, and while the characters (and dialogue) weren't particularly complex, felt real enough.  The visuals are amazing, but the overall direction and cinemetography felt (to me) like a very long, yet very interesting, television commercial (I'm talking camera angles, and the general layout/pacing/set-up of certain scenes).

I do not regret the time I spent watching it.  It was a really fun, deeper-than-it-appears, movie.

E^D

Picked up Soul Calibur V.  Awesome, as usual, but I think I need to use the controller, as I do much worse with my arcade stick...  Also:  The story mode is terrible, and written like a really bad fan-fic.  Otherwise, besides the new characters who are a lot like the old characters that are not in the game, it is a great Soul Calibur game, and I absolutely love Voldo's new costumes.

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Just played BlazBlue Continuum Shift, and well...  Here's my experience, in a nutshell:

Story and dialogue:[/u] "What the fuck am I reading!?"
Graphics and art design:[/u]  "It sure is pretty!  But...  What the fuck am I looking at?"
Actually playing the game:[/u]  I have no idea what I'm doing, and yet most matches wind up: "[Character I chose] WIN!"

Another thing:  Who the hell translated this game!?  Is it supposed to be horrible Engrish?  Examples:  REBEL 1 (uuuhh, knowing a little about Japanese phonetics, shouldn't it be "Level 1"?)  Arakune (ah-ra-ku-ney?  Even if it's pronounced that way, shouldn't it be spelled Arachne?)

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Still playing Skyrim.

Just last week I was looking up the release date, thinking it would be out soon...

Two months!?  Two whole months...  D^=

Still, I am so glad Viz hasn't given up on it.

E^d

Quote from: Lord Il on December 29, 2011, 10:40:25 AM
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is licensed and will be made available February 14, 2012.
Limited editions are packed full of extras.

http://madokamagicausa.com/product-combo1.php

This still remains as one of the most unexpectedly shocking shows I've seen this year.

Finally!  I've been trying to avoid all information about the series, with limited success.

Can't wait to get this on Blu-Ray.

E^D

Just finished Darker Than Black Gemini of the Meteor.

Wow.  It was great.  Shorter than the first season, but with a much quicker pace to the story.  Season one was very good, but seemed to drag on at times.  Watching the OVAs at the end was kind of weird, since they took place between seasons 1 & 2, but I don't regret waiting until the end.

The whole thing is a great series.  Smart, sexy, mysterious, violent, funny, and does not pander to the lowest common denominator.

E^D

SKYRIM

Holy crap, I have played this game for over 250 hours since Nov. 12th.  It is like having a second job, except you enjoy it.

It's as buggy as Bethesda's reputation, and kind of gets choppy/slows down on the PS3 after a while, but I don't care.  It's just too damn much fun.  I haven't played any other game since...

E^D

That's just awesome!  Nice to have the whole thing explained by a native.  =^D 
Of course, the 4th of July is totally based on it!


I think the rampant use of the Guy Fawkes mask on the internet is a strange legacy, but still kind of fits?
Not thinking about whether the long-dead Guy Fawkes would have approved or not:  it works, on many different levels.  There were more than a few at the NYC Halloween parade this year, and maybe some of them know the real story, but most probably don't.

Thanks, HA1L!


E^D

I would just like to point out that Electric Six's cover of Ruberband Man is a really, really difficult song to play on Beat Hazard Ultra...  It has kicked my ass a few times already.

I'm listening to a lot more music because of that game.  Right now: Chemical Brothers.
After all these years, I just found out that their style is called Big Beat Electronica.

E^D

P.S.  I really dig some of the songs put out by Tay Zonday (if you've never seen the video for Chocolate Rain:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA).
Chocolate Rain is kind of an interesting song, but not great.  He's got a few others I like: This Is You; I Play Game; Runnin' From The Concrete...  He also did You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch.
I'd say he needs a little polish, but damn that's some voice.

BEAT
HAZARD
ULTRA


Holy shit, this is an awesome game!  I've been looking forward to playing this for MONTHS, and it does not disappoint.  I got it for the PS3 (download for only $10).


The Deal:  It's a twin-stick shooter: you are a spaceship, left analog is move, right analog is shoot/aim, plus nifty super weapons with the triggers.
The hook?  The game uses ANY song on the system as the basis for the visuals and enemies.  Slow, quiet parts: your guns aren't as effective, but there are less enemies.
Fast, loud parts: your guns are way powerful, but there are loads and loads of enemy ships and debris.
And it was all made by ONE GUY.

Each song will give you the same enemy patterns, so if you want to re-do a "level" it won't be different.
The visuals, oh, GOD the visuals are an explosion of color in your retinas!

You must discover how much fun this game is.  It's not very complicated (shoot stuff, dont get hit) but can be very challenging.  You can even set the visuals to a beyond the impossible 200%, but that also makes everything a bit more difficult, because you are blinded by the awesome.

If you have a PS3 or a Steam account (some kind of PC game thingy) you have got to play this game.

Now, I am about to shoot down more crazy spaceships to some Ray Charles tunes.

E^D

Eh, it happens sometimes, but that's just part of where I live.
Northeastern New Jersey is crammed with all kinds of different cultures.  Some places are cool, a few will give you the cold shoulder.

I don't take it personally, and I'll definitely go there if I ever want to buy another backgammon set.
:elcool:



Of course, the best part of having so many cultures crammed into such a small area is the choice of food!  There is so much variety around here!
(and that's not even including New York City)
If I go out of my way no more than a 20 or 30 minute drive, I can get just about anything I could possibly crave.

From what I remember, Toronto has some diverse resturaunts...  Which was unfortunate to learn, because I was on a tight budget that weekend.  It was either room service, or Tim Horton's...
:elannoyed:


E^D

That does sound strange, Zozolton!  Like, what in the hell was going on!?


The thing is:  I like to go shopping and browsing every once in a while, and will go into any store if it looks even remotely interesting.
I can usually shrug off the dirty looks I get after saying: "I'm just looking around." (especially high-end jewelry stores, they just love to hear that).
But this 'International Gifts' place...  I felt like the guy in that one scene from the end of Kindergarden Cop, where all the kids are pointing and yelling: "STRANGER!?  STRANGER!"


...except in Russian.


Also: Toronto is an awesome city.  Been there once; took 9 hours to drive from New Jersey...
Lots to do in and around the city.  CN Tower was awesome!  O_O  Especially standing on the highest glass floor in the world!


E^D