The Anime Plate

Gaming Stories: How One Game Created Modern Ratings

2014-09-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

Hello, and welcome to Gaming Stories, where I relate a tale of my time playing video games.

Many moons ago, there was a little console called the Sega Mega CD, a CD add-on for the Mega Drive, or the Genesis, as we 'murricans know it. No one could have possibly foreseen what would happen in 1992, when Sega and Digital Pictures released a game by the name of Night Trap.

Women, Augers, and controversy, oh my!
Night Trap, released in 1992, was an interactive motion picture, in which 5 girls are staying at a mansion. Said mansion is being invaded by creeps called Augers, who... kidnap the girls and suck out their blood? Okay then... The player, as a member of the Sega Control Attack Team (yes, the acronym is SCAT. Get your mind out of the gutter.), must protect the 5 girls from the Augers. If too many Augers go uncaptured or even one girl is caught, the game ends, and some dude in a mustache unplugs your controller.

This scene is why we can't have nice things.

Why is this game important enough to write about? This game, along with the Mortal Kombat series, is chiefly responsible for the creation of North America's modern ratings system, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. It all started in 1993, when Senator Joe Liberman got a hold of some video games, including MK and Night Trap, eventually proclaiming that the industry was promoting violence to children.

This led to government hearings, ultimately resulting in the game being recalled from shelves, being edited, and re-released in 1994 with different artwork. Because of the recall, 1992 print run copies are incredibly rare. However, a game store in my hometown had the good fortune to come across over 200 copies of the game, and I was fortunate enough to snag one of their last good condition copies.

The game is currently on display, sitting on a shelf. I have no intentions of ever playing it, only of telling my children and grandchildren the story I just told you. I'm glad I could pass this important chapter in gaming history on to all of you readers.

Join me next time for another story from the annals of my video game career. Good-bye, and see you next article!

Video Game Review: Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 3DS Special Demo

2014-09-18T11:00:00.000-06:00

I sincerely hope this isn't the final title, though.

Oh, hey, look, a review. Now that I have your attention, I'd like to talk about an upcoming game that I'm quite excited for: the new Super Smash Brothers game for the 3DS. I had the good fortune to get a download code for a special demo version, and that is the topic of this review.

Before I get to the actual review, I'd like to talk about Super Smash Brothers as a whole for a second. Super Smash Brothers originated on the Nintendo 64 as a game called Dragon King: The Fighting Game, and didn't originally have Nintendo characters at all. Smash is a huge departure from traditional fighting games like Street Fighter, as characters do not have "health", and KOs are instead recorded by knocking the opponent far enough off-screen. The second game in the series, Super Smash Bros. Melee, is still seen at major tournaments even today, 13 years after its release on the Nintendo Gamecube.

Because what I played is a demo, I won't be judging too harshly for content. That said, I'd like to start by talking about the mechanics. While I was playing, I found it much easier to use the characters' tilt attacks compared to previous titles, especially the Wii installment, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. The new ledge mechanics are interesting, as one no longer is SOL if someone's already occupying a ledge. Instead, the ledge is effectively stolen from the occupant. This makes it feel like a totally new game, rather than a sequel.

Next up is the actual content. The character select screen showed what I'm guessing will be the initial roster when the game is actually released in the US next month, checking in at around 35 characters. That's a lot. Of those 35, only 5 were available in the demo: Mario, Link, Pikachu, Villager, and Mega Man. About 20 stages appear to be available from the get-go come October, but a single stage was playable in the demo: Battlefield. Additionally, rules were locked in the demo, which is fine. The Vault was selectable from the menu, but the only thing accessible in it is Tips.

Overall, I'm pleased with the demo. It's making me all the more excited to play the full game next month. The game plays very smoothly, and seems to be a bit memory-intensive on the 3DS. To me, that's telling of everything that's actually in the full version. 2 of my planned mains, Pikachu and Villager, were in the demo, which is a major plus to me.

Scores:

Mechanics: 4.5/5 (as mentioned above, tilts are easier, and ledge mechanics make it feel like a brand new game)
Content: 3.5/5 (I understand it's a demo, but couldn't they have at least 2 or 3 stages available for some variety?)
Plot: N/A (It's a demo, and single-player wasn't available.)

Overall: 4/5 (All aboard the hype train.)

Manga Review: Azumanga Daioh Volume 3

2014-09-15T13:22:00.000-06:00

Yup. With Tokyo Mew Mew done, I'm down to two manga series to review. That said, it's time for more Azumanga Daioh! Let's do this!

Review's down after the jump!

Volume 3 of Azumanga Daioh covers from September, which is the start of the second semester, to May, with the second sports festival, New Year's dreams, and much more in between.

There was a noticeable difference in translation for volume 3, made clear by the presence of a translator's notes section, something the first two volumes sorely lacked.

Once again, though, what is there to say that i haven't already said in my other reviews? That's really the issue with Azumanga as a whole: it builds early and rides it the rest of the way.

I almost wonder if I should even review Volume 4 at this point. These reviews are becoming increasingly short. Oh well. Volume 4 is the last one for the series.

Volume 3 Scores:

Translation: 3.5/5
Bonus Content: 4/5 (TL notes, yay!)
Writing: 4/5 (some of the jokes are re-used from earlier volumes)

Overall: 4/5 (much better than previous volumes

Con Report: Otakon 2014

2014-09-11T11:00:00.000-06:00

I'd like to start by apologizing for getting this out so late. One thing after another got in the way of writing this.

I managed to find time to slip out to Baltimore to go to Otakon this year. It's my first time going to this con, so I have no idea what to expect. I was hoping it'd be fun, and I was absolutely satisfied.

Con stories after the jump!

For anyone who doesn't know, Otakon is held annually in Baltimore, Maryland, and has been held there since 1994. It's grown from a tiny hotel-based convention to the second-largest event of its kind in North America, reaching attendance numbers past 30,000 for 3 consecutive years, prompting a future move to Washington, DC.

And this is just the Friday registration line.

With such large attendance numbers, one shouldn't expect things to go perfectly smoothly. Lo and behold, the line for pre-registration badge pickup bordered on nightmarish later in the evening. Granted, it's not Otakon's fault that people show up at 9 PM, expecting to get through a massive line by 10 PM. And to Otakon's credit, they were streamlining the lines as much as they could. I'm just glad I showed up at 2:30 and had my badge in hand by 4:30.

With my badge in hand, I got good rest, knowing I would be up late the rest of the weekend. Friday morning rolled around, and I immediately went to the line for autographs from Erica Mendez and David Vincent. Really, I just wanted Mendez. Vincent was just a bonus. Later that afternoon, I met up with a couple buddies from Twitter, one of which was working at the Hen Da Ne booth in the dealer's room. Finally, 9 PM rolled around, and I registered for the Mario Kart 8 tournament. I never made it out of group play, sadly. No glory for me! With defeat in hand, I trudged off to my hotel room to rest up for the hell known as Saturday.

Saturday was rather uneventful. A couple signings, one of which got capped. Other than that, I lost a Raikou cosplayer in the crowd. Story of my life, really. Had dinner with some family members before heading back to the convention for more cosplay photos.

I'm gonna be honest: I completely skipped Sunday. There was nothing I wanted to do, plus my favorite baseball team was in town, so I went to the ballgame instead of the con.

The two days of the con I did go to were quite fun, if a bit mundane. I don't think I went to a single screening or panel, though. Same kinda thing happened when I went to FanimeCon for the first time, though.

I'd go back to Otakon, but probably not until they get settled into DC. Having to push my way around a convention is not worth $70. Add the fact that lines to get into panels or signings rarely started moving until 20 minutes after x thing was supposed to open or start, and you have a mildly frustrated first-time Otakon attendee.

My next convention trip is Anime Boston 2015, which is April 3-5, 2015. I can always count on that con to be tons of fun. Hopefully I might see some of you there!

Quick question for my readers

2014-09-04T13:07:00.000-06:00

Okay, I have a quick question for y'all.

If I were to start doing top 10 videos, would you guys watch them? They'd take the place of normal blog posts, and would probably only come out every month or so. I have a few ideas for some top 10s, so I wanna see if my audience is even interested in that stuff.

Reply in the comments or on Twitter, @tnelson027!

Okay, till next time, whenever that may be. See ya~!

Manga Review: Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus 3

2014-07-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

Here we go, it's time for the final installment of my review of Kodansha USA's omnibus release of Tokyo Mew Mew. Lots of important things happened in this volume, so let's get started!

The big finale after the jump!

There were 3 major reveals in this volume, which covers the rest of the story, from when Blue Knight first apoears, up to Deep Blue's defeat at the end of the volume. The first major reveal (to Masaya) is that Ichigo is a Mew Mew, followed shortly by Masaya telling Ichigo that he's known since the TV station incident. To cap off what would be volume 5, we find out the Alto, the cat that repeatedly saved Neko-Ichigo, and Ryou are one and the same. The end of what is volume 6 is the stunning reveal that Masaya is the leader of the aliens, Deep Blue, initiating the final test and battle for Ichigo and the other Mew Mews.

A lot of the character emphasis in this omnibus was focused on the triangle of Ichigo, Masaya, and Kisshu, especially Ichigo and Masaya. Almost every reveal involved those two in some capacity. It's actually rather sad to see how frustrated Kisshu becomes with Masaya "getting in his way".

The quality of the writing is better in this omnibus, as the climax of a story should be. The reveals were planned out extremely well, with some of them foreshadowed early in the book, or even earlier in the story. As such, one's disbelief is easily suspended during the action scenes.

There is bonus content in the form of the Little Mew Mew and Sleeping Princess In Berry Forest short stories. They're quite cute, and provide a nice relief from the heaviness of the main storyline, and come at just the right time to provide a feel-good moment.

Overall, this is a fitting climax to a touching story, with just enough buildup to keep the reader interested. The bonus stories, as mentioned above, provide just the right amount of light-heartedness that the anticipation from the main plot isn't totally ruined. The characters feel real from start to finish, and the love triangle, while by no means an original concept, adds an extra dimension to the characters of Kisshu, Ichigo, and Masaya. The reveals, as mentioned earlier, are well-written, so they hit you hard.

Scores:

Omnibus 3

Plot: 4/5 (it's the thrilling climax, but it still felt a bit cookie-cutter)

Characters: 5/5

Bonus Content: 4/5 (2 bonus stories, plus all the post-volume stuff from Ikumi)

Translation: 3.5/5 (still better than Tokyopop, thanks to Kodansha actually trying)

Overall: 4/5

Series:

Plot: 3/5 (very cookie-cutter, but still well-written)

Characters: 4/5 (characters are quite archetypical)

Bonus Content: 2.5/5 (no proper bonus content until second omnibus)

Translation: 4.5/5 (much better than Tokyopop's translation)

Overall: 3.5/5

Worth the purchase, re-read once in a while

This caps off my reviews for the main Tokyo Mew Mew manga series. I don't know if I'll review A La Mode. I don't have the omnibus for it as of this writing, but I could still do a review of the Tokyopop volumes. In the meantime, look forward to more Azumanga Daioh reviews, as well as other reviews!

What I'm Watching: Fall 2014

2014-07-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, the fall anime season is coming up, and you know what that means. It's time to reveal what I'm going to be looking forward to in the coming 3 months. It's obviously tentative, since this list might change between now and when the season starts, depending on a lot of factors, like what Crunchyroll picks up. Anyway, let's get started with the TV series!

My limited preview is after the jump!

Denki-Gai no Honya-san

Anyone who knows me knows I like a good comedy, and I think I found one in Denk-Gai no Honya-san. To quote the chart's summary on The Cart Driver: "The 'youthful bookstore comedy' revolves around the folks who work in a manga shop deep in a certain Electric City." This sounds legitimately interesting to me, because I like books, if the manga reviews on this very blog don't tell you that.

Since it's on the first row of the chart, I assume it's going to start early on in the season, and will be animated by a as-of-yet to be announced studio. I will update this post when that information becomes available.

Orenchi no Furo Jijou

The second I saw that this show was tagged "comedy", I knew I should at least give it a look. Upon reading the summary, I was further convinced to watch it. Said summary is as follows: "Tatsumi is a normal high school boy. One day, a devastatingly handsome merman named Wakasa moves into the bathtub in Tatsumi's home." On the surface, this seems like a shoujo series, and that's because it absolutely is.

Slated to be animated by Asahi Productions, Orenchi no Furo Jijou, judging from its position further down on the chart, is possibly scheduled for a bit later in the season. Again, I will update this post when I get that information.

Well, that's the TV series out of the way. On to the OVAs and films!

Kill la Kill Special

You didn't think I was done with Kill la Kill, did you? Don't be silly, there's still a special coming out, and it's slated for September, to be animated by Studio Trigger. I don't need to explain Kill la Kill to you, do I?

Shinryaku!! Ika Musume

Bearing the same emphatic punctuation as the television series, this is presumably a continuation of some plotline from that season, or more slice-of-life. I'll give it a look, and maybe review it.

Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow

Wait. Why am I watching a Strike Witches film? Why do I like Strike Witches? Is something wrong with my brain? Is this going to be like the K-ON! film, where I see how long I go before I decide slitting my wrists is more entertaining? Or will it be surprisingly good, like My Little Pony: Equestria Girls? Time will tell, especially since we probably won't see this on physical release for several months.

That's it. You're probably thinking, "why watch so little?", aren't you? I can answer that question, I'm quite busy, so busy I often draft posts on the go, and finish them on my laptop later. The same goes for anime watching. I only watch a few series and a couple OVAs a season, and that's just when I can fit them in.

I hope you enjoyed my season mini-preview. Stay tuned for more awesome content from The Anime Plate!

Manga Review: Azumanga Daioh Volume 2

2014-07-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time again: time for another Azumanga Daioh manga review! Since I covered most of the Azumanga basics in my last review, this one'll be a bit shorter. Same thing for volumes 3 and 4. With that little note out of the way, let's get the review started!

And, before you ask, no I didn't read the Japanese version. Google-kun simply didn't like me.

The Talk after the jump!

Volume 2 sees the formal introduction of Kagura, who follows the jock archetype, right down to the poor grades in not-PE. The weird cat-thing is formally revealed (by Sakaki) to be Chiyo's "dad". Sure. Lastly, the second summer trip is seen in this volume, with the gang returning to Chiyo's guest house. Fun times were had. The Talk was also had.

Kagura follows the jock archetype to a T. She's bent on beating everyone, especially Sakaki... who is all "whatevs". Chiyo's "dad" is shown to be prone to waxing philosophical about this and that, which becomes particularly awesome in the anime, but that's a whole other review. Kimura's still a creep. That's really about it for the characters.

The jokes were about what you would come to expect from Azumanga Daioh at this point. Kimura's creepiness/pedophilia is played up for laughs, as is Yukari's driving. One particularly notable joke was the very last one in the volume, in which Yukari is prevented from getting drunk by Kurosawa-sensei... and promptly lectures all the girls about sex, capped off by Chiyo recalling all of this to Nyamo the next morning, to her horror.The status quo of the comedy for this series is absolutely maintained.

What else is there to say? It's another volume of Azumanga Daioh. All the usual stuff is here, and with the addition of Kagura, the cast is complete. Aside from that... oh, yes. The translation. The translation seems to be better than that of the first volume. Osaka in particular, is less Brooklyn-y than she was in volume 1, though that could be due to her now-established role as the space cadet. Not much else to say, so let's move on to scores.

Scores:

Characters: 4/5 (Kagura's introduction adds a new dimension to the dynamic)
Writing: 3.5/5 (Several jokes are re-used, though often with a new spin)
Translation: 4.5/5 (As mentioned earlier, Osaka is less Brooklyn-y)
Bonus Content: 0/5 (Once again, absolutely no bonus content)

Overall: 3/5
A solid volume, but no bonus content really hurts the value.

Anime Review: Dirty Pair (1985)

2014-07-13T11:55:00.000-06:00

This... is not the best of the two.

I was paging through some older reviews on this blog, and I noticed something: I've reviewed everything related to the Dirty Pair anime... except for the TV series. I should rectify that and finish it off. Not sure why I didn't review this back then, but whatever. So let's turn back the clock to 1985!

Spoilers after the jump? Yeah, sure, why not?

Dirty Pair, as longtime followers of this blog know, is one of my all-time favorite anime, checking in just under A Certain Scientific Railgun on my top anime list. And as I mentioned before, the only thing I haven't reviewed is the 1985 TV series. I don't even have an excuse, since I have it on DVD. That said, I still enjoyed watching this show again. Allow me to give you some background on the show.

Dirty Pair follows the antics of Kei and Yuri, 2 young and attractive Trouble Consultants for the World Welfare Work Association, or 3WA for short, their pet cat-dog-thing Mughi, and their helper robot Nanmo. The series showcases 25 different cases, which makes this a very episodic series, and is very loosely based on the 1970s novels. Emphasis on "loosely". In fact, the only connection the anime has with the novels is Kei, Yuri, and Mughi! Even Nanmo was an anime-original character.

With all this in mind, the show itself screams "1980s". The outfits Kei and Yuri wear, some of the dialogue, Kei's hairstyle, the soundtrack. All of it is extremely '80s and I love it for that. It does not try to hide its age or its mild camp. It presents itself with no surprises.

As mentioned earlier, the show is quite episodic, and that hurts it a bit in the pacing department. Literally 2 of the episodes are actually directly connected, with the rest being individual stories. At the same time, this lets a viewer sit down, pick an episode, and watch it, and know exactly what's going on at any given point. Being an episodic series is both a blessing and a curse for this series.

Scores:

Writing: 3.5/5 (very campy)
Characters: 4/5 (also extremely campy, I <3 2.5="" br="" episodic="" kei="" pacing:="" series=""> Value: 3.5/5 (Part One box set comes with 13 episodes for $30)

Overall: 3.4/5
It's a series that's fun to watch once in a while.

Thanks for reading my review! Check out more recent reviews here and here, and see my analysis of Kei and Yuri here!

Breaking It Down: Silver

2014-07-10T11:00:00.000-06:00

Silver wants YOU to go die.

I know I normally do anime characters on Breaking It Down, but I'd like to take a moment to address a character from a video game. He's quite turmoiled, and will do anything to become strong. That's right, this week on Breaking It Down, we're covering the rival from the second generation of Pokemon games, Silver.

DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this article, I'll be using the Gen IV remakes, HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Sorta major spoilers after the jump.

Silver is a troubled young man with a very negative aura about him. But why is he this way? It may have something to do with his past. It's somewhat known that Silver is the son of former Team Rocket leader Giovanni. The first indication of this is in the post-game of FireRed and :LeafGreen, where a Team Rocket Grunt mentions that Giovanni's son is "a young man with long red hair", a description that fits Silver perfectly. As for what fuels his anger and hatred, we must look at his interactions with the world around him, starting with his father, Giovanni.

Silver's connection to Giovanni was finally confirmed in a HeartGold and SoulSilver event in which the player is able to see Giovanni abandoning Silver to go into hiding. It could be that this abandonment is what makes Silver so hateful. Indeed, Silver is quite eager to try and bring down the returning Team Rocket by himself, perhaps thinking that if he takes out Team Rocket, he could find his father.

Silver, at least initially, is hateful, angry, and implied to be physically abusive toward his Pokemon. It is only after losing to the player at Mt. Moon that Silver learns to care for his Pokemon, and it shows when his Golbat evolves into Crobat between the Mt. Moon battle and the Indigo Plateau battle. Additionally, he is shown to be genuinely happy when Professor Elm forgives him and lets him keep the starter he stole, perhaps implying that Silver had finally learned to love and cherish his Pokemon.

Throughout the game, Silver is extremely antagonistic toward the player, frequently calling him/her weak and a loser. This continues until the Mt. Moon battle, where Silver finally starts to figure it out that the reason he keeps losing is because his Pokemon don't necessarily trust him. This is further shown during the Indigo Plateau battle, where he owns a Crobat, again showing that he had come to love and trust his Pokemon. It is after that battle that Silver becomes friendlier toward the player, treating him/her like a proper rival.

At his core, Silver is a troubled child, struggling to find an outlet for his anger. He finally finds it in the player and his own Pokemon, yet it wasn't enough to satisfy him. He needed to become strong to get back at Giovanni, and so he resorted to stealing Pokemon from Professor Elm and a couple other folks to get that strength.

That's it for this installment of Breaking It Down! See you next time, when I analyze a, as of this writing, undecided character. Stay tuned later this week for my review of the 1985 Dirty Pair anime, and check out my previous review here!

Video Game Review: Shadow The Hedgehog (GCN)

2014-07-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Video games are a thing to to review, right? Right? Good. Now, it'd be boring if I just kept releasing manga reviews week after week, so I'm changing things up and reviewing a video game. This week's subject is Shadow The Hedgehog for the Nintendo Gamecube, possibly against my better judgement.

Spoilers go pew-pew after the jump!

Shadow The Hedgehog is a third-person platformer-shooter for the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox. I played the Gamecube version, and, to be honest, it has its high points and its low points. That said, this game caps off the Shadow story arc that started in Sonic Adventure 2 and continued into the Team Dark story of Sonic Heroes. The entire game's plot is based around Shadow's amnesiac state and his quest find his purpose and identity. There are 10 endings to the game, plus the true ending, in which Shadow finally discovers the real truth about his past.

When I say this game has high points, this is what I'm referring to.

First up, the all-important gameplay. The game plays like a Dreamcast era Sonic game, that is to say, the controls and camera can be a bit wonky at times, but is still quite fast-paced. However, the non-Goal Ring and non-enemy missions put much more emphasis on exploring the levels, which slows the game down a lot, especially when there are 30+ targets. The Homing Attack also has a tendency to not target, causing many accidental deaths.

The music is pretty good. It almost always fits the mood of the stage in question, and the main theme "I Am... All Of Me" describes the plot perfectly. An abridged soundtrack is available on iTunes, for those who want to get it for themselves. Crush 40 does a wonderful job with the main theme, and the alignment ending themes are quite good, especially "All Hail Shadow".

The concept of a Sonic game with weapons is interesting in theory, especially because it fits for Shadow to use guns. Unfortunately, the targeting system is less-than-perfect, and point-blank shots would often miss. This led to much frustration on timed missions, and often losing a weapon I rather enjoyed using. That aside, it's not a game I'm willing to try and 100%, but it's definitely fun to play once in a while.

Scores:
Gameplay: 3.5/5 (slippery controls)
Music: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.75/5

It's Good, But Not Great

LootCrate June 2014

2014-07-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

I know this seems random, but I'm going to share with you, my loyal readers, my LootCrate openings each month. Often, this will replace Breaking It Down for whatever week it's posted, usually towards the end of the month or the beginning of the next month. So without further ado, here's my LootCrate for June!

Buncha stuff after the jump!

For those who don't know, LootCrate is a sort of geek-themed box of stuff that comes every month. Every month has a theme, and this month's theme is TRANSFORM. Naturally, this means Transformers stuff. So while it doesn't necessarily have anime stuff in it, it's certainly cool, and I highly recommend it, since you get amazing value from the box.

Anyway, here's the video:

Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe!

Scores:
Value: 5/5
Theme: 3/5 (Transformers isn't my thing)
Variety: 4.5/5
Design: 4/5 (T-shirt is pretty cool-looking)

Overall: 4/5
LootCrate Is Awesome

To subscribe to LootCrate, go here!

Manga Review: Azumanga Daioh Volume 1

2014-06-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

So, uh, every so often, a particularly interesting manga or anime comes out. Well, back in the late 90s and early 2000s, a little series called Azumanga Daioh came out. I adore this series, mainly because of the characters. So, no more delaying, here's my review of Azumanga Daioh volume 1.

Can a series like this even really have spoilers?

Azumanga Daioh is a slice-of-life school comedy manga. That genre means I can't really target the plot in a review. The story follows 5 girls: Tomo Takino, Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga, Sakaki-san, Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara, and Chiyo Mihama. The first volume covers from the start of their first high school year (April) to Christmas that year, and the girls get involved in all manners of antics, from the required sports festival to karaoke on Christmas Eve.

The characters themselves are quite varied: Chiyo's the genius, Yomi's a bookworm, Tomo's a (self-proclaimed) hyperactive girl, Osaka's an airhead, and Sakaki's the tall, quiet girl who doubles as the athlete. Every character fits their archetype's tropes to a T, yet they all have distinct personalities that make them more than just archetypes.

As far as the art itself is concerned, it's starts off semi-detailed, with the artist drawing individual strands on Chiyo's pigtails, and by volume's end, said pigtails were drawn as oval-esque objects, usually for the sake of a gag. This leads to a somewhat simplistic style that fits the tone of the series.

What's there to say about this? It's a gag manga. There's no storyline, save for the school year. But it's a damn funny gag manga, and volume 1 is definitely worth checking out.

Scores:

Writing: 4/5

Art: 3.5/5 (a bit on the simplistic side)

Bonus Content: 1/5 (None. At all.)

Characters: 3.5/5 (All characters fit into archetypes)

Overall: 3/5

It's A Gag Manga, What Did You Expect?

Breaking It Down: Kei + Yuri

2014-06-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

Hello, and welcome to the latest installment of Breaking It Down! Today, we're going to look at not one, but two characters. These particular characters are rarely, if ever, seen apart. They're quite (in)famous in their trade for causing collateral damage, earning them the nickname of The Dirty Pair. Yes, today, we're going to look at The Lovely Angels themselves, Kei and Yuri.

Spoilers(?) beyond this here jump.

First off, a little background on these two. Kei and Yuri are two rather infamous Trouble Consultants working for the World Work Welfare Association, or 3WA. Their infamy comes from their uncanny tendency to cause large amounts of collateral damage. More on that in a bit. First, let's examine Kei.

Kei is the more hotheaded member of the Lovely Angels, and it's definitely reflected in her brash speech manner and decision-making, the latter of which often has to be reeled in by Yuri. It is often Kei's reckless decisions that cause the collateral damage, and it is often Kei that takes the brunt of their boss Gooley's anger.

Rarely seen apart, Kei's partner Yuri is very coolheaded in comparison. She is often the one to reel Kei in, and is very much what one would call a girly girl, yet not a girly girl. Yuri often has to remind Kei of the current mission, and often attempts to limit the damage done during such missions.

Kei and Yuri will absolutely do whatever it takes to complete a mission, doing damage up to and including the destruction of an entire planet. Of course, they find time to chase men in between missions. They fit boke-tsukkomi tropes to a T, with Kei as the boke and Yuri as the tsukkomi.

That's it for this installment of Breaking It Down. Join me next time. As of this writing, I haven't figured out who's next. I do, however, have several reviews on the way.

Haruhi Suzumiya and the Battle for Space!

2014-06-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

(WARNING: For those who have not watched "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," it is highly recommended that you do so before reading this article. While there aren't many spoilers, you will be expected to know who some of the characters are in order for this article to really make sense. So please, watch the series!)

The beauty of anime is its ability to give even mundane events a certain spectacular feel to them. It's different from a real-world film or television series in that the developers don't need a massive special effects budget to create jaw-dropping audio-visual manifestations. Kyoto Animation, the animators of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, saw fit to encapsulate this fact in the first season's thirteenth episode: "The Day of Sagittarius."

In this episode, the SOS Brigade is challenged to a duel by the school Computer Club. The challenge is a 5v5 team deathmatch in the computer club's real time tactics game "The Day of Sagittarius 3." The SOS Brigade has one week to figure out the controls and tactics which can be utilized in gameplay; however, each attempt to defeat the practice AI ends in catastrophic failure for them. On the day of the duel, all hope seems lost until Yuki Nagato finds a way to level the playing field.

What We Saw: As it was developed by high schoolers, the game interface was relatively bland and simplistic. White gridlines overlayed a gray backdrop and could be used as a reference to determine how far away a particular target was, as well as that target's direction. Scouting ships were noted as red dots, while the flagship was denoted as a large colored triangle with the reserve ship count listed above it.

All of this seems rather boring. Therefore, to spice things up, Kyoto Animation opted for a visual representation of what that playing field would really look like. And well, see for yourself.

The playing field is embedded into the dashboard of a massive ship command room contained in each character's flagship. The ships themselves travel through space delivering light shows of energy weapons which lord down on target after target. It's all stunning and exciting and really keeps the viewer interested.

Why It Matters: In 2011, Video Game High School received $273,000 in crowdfunding contributions, and in 2013, its second season received an astonishing $808,000 in contributions. This clearly demonstrates that people find the idea of watching videogames to be exciting.

Critics argue, however, that the reason videogame spectating has not become mainstream in the real world is because videogame competitions lack "narrative," something which would have happened in TMOHS if not for the epic visual representation of a great conquest by two unyielding forces. Onlookers wish to attach themselves to the combatants, an empathy which can only flourish when those combatants are subjected to some sort of danger, fear, doubt or other adrenaline-inducing rush.

Creating an atmosphere which induces danger and the like is especially important in driving the narrative. Yu-Gi-Oh! for example would never have been as popular if not for the characters being physically injured in some way every time the card game was played. Pokemon has also made steps to emulate that feeling of danger over the past two decades sometimes missing the mark but other times hitting the proverbial bullseye.

The Application: The final thing to note here is that the students were not playing this game for the sake of entertainment; there were real stakes on the line. The computer club risked four laptops on the deal, while the SOS brigade risked a desktop computer and two of their brigade members. That said, it was a clever way to diffuse the tensions which had grown between the two groups over that year.

The problem is, if there is one things high schools have a lot of, it's tension. Currently, there are very few means of relieving that pressure other than talking it out (which sadly, does not work often). Fights break out with growing intensity because the tension simply boils over.

Duels serve as a means to channel all of that aggression into a game of sport, a test of skill pitting two evenly matched sides against one another for dominance and definitive conflict termination. Virtual battlefields lead to some creative challenges, but traditional battlefields (paintball, laser tag, obstacle course races, etc.) would work just as well. It's important to remember that there must be a narrative in order for people to feel that the fight matters and is actually relevant to something. Otherwise, it kind of does come off as a bit ridiculous.

(For those who don't know me, my name is Maddy Koller, and I run a blog called WLIA: Where Life Imitates Art. This is a sounding board of sorts where some friends and I analyze various elements of artistic media for their technological, sociocultural, political and economic benefits when applied to real life. If you enjoyed the above article, I highly encourage you to check out WLIA, as we've done analyses for many great works such as Madoka Magica, Kill La Kill, Ghost in the Shell, Code L.Y.O.K.O., and Evangelion. Thank you for reading!)

Manga Review: Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus 2

2014-06-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

My favorite thing about this is that it has my favorite Mew Mew on the cover.

Oh look, another review. Oh look, more Tokyo Mew Mew. This time, I'll be reviewing the second omnibus volume, which covers volumes 3 and 4. So, without further ado, here's my review of the second Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus. Read up on the first omnibus volume here.

Spoilers past here! Review also past here!

The second omnibus, as previously mentioned, covers volumes 3 and 4 of the original series. In terms of the story, this covers the resolution of the Inohara Park through the first appearance of the mysterious Blue Knight. The search for the Mew Aqua also begins in this omnibus. This volume also contains one of my personal favorite parts of Tokyo Mew Mew: Neko-Ichigo. While they sort of handwave the transformation as "Ichigo getting too excited", the ensuing events amused me quite greatly and provided some good relief from a solid story, and also fleshes out Ichigo's character a bit.

One greatly appreciated bit on Kodansha's part is keeping Tokyo Black Cat Girl, the side work that was included in Tokyopop's release of volume 4. I didn't read through it, but I did note that it was retained. I suppose this would be considered bonus content, since it's not Tokyo Mew Mew.

Overall, Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus 2 retains the quality that was present in the first Omnibus, with a very solid translation, far better than Tokyopop's translation, aside from Mew Ichigo's catchphrase, "Chikyu no mirai ni, go hoshi suru nya~!", a phrase which I prefer Tokyopop's translation of "For the future of the earth, at your service!", as opposed to Kodansha's "Justice will be fully served for the future of the earth, meow!". Honestly, if that's my biggest complaint, we're in pretty good shape.

Scores:

Writing: 4.5/5

Art: 3.5/5

Translation: 5/5

Bonus Content: 4/5

Overall: 4.25/5

Very Good, would recommend to friends.

There's one more omnibus volume left for this series, and then I'll be done with reviewing Tokyo Mew Mew. Dunno if I'll be reviewing A La Mode, mainly because I'm not sure I want to put myself through that again. Aside from that, expect Azumanga Daioh reviews, a Dirty Pair review, and a new installment of Breaking It Down featuring the Lovely Angels themselves!

Breaking It Down: Kamui Senketsu

2014-06-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

We all wish we had someone looking out for us. Hi, and welcome to the latest installment of Breaking It Down. Today, we're not going to look at a person. Rather, we're looking at a school uniform who looks out for his owner. Yes, today, I'm discussing the black and red sailor uniform who looks out for Ryuko Matoi, Kamui Senketsu.

Super-duper spoilers beyond this point. Turn back now if you don't want to be spoiled or burn up in the atmosphere.

Senketsu was created by Dr. Isshin Matoi at least 6 months prior to Kill La Kill's story, and was hidden in the rather spacious basemant of the Matoi mansion until Ryuko's wound woke him up and he put himself on Ryuko. And so begins the tale of Kamui Senketsu, who would go through 3 wearers before the story ends. However, due to this, he has limited interactions with characters, only 2 of which can actually hear him. That said, let us look at his interactions with other characters.

Senketsu's primary interactions are with Ryuko, and this is where we really see the protective side of Senketsu come out. Senketsu attempts to assist Ryuko in every facet of her life, from learning to fly in order to fight Nonon, to tracking her BMI, which Ryuko is NOT appreciative of. In the early fights, he would inform Ryuko how much time she would be able to spend transformed. As the series went on, Senketsu evolved both as a Kamui, and as a character, achieving true synchronization with Ryuko. Later on, after Ryuko ripped Junkestu off, Senketsu would achieve their ultimate synchronization in the form of Senketsu-Kisaragi.

Although relatively brief, Senketsu synchronized with Satsuki Kiryuin, with the common goal of stopping the Junketsu-fused Ryuko. While not true synchronization, it was enough to bring her defenses down to let Mako Mankanshoku, with Senketsu, enter Ryuko's memories and snap her out of her funk and bring her to her senses. Satsuki also revealed, near the very end, that she had been able to hear Senketsu speaking, though it is unclear how long that had been going on.

Even briefer than Senketsu being with Satsuki was his being with Ryuko's best friend, Mako Mankanshoku. The two characters able to get to Ryuko were indeed Mako and Senketsu, showing that it may be impossible for anyone to "truly wear" Junketsu, perhaps always requiring Life Fiber Override. There isn't much else to say here, so let's move on.

So we've seen how he interacts with others. But who is Kamui Senketsu as a person? The constant protection could peg him as a guardian angel of sorts for Ryuko, and quite possibly the entire world. However, his perishing in the atmosphere could put an end to that. Constantly looking out for Ryuko and studying the opposition at times allowed Senketsu to change and adapt to what was needed to conquer a challenge, ultimately costing him his life. Thus, he could be viewed as either a guardian or a martyr.

As mentioned above, I view Senketsu as Ryuko's guardian angel, and that is definitely true within the show. From the minute he put himself on Ryuko, he was determined to protect her and guide her to her goal, whatever that may be. Yet, his shortcoming could be that he doesn't always think outside the box, as each time he evolved, it was at Ryuko's prompting. He never acted without orders for the most part. Essentially, Kamui Senketsu is much more than a sentient sailor uniform, yet has his own limits on what he will do to protect Ryuko.

Manga Review: Tokyo Mew Mew Omnibus 1

2014-06-05T11:00:00.000-06:00

So, time for a little story. Once upon a time, I wandered into the manga section of a local bookstore. I grabbed the first volume of a little series called Tokyo Mew Mew. This was the first time I'd ever touched manga, and I had no idea what I was getting into.

The story continues after the jump, but beware of spoilers!

Fast forward 6 years, to 2014. Tokyopop has gone under, a company called Kodansha USA has picked up the manga license for Tokyo Mew Mew, and is releasing these omnibus volumes. I tend to read during downtime at work, and sometimes I finish off a volume. But that's getting off track. On to the review!

Tokyo Mew Mew is a relatively short magical girl manga. And when I say relatively, I mean relative to Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, with its 18 volumes, compared to Tokyo Mew Mew's 7 volumes, plus the 2-volume A La Mode sequel series. Omnibus 1 covers the first two volumes of Tokyo Mew Mew, which tells up to the cherry blossom incident at Inohana Park.

Put simply, Tokyo Mew Mew follows the Five Man Band trope to a T. That's what most of the first two volumes is, along with some development for Ichigo, Mint, and Zacro. I'd say the real plot begins in Omnibus 2, a review of which will come later.

Being a shojo manga aimed at young girls, the characters are written and drawn in such a way that young girls would identify with and enjoy Tokyo Mew Mew's cast, namely Ichigo.

The plot is very cookie-cutter: a mysterious force wants to take over Earth using Monsters Of The Week, and a group of 5 girls with magic powers go to stop them. It's THE magical girl plot. However, Tokyo Mew Mew executes this plot and adds to it later. This addition is what makes Tokyo Mew Mew's plot engaging and unique.

Not much to say here that hasn't been said already. Everything you'd expect from a shojo manga is here: bubbles, sparkles, flowers, romance, DIABEETUS. Tokyo Mew Mew is special to me because it was my first manga. That said, it will not get special treatment. The fact that it takes 2 whole normal volumes to get the whole team together is its main flaw. 2/7 of plot progression opportunity, gone. Outside of that, it's a shojo magical girl story.

Character Design: 7/10

General Art: 8/10

Pacing: 5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Overall: 7/10

Would Re-read Occasionally

Breaking It Down: Tsuruya-san

2014-06-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

We all know that one person, that boundless bundle of energy. What's this have to do with anime, you ask? Well, this time on Breaking It Down, I'm going to cover such a character by the name of Tsuruya-san, from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Spoilers abound, nyoro!

Who is Tsuruya-san? What is she? On the surface, she's an energetic girl with impossibly long hair. But is there something more to this girl? Let's find out, starting with her interactions with other characters.

Tsuruya-san's best friend and classmate, as well as the local time traveler, Mikuru Asahina is the person whom Tsuruya interacts with the most, yet we don't know much about how close the two are in their friendship, and we never see the two in class together, save for a single scene in the Disappearance film. This is one of those cases where the most frequent interaction is not necessarily the most telling. Let's look at a couple of her other interactions.

Tsuruya seems to be on a rather friendly basis with the protagonist, Kyon, judging from her general tone when speaking to him, and how she addresses him as Kyon-kun, with -kun being an informal honorific. Then again, she's a generally friendly person.

Lastly, we'll look at her interactions with the female lead, Haruhi Suzumiya herself. Like with Kyon, Tsuruya addresses Suzumiya with a nickname, Haru-nyan, which implies a close friendship with Suzumiya. But, as we know, Suzumiya attracts the eccentric types...

Indeed, Tsuruya is eccentric. She's exceedingly cheerful and energetic, easily amused, and seems to be in on the whole "Suzumiya's God" thing that Itsuki Koizumi's group seems to believe, given that her family is stated to directly support The Agency. At the same time, she's very headstrong and independent, since she appears to live on her own. Heaven knows why she lives in a massive mansion with a vacation home in the mountains.

If one word could describe Tsuruya-san, it would be "enigma". Her true identity, if not human, isn't really touched on much, but she knows more about the supernatural than she lets on. It could be that the way she acts is a cover for an ulterior motive, but we may never know. After all, the novel series appears to be completed, so if her identity was not touch upon in the 10th novel, she's human with knowledge. But she's nonetheless an enigma in a world filled with enigmas.

Anime Review: Kämpfer

2014-05-26T19:04:00.000-06:00

We all have that one anime or movie that we secretly, or sometimes not so secretly, enjoy the living shit out of. For me, Kämpfer is that anime. And that's this week's review. Read the rest after the jump.

Spoilers beyond here.

The character designs are... unique. Everyone, when transformed, has what many would call "anime hair": wild colors only possible in real life through hair dye. Normally, everyone has normal hair colors... except Natsuru, whose hair is just a darker blue. Good job, character designers. Quality job.

The music is bad. There's only a few tracks I liked: Akane Mishima's themes, Mikoto Kondo's theme, the opening theme, and the ending theme. The rest is generic record-scratching music. No, really. There's, like, 5 good songs in the whole game. Not impressed.

The plot... Oh, man. Where do I start? The show establishes the general concepts of Kämpfers, introduces Natsuru Senou and Akane Mishima, all in the first episode. Once the Student Council President is introduced, the show slips into slice-of-life for a few episodes before introducing Mikoto. Then it's a hackneyed and rather rushed plot resolution, followed by a Christmas episode that left me staring at my screen for about 15 minutes as my brain attempted to process the episode. Oops.

Frankly, this show is awful. It's riddled with fanservice, has no sense of pacing, and all the music sounds like something you'd hear in a strip club or in an H-game. Except Akane's theme and Mikoto's theme. Those tracks are awesome. All in all, Kämpfer can be considered "so bad, it's good". I can sit down, watch a couple episodes, and laugh at how bad it is.

Character Design: 6/10

Music: 3/10

Writing: 2/10

Akane's Language: 5/10

Overall: 4/10

I'd Rewatch On Occasion

Here's the deal

2014-05-26T01:45:00.001-06:00

Okay, so here's what's going to happen. I'm going to try and get a general schedule for how things are going to work:

2 posts a week, as follows:

- Sunday or Monday: Breaking It Down will go up. Ideally, I can get it up Sunday, post it to the appropriate sub-reddit on Monday.

- Thursday, Friday, or Saturday: the weekly review will go up. Sometimes it'll be anime, sometimes it'll be a video game. Occasionally, the review may be a manga volume. It'll really depend on what I've been doing that week. Again, post on Thursday, on the sub-reddit Friday or Saturday.

As for Con Reports, those'll be posted in the week after the con, possibly replacing a review or BID post. Those will not go on reddit, but will be linked to on Twitter.

Lastly, I'll reveal this week's review subject. I sat down and re-watched Kämpfer, just the TV series. And, boy, do I ever have things to say about it.

Curious what I had to say? Check out the review, coming later this week!

Breaking It Down: Mikoto Misaka

2014-05-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

You do NOT want to piss her off. Just a thought.

If you know me even remotely well, then it's no secret that I love A Certain Scientific Railgun, or just Railgun. I love it with a passion. I can safely call it my favorite anime. And I'm here today to discuss the protagonist of Railgun, Tokiwadai's Ace and the 3rd-strongest Level 5 in Academy City, Mikoto Misaka.

Heavy spoilers beyond this point. You have been warned.

How do I begin to describe Mikoto? That's what we're here to find out, isn't it? On the surface, she seems like a perfectly normal girl who happens to be one of the strongest espers in Academy City. So what else could there possibly be to this girl? There's quite a lot, actually. Let's look at how she interacts with others first.

Well, the interaction we see the most with Mikoto is with her roommate and presumably her best friend, Kuroko Shirai. Kuroko is certainly... friendly, to say the least, going to great lengths to protect and assist her, even in the toughest of situations, as we see during the Daihaisei arc, when she comes to assist Mikoto during a hostage situation, despite having her memories tampered with by Misaki Shokuhou. Kuroko would easily put her life on the line to protect her Onee-sama, and Mikoto would do the same for Kuroko. To Mikoto, Kuroko is a friend and confidant, especially after the events of the Sisters story arc, where Mikoto would stubbornly refuse outside help.

Another frequent interaction seen involving Mikoto is those with Ruiko Saten, a Level 0 friend of Kazari Uiharu. Like Kuroko, Ruiko is a source of comfort for Mikoto and one of her friends, willing to sacrifice herself despite her lack of an esper ability. Ruiko learned about working hard from Mikoto during the Level Upper story arc, and Mikoto was reminded of the hard work she had to put in to get to Level 5. Both girls seems to motivate each other throughout the story.

With such positive interactions, there are most certainly negative interactions, the most obvious of which is her brief interactions with the strongest esper of them all, Accelerator. Accelerator famously was put through a project in which he was set to fight 20,000 Level 2 clones of Mikoto. To this day, this disturbs Mikoto greatly, because it was her naivete at a young age that led to the creation of said clones. Her brief interaction with Accelerator during the Sisters arc was a combination of fear and anger, and this interaction lead to her finally accepting Touma Kamijou's assistance.

Mikoto's interactions with the clones otherwise known as the Sisters is interesting, because her feelings toward them began as regret and hatred, but evolved into the same sort of defensive care she would engage in for Kuroko or Ruiko. She's shown to be particularly defensive of #10032, otherwise known as Misaka Imouto. It's yet to be made particularly clear why #10032 gets such love from Mikoto, but perhaps it could be because 10032 was the first clone to survive her experiment.

Interactions alone do not make a character, so let's dig deeper into Mikoto herself.

Mikoto is a Level 5 electromaster, and is not afraid to make it clear to you. She'll take out the city's power grid if it means frying your ass for pissing her off. Another one bites the dust, as they say. Her favorite intentional target of her power seems to be her rival, Touma, whom she has yet to beat as of manga volume 9. Another frequent target is her friendly roommate Kuroko, often punishing her for trying to be close, to keep it PG. However, the latter usually incurs the wrath of the Dorm Inspector, who straight-up instills fear in even the toughest people.

Now that we've looked at the girl herself, let's summarize everything I've discussed.

Overall, Mikoto is the badass oujo-sama archetype, but with very few of the tropes that accompany the oujo archetype. She's shown to like extremely girly and childish clothing and hobbies, something Kuroko chastises her for multiple times. She's also shown to be very brash, which is, y'know, not exactly lady-like. And then there's the shorts she wears under her skirt. She claims it's so her panties don't show, but Kuroko ain't buying that. She's deeply motivated to fight once her friends are involved, which, since 2 of her best friends are in the Judgement task force, is rather often. All in all, Mikoto is usually just a girl who wants justice to be served and won't let anything stand in her way to make that happen, as she would presumably have made Kuroko her enemy in order to shut down the Sisters project. This makes her a very interesting character, and probably relateable to some, which is a key part of a well-written character.

Video Game Review: Yoshi's New Island

2014-05-19T11:00:00.000-06:00

Dat giant egg tho.

Remember when this blog did reviews? Yeah, neither do I, so here's one! Yes, I know this isn't anime. But bear with me.

I recently bought a new video game for the first time in a while, one I have had my eyes on for a while: Yoshi's New Island. I basically grew up playing Yoshi's Island on the GBA and DS, so I was quite excited to see a new entry in the series. The gimmick for this one is Eggdozers, which are literally giant eggs that destroy everything in their path. Frankly, I like it more than the super-obnoxious merry-go-round of babies that is Yoshi's Island DS. I finally got a chance to sit down and give this game some solid playtime.

A couple things jumped out at me, namely the music and the controls. The music is rather generic, though, to be fair, the Yoshi's Island series as a whole has somewhat generic music. That said, there aren't any memorable tunes in New Island, much unlike the SNES/GBA game. I found myself muting the game after about the 4th level. It's unfortunate, because music is often a big selling point for a game for me. However, unlike, say, the SNES game, I can just mute the game and continue playing, so no biggie.

The controls were tight, but not too tight. If there's one thing that annoys me about a game, it's when the controls are extremely tight or extremely loose. I'm looking at you, Super Mario 64. Semi-tight controls maintain what is otherwise a regular Yoshi's Island game, with the same combination of egg-throwing and platforming we've come to expect from the series.

The art was intriguing, as it moved the crayon drawing style of the series to 2.5D. Frankly, it made the move very smoothly. It still looked and felt like a Yoshi's Island game, but at the same time, it felt a bit like Yoshi's Story, thanks to Yoshi being a 3D model in a 2D environment.

Overall, Yoshi's New Island isn't groundbreaking by any means, but it's a fresh experience. The art is good, the gameplay and controls are what I've come to expect from the series. Even though the music isn't up to par, it's easily dealt with but muting the 3DS. I didn't have a chance to play the game in 3D, so I don't know how that looked.

My rating:

Gameplay: 8/10
Controls: 7/10
Music: 3/10
Art: 9/10
Hardware usage: 6/10

Overall: 6.6/10

Update on the site...

2014-05-14T22:09:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the under construction look of the site, guys. It's still a work in progress. I'm currently working on a Kill La Kill-themed background for the site, so enjoy the Railgun baseball header for the time being. By the way, I'd like to say thank you to my good friend Emily Hostak for drawing the header. You can find her on Facebook here. She does take commissions, so give her some work to do!

Okay, so here's what I've got planned for the blog. I'll have my review of Yoshi's New Island for the 3DS rolling out on Monday, and another Breaking It Down post coming that Thursday or Friday. Sometime in the future, I'll have more Breaking It Down, as well as a Con Report from Otakon in August.

In the meantime... Here, have a really cute picture.

Breaking It Down: Satsuki Kiryuin

2014-05-11T14:22:00.000-06:00

"Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! These are the truths of this world! Surrender to these truths, you pigs in human clothing!"

Hello, and welcome to the debut installment of Breaking It Down! In this segment, I'll be taking a look at an anime character and do a thorough analysis of their personality, interactions, and other factors.

Today's subject is Satsuki Kiryuin, from Kill La Kill.

SPOILER ALERT! This series will have major spoilers. If you do not wish to be spoiled, this is your last chance.

Satsuki is the Student Council President at Hounnouji Academy, functioning as their leader in the rebellion against her mother Ragyo Kiryuin and the REVOCS Corporation, using the students, including her own sister Ryuko Matoi, as foot soldiers.

Satsuki puts on a ice-cold exterior when addressing her pawns, the students of Honnouji Academy. This reinforces her role as the leader, as does the design of her Kamui, Junketsu, which is designed like a military general's uniform. This aspect of her personality can also be found in her theme, Kiryuu G@ KiLL, a very militaristic piece.

However, this exterior does not necessarily reflect her true personality, as we see in her interactions with the Honnouji Academy Elite Four and her butler Soroi. In these interactions, we see Satsuki in a more relaxed and calm state of mind, indicating a feeling of safety in the presence of these individuals. She will accept and respect those who are willing to give a little, such as when Mako Mankanshoku gave up her Two-Star Goku Uniform in order to live happily with Ryuko again.

Her relationships with others have a wide variety of familiarity or tension. Satsuki shows a very clear hatred for her mother Ragyo, yet would give anything to protect her sister Ryuko. On the converse of her relationship with Ragyo, we have her aforementioned interactions with the Elite Four and Soroi. These seem to be interactions of comfort and familiarity, as she has known Ira Gamagoori since middle school and Soroi since at least age 5. To Satsuki, anything beats Ragyo's blatant and assumed frequent sexual abuse.

And this is just in the third episode.

If there was ever a pair of siblings that had "sibling rivalry", it's Satsuki and Ryuko Matoi. They fight at least 3 battles to a draw, with neither wanting to give any. In fact, it was Ryuko's appearance at Honnouji that prompted Satsuki to take Junketsu in the first place. Satsuki's general interactions with Ryuko vary in tone as the series continued, but were always intense. Sibling rivalry, indeed.

So what does all of this add up to? It adds up to a girl with an intense hatred for her sexually abusive mother, to the point where she would literally backstab Ragyo and crucify her on Honnouji's tower. The revelation that Ryuko is in fact Satsuki's long-lost sister adds another dimension to this fight, giving Satsuki an ally to fight alongside. Characters such as the Elite Four, Nudist Beach, Soroi and Mako give Satsuki strong emotional support in her fight, which gives her the drive to continue fighting. And when it was all over, once Ragyo was very much dead, she was able to drop the cold exterior for good. The last thing we see Satsuki doing is joining Mako and Ryuko on their date, hair cut short, indicating the start of a new life, post-Honnouji.

Put simply, Satsuki is a rebel waiting for her chance to strike when the series begins. Overall, Satsuki Kiryuin is the kind of person that puts on a cold exterior to the public, but cares deeply for those close to her, such as the Elite Four, Ryuko, and Mako Mankanshoku, all of whom she holds a significant amount of respect for. She will not stand for injustice, and is not afraid to crush those who oppose her, including her own sister. She commands respect, but will gladly reciprocate it under the right circumstances.