Population GO

Welcome to Granitz Village, where truths lie and a story unfolds. 

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Making The Argument Against “i” Gaming

Just over a decade ago, we saw more diversity in the handheld gaming market. There were the likes of Sega, SNK, Bandai, and more at least attempting to take a piece of the market. Nowadays, it’s down to just three major players. Of course, the major hitters are Apple’s iPhone/iPod line, Nintendo’s DS and 3DS, and Sony with the PSP and NGP (PSP2).

Oh how the times have changed from the innocent 90’s.

Apple’s so-called “gaming efforts” have produced the bite-sized diversions we now call “games”. If I sound a little bit unhappy with the current situation, you’ll have to forgive me. It’s not that I don’t like any games on the “i” devices. After I play Angry Birds for a half hour, I just don’t feel satisfied by the game I just played. It’s like trying to eat at a fast-food restaurant when you’re craving a steak. It’ll fill you up and it tastes okay but you’ll still want that 16oz New York strip loin after. I think we really need to identify the problems that the portables are facing before we can even think about possible solutions…

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Here are your top 5 films at the boxoffice for the weekend of January 28th-30th

1. The Rite - $15.005 million (Opening Weekend)
2. No Strings Attached - $13.65 million = $39,742,000 10 Day Total
3. The Mechanic - $11.5 million (Opening Weekend)
4. The Green Hornet - $11.5 million = $78,800,000 17 Day Total
5. The King’s Speech - $11.102 million = $72,217,000 66 Day Total

True to form, January closed out on a relatively weak note. At #1 was the exorcism film, The Rite, starring Academy Award winner, Anthony Hopkins and drew in just over $15 million in its opening weekend. In a close second was the RomCom, No Strings Attached, which took in $13.65 million bringing up its total to just under $40 million, the film cost $25 million to make. Now at #3 and 4 we have an interesting case. Both The Mechanic (the remake of the 1977 film of the same name, starring Charles Bronson), and The Green Hornet took in an estimated $11.5 million. Now when the actuals roll out it’ll be interesting to see which of the two films actually finished 3rd and 4th. Finally rounding out the top 5 is The King’s Speech which took in just over $11 million. 

Here is how the rest of the top 10 breaks down:

6. True Grit - $7.6 million = $148,388,000 40 Day Total
7. The Dilemma - $5.476 million = $40,634,000 17 Day Total
8. Black Swan - $5.1 million = $90,704,000 59 Day Total
9. The Fighter - $4.055 million = $78,373,000 52 Day Total
10. Yogi Bear - $3.165 million = $92,507,000 45 Day Total

1. Koibito wa Doukyonin

“From Intercross:

When Yui’s parents remarried, she gained 6 hot brothers! Currently she likes the really cool Masaki however she feels insecure. Does he really see her as his girlfriend?”-Mangafox.com

2. Zan

3. Yamikagishi

4. Shingeki no Kyojin

5. Pureblood Boyfriend

6. Rui-Rui

Click below to view the rest of the descriptions and pictures. 

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Takatsuki, the floor isn’t a place to be sleeping. You are now faced with a huge problem, so get over it with your manliness. Everyone has a period of time where they are faced with a problem of change and you, Takatsuki, are no exception to that rule, and neither is Nitori.

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So far, Dragon Crisis! has been an engaging anime- mostly smooth animation, interesting story and characters, and generally upbeat action sequences. The first episode, especially, had caught my attention with an awesome car chase scene and with the fleshing out of what appeared to be a stereotypical ecchi character.

Over all, I feel that Dragon Crisis! can be a really awesome, memorable anime, as long as the story slows down a little…

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Previously in Bleach: With more revelations, Ginjou told Ichigo and Chad of how humans, like Ichigo, possess powers. He further told them of the what Xcution wants to gain or lose and then reached out to ask Ichigo if he would like their help. Ichigo, with the support of Chad, agreed to allow the people of Xcution to aid him in getting his powers back. 

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Japanese rock band X Japan will continue its rocking in the good ole U.S.A. and expand beyond it debut performance at last years Lollapalooza and the tour that followed.

The band recently signed a three-year contract with EMI Music North America, with it their planned single, “Jade,” to be released officially March 15.

 But that isn’t the only way the group is planning to invade American ears:

“Band leader Yoshiki said that they are also planning for an album in summer, and a tour before the end of the year. Yoshiki will also launch a monthly one-hour radio program called Yoshiki Radio on the American satellite network Sirius XM Radio.”

Often regarded as pioneers in the visual kei movement, the band has already achieved huge success overseas with thirty million records and two million home videos sold.

That type of success hasn’t hit over here in the states, though they have achieved a strong cult following.

Their second album, Blue Blood, released in 1989 is often regarded as their breakthrough album. Their last studio album was Dahlia, which was released in 1996.

Some may remember their music from the X anime film.

 Via (Anime News Network)

Down but not out, Touma leads Lucia and Saiji’s team to save Anieze from the magical threats of Bishop Biagio. 

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Yumeji just needs the okay from Merry to form a dream duo. Obviously, Merry doesn’t want his sympathy but Yumeji is still optimistic that they can be a good tag team. 

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Someone decided to take their Halo games and take their heart rate while they played. The result is this lovely chart that we can take apart and analyze to see exactly what’s going on in the game such as deaths, armor abilities and combat highlights. It’s definitely one of those ” Why hasn’t anyone thought of that before” type ideas.

Full chart here

Via Kotaku.com

Writer: Kevin Smith
Penciller: Phil Hester
Inker: Ande Parks

Picking up from where Quiver left off, this volume collects the final five issues of Kevin Smith’s run. Before the introduction of the vigilante serial killer named Onomatopoeia in the story-arc that names this volume, we see Oliver’s relationships with Connor and Mia further developed, as well as a fantastic issue reuniting Oliver with the love of his life – Dinah Lance… oh and Hawkman. So how does this compare with Quiver?

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If a near life-size replica of a Gundam was built, then you just know other replicas would follow right?

Looks like Neon Genesis Evangelion is upping the ante.

Anime News Network reported that Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park will unveil “the world’s first life-size head of the EVA-02 unit” on March 19.

This will of course compliment the bust of the EVA-o1 unit that amusement park previously built.

In addition to the new bust, the park’s Highland Resort Hotel & Spa will offer the first ever Eva-themed guest room on March 1.

Anime News Network reports:

“Unlike the EVA-01 bust, only the head of the EVA-02 unit will be built. It will be in “The Beast” mode as it bursts through the Nerv headquarters’ wall, as seen in the anime. Accompanying the EVA-02 head will be “the world’s first life-size statue” of the new Evangelion character Mari.

“On orders from Misato Katsuragi,” the Nerv headquarters section surrounding the original EVA-01 bust will be revamped for EVA-01’s launch test. As part of the renovation, more passageways and rooms from the anime’s Nerv headquarters will be recreated in the pavilion. The additions will include the headquarters’ entrance, elevator, and rest area.

The hotel room will feature an entry plug-shaped bed where guests can watch DVDs while lying on their backs. Guests can also wake up to a morning call exclusively recorded with the character Rei Ayanami’s voice, and an interactive “voice touch panel” and telephone will emit comments in Rei’s voice. Lines of dialogue and graphics will appear on the walls with the use of black light lamps, and there will be a statue of Rei as well as replicas of original Evangelion artwork and other features. Guests will receive exclusive amenities and a badge as presents during their stay. The hotel will begin accepting reservations for its only Evangelion room for 37,000 yen (about US$450) a night (subject to seasonal price changes).”

Hmm, do deep psychological issues cost extra or is that really a BYOB call?

Via (Anime News Network)

Title: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
Genre: Action, Drama, Mecha
Company: Bandai Visual, Sunrise
Format: 6 OVA
Dates: 3/25/1989 to 8/25/1989  

Plot Summary: Taking place near the end of the One Year War, War in the Pocket is about a young boy whose encounter with a shot down Zeon Pilot forever changes his life when he naively involves himself in the conflict brewing up in his space colony.

I’m starting off my line of Gundam reviews with the earliest (in terms of time line). Seeing as I have yet to see the original series, I’m starting off with the OVA that takes place during the same time frame. That being said, after this my next review will be of Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team (as I am currently re-watching the series). But for now, here we have War in the Pocket, which is absolutely my favourite of all Gundam series.  

*spoiler alert: I’m warning you all now that if you haven’t seen this and are planning to, I am going to have spoilers in this. They will be crossed out as fair warning for people. 

—-

I do not know where to begin with this review because this is just absolutely the best Gundam in my opinion. If anything, I will start with the sole negative I can find about this series—which is the music. Now, when I first watched War in the Pocket, I found this to be quite odd because if there’s one thing that any typical Gundam has, it is some pretty good music, but with War in the Pocket what you have is dated and pretty grating music. Now, after subsequent viewings it doesn’t bother me anymore, but first time audiences will find the soundtrack and music to be pretty terrible. Now that that is out of the way, let me tell you about what makes this Gundam so great and why without any doubt I believe it to be the best.

First of all, this is not your typical Gundam. This series, unlike all other incarnations, doesn’t actually focus on the Gundam and its pilot, but instead on a civilian boy on the colony of Side Six named, Alfred. Through Alfred, this series gives the unique perspective and view on the One Year War (or war in general) because for the first time in Gundam, it looks at war not from the soldier’s perspective, but from the perspective of a civilian and a kid no less. Because of this choice on lead character it adds a sense of realism in the conflict that you are viewing. Like many kids, Alfred views the war as something glorious and exciting. He views war as a game where you can collect cool badges and markers and does not see the true horrors of it until the end.

This is where the series truly shines in its realism as it shows the gradual transformation and maturation of a young boy through his involvement in the war. Al enthusiastically and naively aids the Zeon spies in their operation on Side Six because he thinks its a cool thing to do. But as time progresses and the conflict on his colony reaches a boiling point he comes to realize the terrifying horror and reality that war is. He sees that war is nothing more than death and sadness and this end reward for Al comes at the cost of his friend’s life.

This series, like any other Gundam series, is about showing the pointlessness of war, yet this series portrays this message in perhaps the most beautiful/tragic/realistic way. It is shown through the characters who represent both factions in the One Year War: Christina MacKenzie of the Earth Federation and the pilot of the Gundam Alex and the Cyclops Team consisting of Bernie, Steiner, Garcia and Misha of the Duchy of Zeon. It is with these characters again that this Gundam series distinguishes itself from the rest. In other series there is a clear distinction of the good guys and bad guys. Despite sympathetic characters on the Zeon side in Mobile Suit Gundam the Duchy of Zeon is clearly evil, whereas in War in the Pocket there is no clear distinction as both sides are portrayed not as good guys and bad guys, but as human beings. Because of that, this series truly holds its own as the most realistic series in the Gundam Universe despite many fans giving that title to The 08th MS Team. 

But perhaps what solidifies this series as the best and most realistic while hammering home the message of the futility of war is the ending. The tragic ending to this series is by far one of the best written in all forms of storytelling. I would even go so far as to say it is on the level of a Shakespearian tragedy. Even as I write this I am welling up with tears at remembering the ending because I found it just that tragic. It is heart wrenching to watch and what makes it all the more tear jerking is the epilogue following the final climax. The following paragraphs will be an entire spoiler of the ending so read at your own risk. 

Basically what happens at the end is that Bernie Wiseman, who Al be-friended first in the Cyclops team, comes to a decision to face the Gundam Alex in his reparied Zaku so he can destroy it. He feels that he has to destroy to save the colony from an impending Nuclear attack on the colony by Zeon forces due to his team’s failure to initially destory the Gundam by Christmas Day. What he doesn’t know is that the pilot of the Gundam is Christina MacKenzie, Al’s neighbour and friend. The two of them had brief encounters earlier in the series and it is clear that there is some mutual attraction between them, but fate had other plans in store for them when Bernie made his decision to confront the Gundam. 

As their dual begins Al, who was meeting his father who was returning to the colony, is told by his father that he was delayed because there was a battle outside the colony. It turns out the Zeon fleet meant to carry out the Nuclear attack was defeated and subsequently surrendered and fessed up their plot to nuke the colony. After hearing this Al rushes off to stop Bernie from fighting the Gundam because there is no reason to anymore but just as he reaches the location of where Bernie was to stage the fight it is too late. Bernie has already engaged the Gundam Alex on the foothills right by the Federation base. All of this is transpiring while Al hopelessly calls out to Bernie to stop fighting because he doesn’t need to anymore until to his horror he sees one last exchange and sees the Gundam Alex’s beam saber pierce the cockpit of Bernie’s Zaku. Al is left in shock as he sees Federation soldiers pull out the pilot of the Gundam who he immediately recognizes as Christina as well as overhearing the Federation soldiers checking on the cockpit of the Zaku who can only describe what is left of Bernie as being a pile of Hamburger meat. 

But if that wasn’t enough of a tear jerker, what follows just opens up the flood gates. What follows is the video message that Bernie left behind to Al if he failed to destroy the Gundam. Below is the direct quote (from the dub):

“Hey Al, I’m most likely going to die, but whatever happens don’t hate the Gundam pilot. And don’t go hating the Feddie soldiers because they’re like us, you and me.They’re just people simply doing what they think is right that’s all. I know that it’s hard, but try not to hate them. And don’t blame yourself either okay? Please Al, this is all I ask. With luck if I do manage to get out of this alive and the ward ends I’ll visit you. I’ll come back to this colony. That’s a promise. See you kid. Well I guess that’s it, take care Al. By the way, say hi to Chris.” 

- Bernie Wiseman

Here is where this series truly succeeds and stands above the rest. Bernie’s last lines really distinguish him from other lead pilot characters and are what really make him special because he wasn’t a super human, nor was he written as one. He was just a regular soldier, an ordinary person and in his death he died a futile and pointless one. His death is the biggest example of the futility of war as it didn’t need to happen. Also, it is later shown during the epilogue that the war ends only 19 days later further adding the sense of futility in his death. But perhaps what makes this the most tragic is that there was a hint of romance between Bernie and Chris and that they were interested in each other. All Bernie wanted to do after the war was be around both Chris and Al, but it wasn’t meant to be as he was (unknowingly) killed by Chris and the only person who knows this is Al.

It is with this last secret that Al is no longer the child he once was at the beginning. Only he knows that Christina was the one who killed  Bernie (as Christina never finds out) and it kills Al inside to know that they fought each other. To see the look of pain in his eyes with Christina’s last words to him, which ironically, were the same lines said to him by Bernie only adds to the tragedy. Both characters last words to Al were for Al to say Hi to each of them. Where most people would be torn up inside hearing those words and knowing what happened, Al shows his maturity and puts up a facade in front of Christina.

Finally moving on, this series boasts some really good voice acting, even on the English dub, as well as having its animation still hold up pretty well. I’ve gone on too long with this review and I really can’t say more for this series. I absolutely love it to death and even if you aren’t into Gundam, this is still something you can watch without prior knowledge of Gundam because this story isn’t about the Mobile Suits. Instead, it is a humane story about people and how they are affected by war. Truly, one of the best stories to have ever been told.

GO Rating: 4.5/5