Koihime Musou

Koihime Musou is based on an adult PC adventure game, in a Romance of the Three Kingdoms style. It's a 12 episode series from Dogakobo and Marvelous Entertainment.

Big breasted "black-haired bandit hunter" Kannu travels from village to village taking out bandits. When she arrives in a new town, she's practically run over by a group of children calling themselves the Rinrin Bandits. The Rinrin Bandits are led by a girl named Rinrin, and the wreak mischievous (though harmless) havoc on the town. Rinrin's parents were killed by bandits, and she now lives alone. The kids are mostly allowed to run rampant, but they've gone too far this time by drawing on the chief's wall. That's the last straw for him, and he insists that Rinrin be arrested and punished for her actions. The townsfolk believe she likely won't be killed, but a harsh whipping might occur instead. Kannu offers to take care of it herself in order to protect the child from such a punishment.

One of the children overhears this and they gang up to protect Rinrin. Kannu easily escapes their traps and explains to them that she won't turn Rinrin in. But when she finally locates Rinrin (or Chouhi as she calls herself), she discovers that the child is not to be taken lightly. Indeed she gives the older and more experienced Kannu quite a workout well into the evening before finally conceding the battle. It's clear that Chouhi is just lonely, and she invites Kannu to stay the night with her. Kannu explains that her family was killed by bandits as well, and that she chooses to fight against them instead of become one of them. By morning Kannu has convinced Chouhi to travel with her to help her change the world.

The animation is good, though they randomly jump to chibi characters for no real reason. Nothing about the story has grabbed me so far, but I plan to check it out for a few more episodes to see what the over arching story will be about. There's nothing particularly amazing about it really, though if you liked the game, I suppose you'll like this as well. I'm still waiting for some nice looking guys, but I won't keep my hopes up. In fact, I haven't seen any evidence of any sort of major male character appearing in the show, which isn't really a complaint so much as me just overwhelmed by all the boobage. There's nothing really notable about the opening and ending sequences. The opening presents a large assortment of characters, and the ending shows them all chibi-sized.

E3 '08 - Microsoft Press Conference

Fallout 3 looks amazing. Bethesda strikes again. The level of detail they're showing in this demo is incredible. There are various ways you can play the game. It can be played in 1st or 3rd person, you can attack in real time (like any other FPS game), or you can pause the game to target specific body parts of enemies and then watch your character blast away and your enemies explode into (literal) pieces. Environments look great, and there's just so much (gory) detail. It really does look fantastic. I've never played a Fallout game before, but I assume if you've liked the others you'll go for this one. To me it's reminiscent of the dark humor and detailed action in Bioshock.

Resident Evil 5 I really have no interest in, but it looks good. It takes place in Africa, at a site of a bioterrorism incident that the main character has come to investigate. For the first time in Resident Evil, there is an online co-op mode, which it looks like you're going to need to reach certain areas on the game. Not sure if that means you must play it that way, or if an AI will be available instead (or if you as a player just switch between them), but they obviously want to showcase the online feature. March 13, 2009, world wide release.

Lionhead! Woo Peter Molyneux! Time for some Fable 2. The game is complete apparently. I loved the first one and have high hopes for the sequel. Cut scene graphics here are looking incredible, characters still look a little cartoony, like they did in the first. Hilarious little trailer here. Dramatic bird poop drop. And here's the famous dog companion. Co-Op over Live...very interesting feature here. Your friends who are playing the single player game show up as glowing orbs, and you can invite them into your game at any time; they can interact with everything just like you can. Lots of my favorite things are back - getting drunk in the bars, getting married...you can have KIDS now? And it seems you can play a female hero as well this time around. Wow. Holy crap, awesome! October can't come soon enough.

Gears of War 2 now. Didn't care for the first one, but I can't deny the fantastic visuals. And they're sure devoting a rather large amount of time to its demo.... Now has a 5 player co-op mode where you can fight wave after wave of locusts.

I was not much of a fan of the original 'box, but the 360 is hands down my favorite platform this generation. I hope Square will present us with some good shots of Last Remnant. It's going to be their first simultaneous Japan/US release, and they'll be breaking from Sony to offer this on the 360 (as well as the PS3). There's no release date yet, but I'm hoping for one to be announced this week.

5+ million units ahead of the PS3 in the US. Wow. Not surprising, though. Little bit of LIVE pimpage...it really is a great online service. Not a fan of DC for games though, as I believe it leads to uncompleted game releases. They're partnering for more movie releases; no wonder they're releasing yet another 360 with an even larger HD. Hmm, they're changing the interface/dashboard this fall. I don't think there's anything wrong with what they've got now. Must just be an excuse to add a 360 version of the Mii. It's cute, but it's kind of excessive; though I can see how they can snag the more casual gamers with this.
Most of the rest of this it little arcade games and different features for the new interface. Gameshow games you can play with the avatars, different ways to share through the friends list, etc.
GLADOS! Now they've got my attention again.
OMG. Portal - Still Alive. A new Portal game (or is it an expansion?) for the Live Arcade. Portal anything is good.
5 seconds of a South Park arcade preview.
More arcade community games.....
More TV and movie announcements...stuff I can watch for free on my TV.
New partnership with Netflix? ............. Oh now that IS interesting. If you have Netflix and Live you can watch Netflix downloadable movies with the 360. But, of course, I can do the same thing on my computer. On Live though, it seems you can invite people off your friends list to watch them with you. Boy...way to promote reclusiveness Microsoft.
E for everybody game trailers. Including NEW VIVA PINATA! W00t! .... Oh geez, card marketing. *sigh* Buy cards and scan them in using the 360 camera for new pinatas in game. Oh I hate that crap.
Hm, here's a game that utilizes the camera to put yourself into movies using improv and games. It's called "We're in the Movies." Basically "movies" stands for "mini games," just that your actual self is up on the screen. It takes your movements from the mini games and places them into cheesy B-movie sequences. The motion capture seems to work well, but the movements didn't seem to fit that well into the movie.
Moving on to music games, which basically means Guitar Hero. And karaoke games. HAHA that was a BAD idea. They got the actual artist of this song to come sing along with the game...it's not turning out well. It's pretty funny. Duffy singing "Mercy" (yeah, I don't know who she is either). The game is called Lips.
And there's the Square-Enix president! Come onnnn Last Remnant!
Infinite Undiscovery (which looks great) Sept 2 in the US, a Star Ocean game spring 2009, and Last Remnant THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. YES. Footage! Woooooooo! Bet you can find this up at Gametrailers or G4 later. .... That's it? That was crazy short (maybe a minute) You can see more on their website from their Tokyo Game Show trailer (and you ~should~ watch it). Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant are on my must have list. Eh? He interrupted the MS guy for a "big announcement." Camera angle at the request of MS? WTF you can't see anything! OMG it's FFXIII. OMG!!!!! It's not going to be a PS3 exclusive! OMG OMG OMG. Yeah, the past hour or two has just been erased by that single announcement. Thank you Square!
That's the biggest blow to Sony since they launched the PS3. Haha, sorry that's harsh. But it's definitely their biggest blow since MGS4 and RE were announced as 360 titles as well.

Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo

Or, simply, Ryoko's Case File. 13 episodes from Dogakobo and Starchild Records.

The show opens with a vision of a girl committing suicide. Quite powerful imagery to put right at the beginning of the show, as these sorts of things are usually foreshadowing an equally powerful event. Police officer Izumida Jun'ichirou has been having this nightmare frequently. It seems to be a dream about his boss, the very sexy Yakushiji Ryoko.

Izumida is supposed to be Ryoko's subordinate, but he's more of a babysitter and servant, running around town with her and even carrying her shopping bags. He's no pushover though; he has an eye for detail and good deductive skills. They're on one of these outings when their car is hit by a man who mysteriously ages until he dies in an explosion of dust (or smoke?). Apparently these sorts of supernatural things happen often when Izumida is out with Ryoko, as if she attracts them. They chase a suspicious looking fellow down an alley, but he slips inside a nearby building, dropping a strange ring along the way which Izumida picks up. The owner of the building, a man called Soga who is a former member of the Ministry of Health (with ties to the QTR), refuses to let them go inside to search without a warrant. Ryoko is incredibly smart and capable however, and after calling Soga out on his past and effortlessly beating down one of his subordinates, he lets them inside. They quickly decide that the ring is their real lead, and so what follows is a rather amusing sequence where Ryoko is shopping for a swim suit and insists on a somewhat embarrassed Izumida's opinion.

The ring they picked up turns out to be from an organization called the Tsukuyomi Party, an occult group that worship Tsukuyomi and is led by a small child, but run by a group of executives. They take the ring to a man named Professor Tatsumi, who helps them with their supernatural cases. He's done an autopsy on their body and discovered contaminated food in his stomach. The catch is that the food was pre-contaminated before it was cooked, and it was imported from somewhere. Ryoko goes straight to the top and points to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. However she doesn't accuse them of poisoning the food, but of letting it slip past their inspections. She's been itching to delve into the ministry, which she is sure is riddled with scandals, and this is her big chance.

They soon meet up with Ryoko's rival, Muromachi Yukiko, whom she's known since college. Yukiko is escorting someone to a party for the QTR (Quarantine Technical Research, a division of the Ministry of Health), and Ryoko insists on going as well. Soga's people aren't going to sit quietly by, however. They set up a trap for them, but they've sorely underestimated both Ryoko and Izumida. (One of the goons makes a comment that Izumida looks good in a tux, and holy cow is he right.)

The animation is nice, and I love the opening sequence. The song that plays is very jazzy and catchy, and fits the tone of the show very well. The ending theme is a more subdued jazz song, and is equally fitting, though in a different way. Don't be turned off by the supernatural elements of the show; it's a very gritty show with a realistic feel, and the supernatural elements are (so far) handled well and don't overshadow the rest of the show. Check it out if you're into crime/detective shows.

Time for lunch and G4 E3 news (I hate G4, but they're the only channel to get that sort of news from, so it's better than nothing). There's a big Fable 2 party this week, so hopefully there will be more news on that front. Hopefully some news on what will be happening with the Halo franchise. FFXIII is oddly absent; for a game coming out so soon, Square doesn't have a playable demo there. This year will be fairly subdued, as it's an industry only event instead of the massive convention it used to be. The ESA hasn't been doing a good job of handling the industry lately, either, which seems to be reflected in the multiple companies that have dropped from the organization recently. The future of E3 seems to be a little shaky.

Kure-nai

Kure-nai - 12 episodes from Brains Base

Kure-nai follows the life of high school student Shinkurou Kurenai. Shinkurou has a rather unique job as a dispute mediator for a woman named Benika. This basically means that he goes on odd jobs for her where he inevitably ends up getting into brutal fights. Despite his appearance, he is an excellent fighter, and has studied a particular and unique fighting style developed by the Houzuki family. An orphan whose parents died in a terrorist attack, Shinkurou devotes his life to Benika, the woman who rescued him. Her trust in him leads her to give him her biggest job yet - protecting a 7 year old girl named Murasaki Kuhouin.

But Murasaki is no ordinary girl. She is a woman of the Kuhouins, a very prestigious family line with a very dark secret. The Kuhouin family is entirely pure blooded as a result of incestuous inbreeding. The women in the family are forced to live in the Inner Sanctum and are not allowed access to the "outside" from the moment they are born until the day they die. When they reach a certain age (around 14 or 15), they are forced to breed with their own brothers to produce children. The men of the family in turn marry women outside of the family, but they do not have children with them. Instead the women they marry raise the Kuhouin children as their own. For all purposes, any woman born into the family does not exist, so that they keep their way of life a secret.

Murasaki's real mother, Souju, asked Benika (who had worked for the family) to take Murasaki and show her the outside world so that she could discover what it means to love and be loved, and to have her own will. When Souju committed suicide, Benika made good on her promise and kidnapped Murasaki, then turned her over to Shinkurou for protection. Shinkurou is not only meant to protect her, however, but to show her love and give her precious memories. Of course, the Kuhouins will not just let their only current daughter leave. The family is dangerous, and Shinkurou will be harshly tested during this job. He is not alone, however; Benika's subordinate Yayoi is keeping an eye on them, and his two female neighbors, Tamaki and Yamie, help him show Murasaki what a world away from the Kuhouins can be like.

It's a very sad, but at the same time a very charming story. The relationship that develops between Shinkurou and Murasaki is innocent and precious, as he teaches her what it means to live a normal life. She is remarkably adept for a 7 year old, and her initial shock at having to live in a tiny one room apartment with no servants quickly makes way for a mature understanding of the world that only a child could have.

There's a good amount of action in the show, because even though his main task it watching over Murasaki, Shinkurou still has other jobs to attend to. We see a darker side of him that manifests when he lets himself go during a fight. He has a weapon, a horn, that he has put into himself in an effort to become stronger (it pops out of his forearm like a bone), but he tries not to use it because he realizes that he needs to become stronger on his own. His selective use of this ability is rather strange, however, as he seems to use it quite often when it is not necessary, and never when it truly is (like when protecting Murasaki, though it's possible he simply does not want her to see the monster he becomes).

The animation is excellent. I was particularly taken with the animation of the female characters' hair. I'm sure that seems like a strange thing to take note of, but if you watch the show, you'll see the way it falls around their faces and shoulders; it's quite beautiful. The opening animation is adorable, using very stylized and artful depictions of the characters (they sort of look like cardboard cut outs or paper dolls). I like the ending song ("Crossing Day" by Ryoko Shintani for the first few half of the series) the best, but the opening is also good ("Love Jump" by Minami Kuribayashi). It's a short series, and it's definitely worth checking out.

The show aired in the 2008 spring season, from April through June.

Get Smart

First of all, sorry for the slow anime previews. I'm still getting episodes together, picking groups, etc (and I just added another title to the list too). It's rather hectic for the first couple of weeks as I wade through this stuff. I'll likely finish up my Samurai Champloo summaries this coming week, and I plan on doing a review of Kure-nai soon, which I just finished. But for today - we went and saw Get Smart this morning.

Get Smart is (probably loosely) based on a 1960's television show of the same name staring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart/Agent 86, and Barbara Feldon as Agent 99. It's sort of a spoof on James Bond, or we can just call it Mel Brooks' James Bond, as he is one of the original creators. There were two previous movie versions, the first in the 80's titled The Nude Bomb, and the second a made for TV movie called Get Smart, Again! (both staring members of the original TV cast). This 2008 film stars Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) as Agent 23. For you Heroes fans, Masi Oka has a small (and humorous) role as a CONTROL analyst.

Get Smart centers on a secret agent group known as CONTROL, which was publicly disbanded after the cold war, but still operates in a secret base located below the museum for the "original" CONTROL. Maxwell Smart is the agency's top analyst, producing (ridiculously) highly detailed reports that are usually based on "chatter" he listens to via satellite. His basic motto is that villains are people too, and he makes it a point to know everything from their favorite band to their favorite food. Most of the Agents (except for Agent 23) find him dull and useless. Maxwell himself has been trying to make Agent status for years, and he thinks this will finally be his time to shine. Unfortunately the Chief refuses to promote him even though he passes his test because Maxwell is his best analyst and he needs him where he is. But the very next day CONTROL is attacked by their nemesis KAOS, and most of the Agents are put out of commission. Maxwell is immediately bumped up to Agent status as all the other Agents have been compromised, and is partnered up with Agent 99 who recently had facial reconstruction surgery.

Maxwell's intelligence has led them to believe that KAOS is making nuclear weapons, so he and Agent 99 set off for Russia to track down their leader, Siegfried, and get to the bottom of things. The fate of the world now rests in the incompetent hands of Maxwell Smart, who is, as his name says, very smart, but exceptionally clumsy and always getting himself into trouble (from which Agent 99 has to bail him out).

The movie is hilarious, and there's also plenty of action. Explosions, car chases, airplane and car chases, a sky diving fight scene, shoot outs, fist fights. All sorts of secret agent spy gear (cell phone shoes, radiation detecting watches, exploding dental floss). Lots of comedy - the jokes work. A touch of romance (critical to any sort of spy movie). Both Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway do excellent jobs. My fiancee also informs me that Anne Hathaway is "hot." And as a warning, the President in the movie has a lot of Bush...mannerisms. So if you're a fan, prepare to have him mocked, because it's very obvious (or rather, very specific). It's an all around good movie though. It has everything it should have, and it does what it's supposed to do - entertain you.

It was totally worth sitting through commercials I already see on TV, and too many previews for (probably crappy) movies. I miss the days when they played cheesy pop music and ran movie trivia on screen before a film. I hear they showed episodes from the original TV show before the movie at Alamo Draft House. I'm jealous.

Also, and it pains me to say this, I'm sort of interested in seeing The Dark Knight. If Christian Bale wasn't Batman I would be less ashamed of that statement.

On a side note, my wi-fi is getting a really low signal for some reason. The router is on the same desk as my computer, so it's not a distance problem. I don't know what could be interfering with the signal, as there doesn't seem to be a problem at the source (meaning the modem signal is fine); there's just something going on between the router and my PC receiver. If anyone has any ideas...because I sure don't.

ps - Still waiting for a valid, understandable reason why my worthless governor is a keynote speaker at E3 this year. The excuses so far have not been satisfactory.

Upcoming for Summer 2008

More reviews of the summer 2008 anime season! Anime News Network usually does this, but they haven't started yet. I assume because they've been busy with Anime Expo. I'd post about that myself, but I get all my news from them anyway, so it's easier to just go there. Though I will say the English cast for Ouran High School Host Club was announced; some of it looks good, and some of it looks dreadful (Vic Mignogna as Tamaki? I don't want Tamaki to sound like Edward Elric :( ). I'll be buying it of course (it's one of my favorites), but I'm perfectly happy with the Japanese voices.

So here's what's coming up. The rest of my reviews of the Samurai Champloo DVDs. I'm almost finished watching them, so the rest of the summaries will come soon. Then I'll be starting Last Exile.

These are the new shows I will be looking at this season, so expect reviews/summaries of them over the next few weeks as I get to them:

Chocolate Underground from Production I.G.
Natsume Yuujinchou (from the people who brought us the wonderful Kure-nai, Brains Base)
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora (Things that Are Important to a Mage)
World Destruction
Koihime Musou
Telepathy Shojo Ran from TMS Entertainment (who did the charming Itazura na Kiss)
Sekirei

And of course I've already looked at Strike Witches and Antique Bakery.

Samurai Champloo disc 3

Mugen kicks some butt for two episodes, Jin falls in love, and Fuu's privacy is invaded.
Disc three includes episodes 9-12: "Beatbox Bandits," "Lethal Lunacy," "Gamblers and Gallantry," and "The Disorder Diaries." In the extras section, there are some sketches and drawings of the main characters. Emotional facial poses and such, which is pretty common for this sort of extra feature.

Beatbox Bandits:
It's time to pass through the Hakone checkpoint. Unfortunately our misfit crew doesn't have the proper papers that allow passage through the gate. Conveniently they happen upon a scalper selling passports, but the gate guards immediately realize they're fake and all three are arrested. The official at the checkpoint has a tendency to execute...well anyone and everyone who isn't strictly allowed to completely legally pass through the checkpoint. In fact, this checkpoint has a reputation for not allowing anyone through who isn't supposed to go through. Mugen, Jin and Fuu are no exception. The officers receive a letter requesting a certain prisoner with a warrant, but he's already dead. In exchange for their freedom (after all, they were unaware their passports were fake), Mugen is asked to deliver the head of the prisoner by sunset. Mugen confidently sets off on this task, trailed by an officer named Yamane (who is narrating the entire event as a flashback). However Mugen quickly runs into a group of renegade warrior priests who are intending to start a revolution for peace with - believe it or not - their very large field of marijuana.

Lethal Lunacy:
Another Mugen centered episode. In exchange for food and lodging, the three constantly starving wanderers are coerced into cleaning and repairing an old monk's temple. Jin and Fuu seem adept at this, but Mugen grows restless and sets off after a rumor of a skilled swordsman who has been openly killing people in the streets of the town. He finds him easily, and, as usual, jumps at the chance for a fight. But this is not ordinary swordsman; he attacks not with his sword but with his inner Ki in a wind attack that slices his victims. The fight is interrupted (but they agree to continue another night), and Mugen returns, slightly injured and confused. When the monk hears the story, we find out that he is not who he seems, but indeed used to be a warrior and once taught the killer named Shouryuu. Mugen, clearly aware that he can't beat this guy at his current strength, begins to train rigorously until the appointed time when he and Shouryuu will meet again. It's Mugen at his best in amazing animation.

Gamblers and Gallantry:
In the next town, the party splits up to find way to earn cash. Mugen discovers beetle sumo wrestling, Fuu lands a waitress job, and Jin works at a kabayaki stand. It seems Jin didn't really think this through, as he appears to have no cooking talent what so ever. Fortunately for him a mysterious woman named Shino (whom he had met on a bridge moments before) appears and offers to help him. Jin is amazed by her cooking ability and her gentle nature, and is instantly taken with her. But at the end of the evening, Shino leaves Jin, explaining that tomorrow she will start work at a brothel to pay off her husband's gambling debts. When he gets back home, he finds Mugen boasting over his beetle sumo winnings, which he then "borrows" saying he is going to buy a woman. Jin, clearly in love and saddened by Shino's situation, declares that they should run away together. Shino refuses, believing that they will only be chased down until they are found. After seeing Shino's husband yell at her and smack her around, declaring she will always be a prostitute and he will live off her earnings, Jin decides that he must get Shino out of her disastrous marriage and comes up with a plan to send her across the river to a sanctuary for women.

The Disorder Diaries:
A very straight forward episode. Mugen and Jin come across Fuu's diary, and decide to read it in hopes of finding out some information on the Sunflower Samurai (which Fuu has refused to give them). Fuu's diaries chronicles their journeys up to this point, so the episode is basically a recap special. The boys note that certain parts of the story are excluded, but that Fuu is always certain to make mention of the food they ate that day. She occasionally makes comments on Mugen and Jin's uselessness, stating that she can't believe all the times she's been kidnapped. There's little more than that. Fuu's take on events and Jin and Mugen's reactions. But it's very well done and makes for an entertaining recap episode.