Real Man Blog

After the Rain, there is the Rainbow.

2010-04-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

So what does this season have to offer in terms of anime? Well, you could always indulge yourself in watching K-On!! And there is, of course, B Gata H Kei, an anime about a 15 year old with the dream to fuck 100 guys. Well, things aren’t that bad, there is also Giant Killing, something I, as a football fan, have really been looking forward to. But, you know, what really stands out from the rest this season so far is a Madhouse production. And judging from the first episode, it will be great.

Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin, as it is called, is the story of a group of six kids ending up in prison, ten years after the end of the Second World War. Yes, that’s right, it’s a prison story, and I don’t remember seeing anything like it in anime before. The voice acting seems good, I especially fancied the narration, and the music is top-notch. The artistry of the animation is also really pleasant.

The series greets you with a message: “We believe the explicit scenes of this animated work are rather important in bringing out the atmosphere of this time period.” Oh boy, I am already relieved this is going to be something different. The story takes off very quickly and drives home the idea that prisoners are treated worse than shit.

First, you have a friendly little girl throwing dolls at you.

Then, you have the caring doctor giving you a rather intimate inspection.

And of course, there’s the prison guard who takes care to give you his loving touch.

Good thing there’s a bro already in to greet you warmly, only to get beaten unconscious by the guard.

Well, all is good the next morning, and the seven brothers in misery share a cigarette, ending the episode on a high note and hinting on promising things to come.

So, watch it. If a series is worth checking out this season, it's that one.

... but we have to take care of business

2010-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

One of the more recent additions to the manga arsenal that really caught my attention is entitled somewhat misleadingly as “All Rounder Meguru”. Misleading, because every time I glanced at the title sitting there on my plan to read list, an image of some round girl mahou-shoujo named Meguru would pop up in my mind, and I would ponder what such a title was doing there.

That being said, one single look at the author’s name was enough to clear up my confusion and to dissolve any lingering doubt about the manga’s worth. Are you ready? The name of the author is none other than ENDO Hiroki. If that name does not ring a bell straight away, you have some manga homework to do, because this man has written one of the darkest, most ruthless and realistic scifi stories that I have ever come across, “Eden: It’s an Endless World!”. Any word short of amazing used to describe this manga is a crime. The guy is also a master at the short story genre, his collection of one shots entitled simply as “Hiroki Endo’s Tanpenshu (short stories)” is regarded as being among the best of the best in the seinen one shots genre.

The story of All Rounder Meguru starts off with a bang, introducing two motherless boys, a grandfather as a karate instructor and a father who is chased by the yakuza. Endo gives us an immediate taste of the cruel and unforgiving nature of the world, as well as the sadness that men should be able to bear. In this world, men have their duties to uphold, and a boy needs to take his own path and find his own place on the way to manhood.

After the eventful start, the reader is transported back into the slow pace of reality. This is, after all, a martial arts manga, so in comes the world of competitive shooto fighting. I will provide you with some samples, though I fear spoiling too much; you can expect some down to earth action, the author’s take on life, on man’s quest to improvement, on humour, on high expectations and disappointment and on the paradox and absurdity of love and our need for it.

The first volume proved to be really compelling, grabbing me with its complexity as well as its simplicity. Relating to the characters is really easy, and the author never preaches or tries to convince, he simply shows what is, as he sees it.

I definitely recommend it, a good coming of age story with lots more in between the lines.

Go Nagai, the Legend!

2009-12-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

September 6th, 1945 the Earth shook and Wakjima, Ishikawa became the birth place of a legend among men, Go Nagai. I mean shit man, haivng the name Go makes you instantly badass. Nagai made his debut in 1967 with works such as Devilman, Cutie Honey, and, of course, Mazinger Z in the 70's. Dynamic Productions came alive in 1970, which was a company Nagai started himself to help fund his manga and anime productions. Mazinger Z was then created which led to Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer. These stories created the genre for giant mecha. Mazinger Z is considered the first successful "Super Robot" anime show when people think it was Getter Robo. The reason I say he is a legend because every time you finish one of his shows or manga then you want to jump to the next show or sequal orginally created by him.

About two years ago I had just got into the mecha and super robot genre of anime after watching shows in the space genre including Infinite Ryvius, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star. This motivated me to go back in time and see the oldies that incluenced these great series. I came across a show called, "Getter Robo Armageddon." I started renting it from netflix and hot damn it was amazing. Heroes in giant fucking robots yelling and screaming attacks while fighting aliens was just amazing. I then looked up the director and noticed Go Nagai was the original creator. I knew I just had to see more of his works since they all seemed so hot blooded.

I watched more and more shows such as Mazinkaiser, the Devilman OVA's, and Black Lion. Then I pursued manga series such as Getter Robo, Devilman, and Shin Getter Robo. As a result to all this I then started getting into 80's mecha series. I had finally found my favorite genre and set a long term goal that I would do my best to watch all the old giant robo and mecha series I could, along with spreading the shows existence.

I encourage you all to give out some mecha shows a chance since all people watch now a days is moe and fanservice shows that are cute and make you feel good inside. If you really want to feel awesome inside then watch/read some Getter Robo, Mazinger Z, and Devilman. Soon you'll be yelling, "GETTER TOMAHAWK," and "FIRE BLASTER." I thank Nagai for giving us such great shows to watch and amazing stores to read. Go Nagai will always have the biggest imagination I've ever seen.

Hey look at me! I have a blade and I can HENSHIN!!!

2009-11-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

Since I am an avid watcher of Kamen Rider and Tokusatsu series in general I was looking for a new show to start. That show was the one and only Kamen Rider Blade. It ran from January 2004 to January 2005 and was proceeded by Kamen Rider 555. It's only been seven episodes so far and I'm already on the edge of my seat in every single episode. Before I go on I want to thank TV-Nihon for all their fan subbing over the years and making this review possible.

Ten thousand years ago, a massive battle known as the Battle Royal was fought by fifty-two Undead, each representing a species fighting for dominance over all others. The winner was the Human Undead, known as Category Two of Hearts, giving dominion of the Earth to humanity. In the present day, archaeologists discover the sealed Undead, and accidentally set them free. Thus, a new Battle Royal begins. Having developed the Rider System, based on the Joker's ability to copy sealed Undead, the organization BOARD equips two young men, who become Kamen Riders: Kazuma Kenzaki and Sakuya Tachibana fight together as Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Garren to protect humans from Undead and seal them. Also fighting Undead is the mysterious Chalice, a Kamen Rider whose purpose is unknown. In addition, a young man struggles to free himself from the control of the sealed Undead powering his own Undead-made Rider System, fighting as Kamen Rider Leangle. (Taken from Wikipedia)

This series is just plain fun. Kenzaki has one of the coolest henshins I've ever seen. Yet he seems so weak in the first two episodes and you start to have your doubts. Also, sealing the monsters in cards was kind of lame for me at first, yet it grew on me really quick.

Like always you have your henshin heroes that ride their badass motorcycles and OF COURSE transform (henshin) when they are riding. The beginning isn't as cool as the first couple episodes of Kabuto with Souji Tendou aka the motherfucking man, but it will get you to keep watching. It's good to start watching all these series since I watched all Decade and probably missed something when Tsukasa went to all the different worlds.

Now let me move onto the cons of this fun to watch series. You have to understand that Kamen Rider is usually made for younger audiences so sometimes you just have to ignore the cheesy lines or guys becoming friends but sound really homo when they are talking about it. Then again TV-Nihon's subs make up for it all by having the characters curse. I'm pretty sure their favorite phrase has got to be, "Don't fuck with me!!!"

If you have never seen Kamen Rider then I wouldn't start with this series because even though it's a great watch so far it doesn't capture that true Kamen Rider sense at first like W, Decade, or Kabuto will. I mean you can start with this series, don't get me wrong but I would recommend Kabuto because of its epicness. Just remember kids if you're ever in trouble yell HENSHIN and something cool might happen!

Hei is back but who is this moe girl?

2009-10-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Two years have passed since Bones has shocked the anime world with Darker than Black (DtB). It's not your normal power-user show where characters have the ability to bend fire, water, or ice. Yes, people in the show can do that but it costs them and they are emotionless. DtB is much different than shows such as E's Otherwise, X, or The Soultaker. Darker than Black is unique.

The first season clocked in at 25 episodes leaving us all wanting more. That is just what they did by having a second season that is airing now. Hei is back but what is up with this moe girl named Suou?! The first episode was real generic and then not at all. The first scene shows a brother, sister, and their father experience the meteor hit on Japan and Russia. I was real excited at this point until the next sequence where a guy is confessing his love to some random girl that you never saw in the first season. As the episode goes on it's your regular high school drama but with a little bit of awkwardness with Suou's father and now known contractor brother, who is in a wheel chair.

In the middle of the drama it explains that now in Russia (current setting) their is a force that captures contractors and performs experiments. Going back to Suou's father who has a super badass lab under his perfectly normal looking house. You then see April, one of the great November 11's comrades from the first season, and she is undercover as one of the lab workers.

All of a sudden the episode goes from gay moe boriness to badassness. These soldiers start infiltrating Suou's house. Her brother Shion, telepathically, tells Suou to dress like him and escape with the meteor fragment. At that moment you hear him,BK201 aka Hei taklking in a very aggitated voice towards the doctor asking where the meteor fragment is. Since the doctor doesn't know Hei kills him right away and at this moment I'm in shock because I forsee him being even more of a badass than he was last time around.

Suou finally gets out of the house only by getting help from April. They then come across a contractor that has super speed. The music, look, and action choreography was top notch in this scene as April kills that contractor and Hei kills April. Finally, you see Hei with a scruffy look and long hair. I see this series as promising when it comes to action sequences but nothing more. Suou annoys the living shit out of me and the series only clocking in at 12 episodes is disappointing. Hopefully, my view will change after a few more episodes.

Phantom of the Requiem

2009-07-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

Just an update on the status of PoTR characters as of episode 15...

Reiji: Still an emo wanker despite living what can only be described as the life of young Golgo.
Scythe Master: Somehow still alive and trying to make new fetishes out of the weird pedo shit he does to Ein.
Claudia: Successfully slept with every man in the show. And woman. And dog.
All those Yakuza bros: Yaoi fodder.
Ein: Rei Ayanami ripoff until the day she dies.
Isaac Wisemel: Obligatory black gangster. No underworld show would be complete without him.
That fruity guy that somehow leads Inferno: Obligatory silver-haired pretty boy. No anime would be complete without him.
Cal: Obligatory loli. No anim- fuck it she's annoying as hell and I wish her mother would come out of the grave to launch a smackdown on her ass for birthing such an obnoxious sack of flesh like Maria's mom did in Umineko(minus the rising from the dead thing).

Prototype Review

2009-06-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post this up a few days ago but god damn for whatever reason I got stuck at the last boss for quite some time. Now on to the review!

Prototype is a sandbox style action game that places you in the shoes of Alex mercer. Alex wakes up in a morgue with no memory of what/who he is. Alex soon then discovers he is in the middle of a war in which Manhattan has been infected with a virus, turning the general public into freaks of nature and the military is trying to put in end to the virus. Along with the events in action Alex also discovers he himself is quite different from the average person to which he possesses multiple shape shifting abilities to which he can "Bio-leech" (killing then Absorbing a person to obtain there memories, looks, talents and maybe most importantly health.) and do quite a few more things. (Trying not to spoil many things.)Alex then turns to the city to find out what has happened to his memories.

The gameplay of prototype is as I stated above (Sandbox style action game). all missions in prototype take place on the same sandbox map allowing you to roam and interact with what you want to on the map to get the task at hand done. The upgrade menu allows you to purchase more powerful shape shifting abilities as well as increase stats for your current ones. To purchase upgrades are done on a EP system to which to obtain EP you must finish a mission, kill a portion of the military faction or kill a portion of the infected faction. The upgrade menu does supply you with a nice selection of abilities and upgrades. Missions in prototype are pretty straightforward as well, get to point XYZ, kill the leader of the group..etc. Game length wise is not to shabby either as I clocked out at alittle under 20 hours. (that's the story mode plus like 2 or 3 events.)(It's 31 missions main story and a shit load of little side missions/events.)

The music is the place where I'd say prototype lacks the most, I'm not saying the soundtrack is bad but I wouldn't place it in the impressive bin. They have a music track for when your in alert mode, non-alert mode, free roaming the city. it's a normal game soundtrack.

Overall I found Prototype to be very addicting as well as the story to keep me going to complete it. The shape shifting abilities provide you with a nice set of tools to get the missions done or to completely fuck up the city if you just want to jack around in Free roam mode. If you are a fan of GTA games and or supernatural games give prototype a try..I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy power bombing soldiers of the tops of skyscrapers and then hijacking the nearest helicopter just to fly it to it's highest point and take one hell of a skydive. Even if your not a fan of sandbox games, give prototype a rental, it's got alot of addicting elements that come together really well.

SCORE: 8.5

Recent Discoveries: Gekkoh

2009-06-12T21:10:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what it takes to make a work of fiction jaw-droppingly amazing? To make a work of fiction able to quench the insatiable thirst all men have for pretty much anything that is good. Let’s put ourselves in the author’s shoes and together create something that can please as much of the manly man audience as possible.

First step: put everything in a suitable and interesting setting. Imagine modern day Japanese yakuza. Imagine the possibilities.

Second step: add men, not sissies. This should be pretty much self-explanatory. No self-respecting man would hang by the edge of his seat cheering a clueless wimpy idiot on. Adding tattoos is a bonus.

Third step: add punches. Nothing beats the good old punch in the face, whether the main man character is the one giving them or receiving them.

Fourth step: add women. Hot women. Adding sex is a bonus.

Fifth step: add a mystery. Something that you can only guess at. Adding intrigue and politics is a bonus.

Sixth step: add murder and a quest for revenge. If done properly, what man doesn’t like a good revenge story? Adding a katana is a bonus.

If you follow all these steps correctly, the end result would always be something of value. A manga that has them all, with plenty of bonuses, is Gekkoh.

I will leave discovering the rest up to you.

Review of: Megadeth, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

2009-06-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Their second studio album, Peace Sells... But Whos' Buying?, broke new ground on the metal scene of 1986. Revered as one of the most monumental thrash metal albums of all time, it sure does kick some major ass. The album focuses on themes such as war and political themes, as I like to think of it, metal that actually keeps you informed in some twisted disillusioned way. All that aside the album has eight amazing tracks (four bonus tracks when it was re-released in 2004). The song that stand above them all is Peace Sells. Man this song is something else. The great lyrical content and guitar riffs, as well as the amazing bass opening. All combined in one fluid sound that will make any metal fan pleased. It showcases Mustaine's exceptional talent for the guitar, and his ferocity too. He is one amazing guitarist, as well as singer. Although some people may complain about him not being the best signer ever, well he's not, now stop bitching. He is a great singer whether you think so or not. Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? showcases the bands talent and what was to be expected of them in the future.

Incoming: Prototype Preview (PS3/XB360)

2009-06-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

Next tuesday (june 9th) radical entertainment will be releasing there open world action game "Prototype" in which the story revolves around alex mercer and large conspiracy about a virus spreading threw New York city in which alex must uncover his past memories and solve the conspiracy.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's some footage:

Requiem of the Phantom 9

2009-06-05T20:31:00.001-07:00

Episode summary

After Zwei's genius decision to ditch the hot chick offering him the ride of his life (and not of the car sort) and heal his half-dead partner that doesn't even like him, he decides to... well really he doesn't decide anything. He just kind of runs from Inferno thinking that being on the move will save his ass. Hah.

Ein, after her deflowrin-errr bullet removal is broken both in body and mind. Her freakish obsession with her (douche) master Scythe drives her to become an hero, because I guess she desires nothing more than to be with the abusive bastard. Masochist much? Well, she did sound pretty orgasmic as the bullet was painstakingly removed from her leg... anyway she is prevented from painting the bathtub red by Zwei, who comes just in the nick of time to save her. Ein, having lost her purpose in life, her master, and memories sees no reason to continue on with life, somewhat jealous of Zwei gaining his original identity back. Zwei decides to find a new life for both of them, recover her memories, give her a new name (Eren. Awesome translation bro) and blah blah you know it isn't going to happen because this is a tragic story of assassins so something is inevitably going fuck up along the way and make everyone's life somehow worse than it already is (you know, shows like this are masters of this rather sadistic art). As if to respond to my thoughts, Claudia and her bodyguard show up to dish out a dream-shattering smackdown on the stupid kid that thinks roaming about territory of the people that want to kick his ass is a fantastic plan. Zwei is captured and gets the shit kicked out of him as he refuses to divulge the location of his accomplice runaway. Cluadia, being the hot, hot siren she is, offers Zwei a way to clear his name and save Ein (oh I mean EREN) by killing the other manipulative snake of the series. I can smell the drama five episodes away.

Fortunately for Zwei, she notices the Phantom men tracking her and escapes the car to do what she does best: jump people in dark alleys. Unfortunately for her, the bullet wound Lizzie gave her has yet to fully heal and she misses her chance to shoot her stalker due to a most inconvenient surge of pain. All is not over for her yet, however, as the episode ends with an unexpected intervention by her (douche) master.

Preview
Zwei confronts Ein and Scythe Master. Tragedy ensues.

Thoughts
A solid episode, although I have to say Zwei's sudden change in character is.... bothersome. It seems strange to me that after regaining his memories he goes from kid Golgo to a softy. Thankfully, it looks he hasn't gone completely soft yet as the next episode seems to imply he's going into berserk mode again. On a side note, this episode reminded of Leon - The Professional for some reason.

Madworld (Wii) Review

2009-06-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to wear a chainsaw? How about impale someone you hate with five sign posts? or make the worlds largest roadkill stain? If you answered yes to any of those then you need to be playing madworld for the Nintendo Wii.

Madworld starts with our main character Jack (Yes he has no last name, he's that badass.) arriving in Varrigan city to which has been taken over by a group of terrorists known as "the organizers". The organizers transform the city into a gigantic game show known as "Deathwatch" in which players fight for there lives. Jack then decides to sign a contract and starts his way to killing to be ranked number one.

The Visuals of madworld are simply amazing. Madworld supplies us with a black, white and red sin city style with the presentation of your favorite bloody comic book or manga.

While the Nintendo wii houses tons of sports and mini game compilations in which the controls are hardly above craptastic the control scheme in Madworld actually works and feels natural. swiping the wiimote gives a slash of the chainsaw depending on which way you swipe it, along with holding "B" pulls your chainsaw front and center as along as you "B" is held. "A" button is for holding on to and throwing enemies and objects. Each level requires you to gain a certain number of points to have the boss appear in which points are given to the player depending on the style and gruesome-ness of kill of the normal enemies wandering the level as well as how you use the items and enviroments around you to which if you come up with a crazy ass combo the fans watching will give you more points. (srsly there is a gaint deep fryer in one level.)

(Swirly!)

The soundtrack of madworld is amazing as well, sporting a badass wide variety of hip-hop and rap that blast furiously lines like "Jack, Jack he's the psycho manic that's right!" when ripping some enemies spine out just is satisfying to the ears. (as well as the eyes.)

(Just one of many possibilities.)

Overall If you own a nintendo Wii and are long for a hardcore beat'em up in which is fun as hell to play and full of blood look no further then Madworld. If you don't own an Nintendo Wii, with a decent retail selection available at the moment and E3 2009 sporting many hardcore Wii Titles like No More Heroes 2, Sin and punishment 2, the conduit and many more it may not be a bad time to look into purchasing one.

SCORE: 9