My review is based on playing the Xbox version of the Final Fantasy XIII game. There are so many contradicting reviews about FFXIII, but one thing is certain, the graphics in this game were amazing, and some of the places where you got to travel in were exciting, when I was in Gran Pulse, I felt like I was like in the prehistoric times, it was cool to see all the huge monsters, and Dinosaur-like animals running around.

The characters were interesting, though I got tired of the way they kept switching who you control for the first few hours, they wanted you to get to know all the characters, and sometimes you were stuck playing as a character you might not like. I really like the main character, I’m so glad to see a strong female main character, that is confident and able to kick butt. But at the same time she is compassionate and grows throughout the game.

I wont give away too much of the story away, but the gist of the story is that there is a group of people that have been branded with a mark, it gives them special powers, but they are forced to perform a “focus” some time of job, and if they complete it they turn to crystal, but if they fail they become monsters. Now for the negative, personally, I found the Game play boring, i was 3 hours into the game and I wanted to stop because i was so bored. I mean literally the entire game is mostly running around fighting monsters.

Normally I like fighting and leveling up, but I like the balance of fighting when I want, or doing side quests, or exploring a town/city when i want, in this game all you do is… fight. It didn’t feel like an RPG game. I feel like this FF game lost the sense of adventure and the excitement that the other games have. Speaking of the battling system, during battle you control one character, and should that character die it is game over, you cannot be revived.

This is the main characters from the game, from the left is (Sazh, Snow, Hope, Lightening, Fang, and Vanille.)

The game has “roles” you can assign to each person, and they can only use magic or attacks from that role. Meaning if all three of your characters are commanders, you will have to use a button to switch to another “Paradigm” so they can be a medic. You have to set up a list of the types of paradigm you can switch to during battle. To level up you get CP (crystal point), which you spend on a system that lets you decide which role you want to develop your character as, but you don’t get to decide  which roles your characters will have until later in the game.

I read reviews where people complain that the game is too linear, i don’t think that’s what is wrong, i don’t mind linear games, its just that there is nothing to do in this game besides level up. The story was interesting and it held my attention enough that I could finish the game. But overall, this game was okay, but in my opinion, not the best game out there.

Here is the Game Trailer, so you can see a little more about the game.

Status: 8 Volumes (Complete)

Haruna Aizawa has to transfer from her high school because she is tired of the rumors about her dad, who went to prison. He is a politician who was caught doing something illegal. Anyway, Haruna likes to compare her new school to a monkey mountain, how they all act like monkeys, how they band together, and sometimes fight and get back together again. There is a boy in her new school that even acts like a baby monkey (no he isn’t a real monkey), his name is Macharu Yamashita. Everyone calls him a monkey and teases him.

(Left) Macharu (Right) Haruna The main characters of the Manga.

I actually really liked the female main character, she was once popular at her school and other girls looked up to her, she is not weepy or annoying. But what I liked most about her is that she didn’t go “Kyah!” every time a hot guy walked by, and she didn’t fall for the school’s most popular guy Atsu, although he did try to go after her. Which kind of sucked since his best friend is Macharu (the aforementioned baby monkey). Atsu is an interesting character you never know if he is trying to help Macharu and Haruna, since he does things to help them out, but he also does things to make them fight and feel awkward around each other.

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It was nice to see a girl that falls for the guy that is actually a nice guy and not a jerk that is hot, and she is not indecisive about her decision. Which is something most Manga girls are; indecisive. She is not overly emotional, if anything she sometimes comes across as cold since she doesn’t like to express her feelings, but in reality she is a caring person. I also liked Macharu he has a complex because of his height and wants to be taller than Haruna. He helps Haruna open up more and make friends with all their classmates (a bunch of weirdo’s with no lives that like to make fun of their relationship), and she helps him to accept himself how he is.

Its kind of sweet to see how he becomes more confident, and how hard he tries to make their relationship work. And later on in the Manga, there is this one scene I really liked, when Haruna’s dad tries to get her a fiancée he grabs her and rides away to the sunset (on his bike…lol) and takes her to his house. The Manga is basically about the 3 years of high school and all the ups and downs their relationship has, it wasn’t the best Manga out there but it made me laugh and it was sweet to see how their relationship grew in those three years…

(Left) Atsu (Right) Macharu This is one of the scenes that I mentioned where Atsu, kind of messes with Haruna and Macharu’s relationship. Despite the way he acts he really does care about Macharu.

      Final Fantasy XIII, is the newest release in the Final Fantasy franchise. The game was released on Tuesday and I can’t wait to play it! The graphics are amazing, it is so detailed, you can see every strand of hair on the characters head. The main character is a girl, named Lightning, she seems like a strong and likable person. I also think the story sounds interesting, the people live in a place called Cocoon (a utopia in the sky) and they are protected by fal’Cie. Until one of them betrayed everyone and awoke fal’Cie from pulse (from the lower land) and their peace was destroyed. A few people were cursed with magic powers that they were forced to use. Join the heroes in their fight for freedom, and watch the trailer.

When I first started reading Konjiki no Gash!! I thought I was going to hate it, because the main character is actually very unlikable in the first few chapters, and the art isn’t the best. But since it had such great ratings I decided to give it a try and kept reading, and I’m so glad that I did, because I would have missed out in reading a really great Manga. In the beginning of the Manga we meet Gash Bell, who is a boy that was saved by the father of the Main character, Kiyomaro. Gash has amnesia but he is doing a favor for Kiyomaro’s father, so he is determined to help Kiyomaro make friends. Kiyomaro is very intelligent, he can answer a math question on a matter of seconds, and can memorize information, since he is so intelligent the other kids in the school bully him, and he has decided to not even go to school anymore.

This was the first meeting between Gash and Kiyomaro, he is naked because he went fishing to get a fish for Kiyomaro.

At first Kiyomaro treats Gash badly, and even abandons him when Gash tries to defend a girl from a bully, but he when he hears how Gash defends him he decides to help Gash. This is when he realizes the power that Gash has, Gash is demon, and he has a book that contains spells, if Kiyomaro reads the spell, Gash can use it. Eventually the main characters will learn that there is a battle between 100 demon kids to decide who will be king in the Demon world, and Gash is one of those Demons. What I love about this Manga is the growth of the characters, Kiymaro goes from being an outcast in school to a person that is brave and will stick up for people that cant stick up for themselves. Gash helps him to become a better person, and Kiyomaro helps Gash find the strength and the desire he needs to fight to become a Demon king.

The two meet a lot of cool Demons, and because Gash is such a caring person most of them end up caring about Gash and want him to become king and are willing to risk themselves for him. The interesting thing about the main characters is that Kiyomaro is the one thats smart, he comes up with all the battle plans and basically directs Gash while their fighting, and Gash on the other hand looks like a 5 year old but is the strong one, he is strong enough to carry Kiyomaro on his shoulders. I’m used to the main character being the strong one, its an interesting switch.  The two characters end up caring so much for each other that at one point Kiyomaro dies to protect Gash, and his book, and as he is dying he hopes that Gash will find another book master, that will help him become king.

On the right: Gash (the small kid) and Kiyomaro On the left: Zeon (the small kid) and Dufort Zeon hates Gash and is willing to destroy Japan to hurt Gash, but he eventually sees how wrong his actions are and grows up. His partner also has the skill that Kiyomaro has, but his is better.

Luckily, Gash has such strength in his fists, that while he is pumping his chest begging him to wakeup he is able to revive him, but it takes him awhile to wakeup from the coma. Once he awakens he finds he gained an ability of his own, he can answer any question once he asks it, for instance, if he is battling someone, and he asks himself, “how do i beat this attack?” the answer will come to his mind. Unfortunately, the power is unstable and he cant use it all the time.

One of my favorite demons in the series is Brago, he is one of the more powerful demons in the series, but what i like is his cool appearance. There are so many other cool demons in the book, there is another one i liked named Danny that has one spell, which is a reviving spell, he can attack and get hurt and then just revive himself. Its hard to get attached to the characters because once you start to care about them, their book is burnt and they are returned to the demon world.

One of the saddest parts of the Manga is that when the Battle ends and the Demon King is chosen (I wont spoil who it is here) the Human world and Demon world is separated and they cant see each other again, but Gash promises Kiyomaro that they will be meet again one day. All in all it was a very cool Manga with an interesting story and great Character Development, it was interesting that one moment you hate a character but they go through something that makes them grow up or realize the mistakes their making, and you end up liking them. I was sad when it ended, its too bad it didn’t end showing Kiyomaro and Gash seeing each other again.

This is Brago, he becomes Kiyomaro and Gash’s rival early in the series.

Won Lei and Lee Yen. Won Lei is a demon, and he knows how to fight really well, he becomes friends with Gash and Kiyomaro, when they help to free him from prison.

By: Shiono Etorouji

Genre: Action, Adult, Adventure, Ecchi, Fantasy, Mature, Seinen.

Status: Ongoing

Review:

Ubel Blatt is the name of the Manga that I am currently following; You are probably wondering what in the world does “Ubel Blatt” mean? Well, it means Evil Blade, its connected to Koinzell who is the main character of the story. Koinzell is on a mission,  he wants revenge on the seven people that took his life. How can he get revenge if he died? Well, Koinzell is not just a kid like he appears in the picture above, he died 20 years before the Manga starts, when he was 16 years old. He was famous during that time because he was able to acquire the title of  “Blade Master”. He could see someone perform an attack and be able to imitate it right away. Because of his skills he was chosen for a special mission along with 10 other people. Unfortunately, seven of the warriors were too afraid to finish the mission, but four of the warriors completed the mission. The other seven warriors waited for the four warriors to return and together they killed the four heroes.

Koinzell was attacked by all seven warriors, his body was cut into pieces and his eye was scarred, by his best friend Glenn, who was jealous of Koinzell. When he had barely any life left in him, he ate the body of a fairy and was able to regenerate himself. Everyone believed he died as a traitor. Koinzell spent 20 years training and getting used to his new body, since he ingested fairy blood, his appearance changed. He has special powers when he can see the moon, it enables him to use black swords that come out of his arms. He can also transform into another form with huge wings, but he only took this form once. Unfortunately, the body of a fairy is very frail so he cant perform his special attacks the same way he could as a human, so when there is no moon, he is weaker now than when he was human. Even though he is 36 years old he looks like a child, its funny to see him act as an adult, he drinks alcohol, and he flirts with women. Some women respond to the maturity that Koinzell displays, and the interesting personality that he has, one moment he can cruelly chop off someone’s head, and in the next he will show compassion and kindness to people that are being attacked. There isn’t much romance in this Manga, although in the beginning he does have a momentary relationship with one woman that falls for him, but he just feels pity for her, and lately he seems to be developing feelings for a girl named Ato, that follows him, he even gives her his blood to save her life, since he has the blood of the fairy in him.

He has saved the lives of many people, and because of this there are many people that admire him, and some who follow him on his journey and are willing to risk themselves for him. The seven warriors that lived, gained honor and received positions of authority and power. The interesting thing about this Manga is that what is right and wrong isn’t so clear cut. Koinzell wants revenge, which is understandable, but a few of the “heroes” have brought peace to their lands, and because he is killing the heroes, people are trying to take their positions and gain power and fights are breaking out. However, many people died because of the lies of the seven warriors,  a lot of fighting and confusion happened because people were angry with the family’s of the dead warriors.  This Manga is rated adult, so if you are going to be reading it, be forewarned that there is a gore, and rape. Its worth it to ignore it, because the story and characters are so interesting it doesn’t even matter, and i am curious to see what else will happen  to Koinzell once he does kill all the seven warriors, and whether or not he will gain back his human body…

This is the other form that Koinzell has…

Have you been thinking about going to Japan and are wondering how you’re going to meet someone there? Well, if you’re interested in picking up a Japanese girl, this site says that Japanese girls love “high-tech gadgets” so its best to approach a girl that is carrying a cell phone, and then say: “Excuse me, could you tell me what kind of phone you have? I need to buy a birthday gift for a friend of mine, and I know she’d love a new cell phone. Yours looks really cool." Japanese girls love to take pictures, so with that you can start a conversation and eventually ask her out on a date!

If you want to know how to pick up a Japanese guy go here. I was surprised to find out that Japanese guys are really shy. So, if you think you’re going to go there and the guys will swarm you just because you’re a “foreigner” your in for a huge disappointment. The article even says; “In fact foreign women are among the loneliest of people in Japan.” Looks like its the girls job to go after that cute guy you see while walking around Japan.  Such a hard job! If you want more tips visit the two links for the entire article, and good luck!

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Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, is a game that i was excited to play and yet why did it take me months to finish the game? I suppose its because i played KH1 and KH2 before this one, so my expectations were too high. The entire game is basically fighting heartless (its all that you do in each world) to collect cards to fight and cards to open doors, in each world you open three doors so that you can see cut scenes and fight the final boss. You repeat this in each world that you already visited in KH1, there really wasn’t any new worlds, since the point of this game is to delve into Sora’s Memory, as the name of the game basically says.

Sora is looking for Riku and King Mickey, he wants to find them so he can go back home. He ends up in Castle Oblivion a place that has something to do with memories. The castle is ruled by cards. Yep i said cards. Thats the one thing i didn’t like about the game, i know the games are geared for kids, but the whole idea of fighting with cards and opening doors with them just pushed the games into being really childish. It reminds me of those kids shows where kids duel other people, they stand there and creatures come out of cards and everyone is gasping in panic to see what the next card will be next. The villain always has a super undefeatable card that the hero manages to beat magically. Anyways, i Digress.

The cards thing wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t annoying fighting with cards. When you battle you have a deck of cards to use, some are attack cards, item cards, skill cards, and magic cards. The bad thing is if you waste your cards doing sleights (a special attack) all your cards will disappear and you’ll be standing there without any cards and unable to do anything,  but you do have the choice of waiting for Pluto to appear and find you more cards, but you better hope his card number is high, because if his number is low he can be broken by an enemy attack and you’ll get nothing. And yet despite all of that i was still able to finish this game because i really liked the story, it was interesting to see what happened during the one year gap between KH1 and KH2. Namine comes out more in this game and you are able to understand her powers more, and you get to learn a little more about the organization. You also get to learn more about Riku and Axel.

The graphics in this game are great, its a huge improvement to the graphics in the Gameboy version. The music as always is sweet and nostalgic but its getting kind of annoying that they cant come up with new music for the new Kingdom Hearts games, as much as i like the song Sanctuary, do they have to use it for every single game??? Also, for you Mickey Fans out there you’ll get to see a lot more of him in this game, and you get to hear his squeaky voice a lot, i used to love Mickey, but my love has officially been destroyed. One thing i really liked about this game is that when you finish the game there is a 2nd Story Mode. You actually get to play as Riku! You’ll get to see what happened to him after he disappeared behind the door with Mickey in KH1. I’ve always wanted to play as him, unfortunately you can tell they didn’t really care about originality when they decided to piece together a quick little game that features Riku. They actually force you to fight the same exact bosses and you revisit the same worlds that Sora did, i dont get why you had to do this. It was really annoying, but it was worth it because you get to learn so much more about Riku. Anyway, if you are a KH fan then i would recommend playing this game. Otherwise just head over to youtube and watch the cut scenes, you wont be missing much by skipping the game play.

Top: Gameboy Version Bottom: PS2 Version

You have to synthesized doors in each world to see cut scenes and reach the worlds boss.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, is the new release for Kingdom Hearts series. The game is for the nintendo DS and it is an action role playing game. The main character for this game is Roxas, the second main character, from Kingdom Hearts 2. Roxas is a Special Nobody, and I was glad that this game was centered on him. I found the plot to be very interesting, because I didn’t feel like I got to know Roxas enough in Kingdom Hearts 2, but in this game you will find out how he ultimately joins the Organization XIII, and learn more about the Organization at the same time. This story takes place during Kingdom hearts: Chain of Memories, and the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2.

You won’t have Donald and Goofy to help you out in fights, but you will fight alongside other Organization members.  There is a new character called Xion, she is the 14^th member. It was interesting how, even though Nobodies have no heart they still have their own unique personalities and  I grew to like a few of them, that I had found  annoying before. Especially Axel, I can see now why he was so desperate for Roxas to remember him, and we learn one of the reasons for why Roxas used two key blades instead of one.

 The fighting in this game is similar to the first two games, and thankfully you won’t have to use any cards to fight! This game is basically a mission’s game; you will get to visit different games on missions since you work for the Organization. Sometimes you will go on missions just to gather hearts from the heartless, or just to gather information about the different worlds and the people that live there. I admit the missions quickly become repetitive and annoying, especially how the bosses would keep getting repeated. But the story kept my interest. When you are in a mission you cannot save your game or access your menu, if you need to do something you have to leave the mission, and then go back; which can be annoying.

You are also restricted to certain areas of the town your in, and since you have to try to avoid attention there is rarely anyone on screen to talk to, I felt like this game didn’t have the freedom the two previous games had,. Just like the previous games you will be visiting different Disney worlds. It was fun revisiting some of the worlds from the other games! The game has two modes, Mission Mode and Story Mode; in Story Mode, you will just play the game normally, but in mission Mode you can play with your friends, and you get to play as other characters that appear in the game. The graphics of the game are great, very similar to the first two games, and the music is Nostalgic because they used a lot of the music from the other games, so it was nice to hear some of my favorite songs again.  Overall, I really loved this game, and I feel like it really rounds out the plot from the previous games.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Shounen.

Author: Mashima Hiro

Volumes: 35

Review:

I recently finished reading Rave Master, it is now completely scanlated, so if you haven’t checked it out, do so now!

This manga is about a society that is trying to take over the world by using “Dark Bring,” which is a special stone that can give the user different types of powers, for example elemental magic, like fire or ice, and one character was able to turn his body into mental. Anyway, there is one thing that can destroy the Dark Bring and that is Rave, which was created by a sorceress 50 years.

The current rave master is an old man called Shiba, but the Rave has chosen a new Master, Haru Glory; a sixteen-year-old boy from Garage Island. Haru must go on a quest to find the 5 Rave Stones so that he can complete the Rave and destroy the Mother Dark Bring. The Mother Dark Bring is the ultimate Dark Bring that can be used to obliterate the world. Lucia Raregroove, is the one that is destined to complete the dark bring.

The one thing I didnt like about Haru, is that even though he is supposed to be incredibly powerful because of Rave all he does in major fights is faint! Even in the last fight! Despite that he is actually a great swordsman, I just wish they wouldn’t make him appear so weak. But there is something really likable about him, he has changed the lives of countless people in the story.

The first person he affected is my favorite character, his name is Let, and he is from the Dragon Race. When he first appears in the story he looks like a human/Dragon, it was kind of strange, but he eventually becomes completely human.  At first he is a really quiet and calm guy that only cares about fighting others and becoming the strongest fighter. But after knowing Haru, he becomes a person that cares about the new friends he has made, and he would do anything to help Haru in his quest.

The interesting thing about Let is that he had a girlfriend that was transformed fully into a dragon. When a person is transformed into a dragon they cannot become human again, but Let uses an Elixir to heal her. She had been taken away by another guy that used magic to make her believe that Let had died. Anyway, they eventually get together in the story. She became my favorite female character in the story. I really think there should be more female characters like her in other Manga.

This is Let and his girlfriend Julia, in this scene she thinks Let is interested in another girl.

She is a cool and strong woman that isnt afraid to get into a fight with someone stronger than her, but despite the tough act she puts up, she is really caring. I especially like when she punches her boyfriend when he does something to piss her off, and she even accuses him of cheating on her and beats him up before letting him say anything.

There are too many interesting characters to mention them all but some that I like are Elie, Musica, and Sieg.  Elie is the Main female Character she has a mysterious power that is connected to the Rave stones, she is also the girl that Haru likes, its cute to see the love between these two grow throughout the story.

Musica is the leader of a gang, Haru meets him early in the story and since they both have quests that lead them to the same place they team up, but eventually they just stick together because they’ve become such good friends.

This is Sieg Hart, my second favorite character.

Sieg is my second favorite character, when the story starts he is just this psycho guy that is obsessed with protecting time and is willing to sacrifice anyone to do it. But as time goes by he is influenced by Haru’s kind heart, he starts to see the value in other people, and he isn’t so willing to sacrifice others, instead he is willing to sacrifice himself for others. Out of everyone in the story he makes the biggest sacrifice… I wont ruin it by revealing it here, but believe me you will be crying like me when you get to that part of the story!

The ending of Rave Master felt a little strange and dramatic, and everyone seems to be at the point of death and they keep saying they’ll make all these sacrifices to help Haru and the world, when the truth is they are all carrying Elixirs that can heal almost any wound. However, the ending leaves you feeling happy since it is a happy ending! Overall, I was glad i finished reading this Manga, not just because of the action scenes but because there are so many awesome characters in the story that its very easy to fall in love with this story, so check it out if you can!

Genre: Action,  Comedy,  Fantasy, Shounen, Supernatural.

Author: Shiibashi Hiroshi

Review:

This is currently my favorite Manga, I obsessively check everyday to see if it’s updated. It is currently in chapter 58 (Volume 6.) After you see the picture of the Main Character I am sure this will quickly become your favorite Manga too…

The strange thing about this Manga is that in the beginning the character is a 9 year old boy, but a few years go by and he is now 12 years old; even though he is still young, his “other form” makes up for the age problem (he looks older and sexier).

Rikou is special, because he is Human during the day and Youkai at night. When he is in his Night Form he is more confident and stronger. The cool thing about Rikou is naturally a good swordsman; you won’t have to wait 20 chapters for him to improve, like in other Shounen Manga.

At first Rikou denies his Youkai half, because he thinks Youkai aren’t good people, but he believes he can change the way Youkai are perceived by using his Night Form to help humans. It is interesting to see Rikou’s struggle with his Night and Day form, he knows his Night Form is more powerful but he refuses to give up the part of himself that is human.

Romance isn’t a big thing so far in the manga, but his childhood friend, Kana, seems to have a crush on him, although that quickly fades when she meets Rikou’s night form (which really disappointed me, i hate seeing girls in Manga swooning over guys.) Another girl that seems to like Rikou is Yuki Onna, she is one of Rikou’s Body guards, and she has a magical Ice ability. She likes Rikou no matter what form he is in and he very loyal to him.

There are a lot of interesting side characters in this story, the two that really caught my attention so far are Inugami and Gyuuki. Inugami is a dog Youkai, his powers were awakened by Tamazuki (a Youkai that wants to take over all Youkai) when he was awakened he killed a bunch of people. He is a person that has never been loved, and he resents Rikou for being loved by so many people, sadly Inugami has a sad fate, and somehow I cant help thinking that if someone had loved him, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up the way he did…

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This is Gyuuki, he is a Youkai, and the story of how he became a Youkai, is probably the saddest in the whole Manga.

Gyuuki also caught my interest because of the way he was turned into a Youkai. He was separated from his mother for a while because he went to serve at a temple to pray for the salvation of his father’s soul. He was treated badly at the temple because the other kids were jealous of him, and so he decides to go back home to his mother. Unfortunately, on his way home he meets a Youkai, this Youkai murders his mother. In despair, Gyuuki transforms into a Youkai while holding his mothers dead body. The look on his face as he transforms into a Youkai was painful to see.

This is a scene where Yuki Onna protects Rikou.