Top Anime Soundtracks, Number 5
Current mood: apathetic
Category: Music
Kimagure Orange Road is one of those shows that is very close to my heart. The manga began in 1984 and the TV show started up in 1987 -- so, the main characters were actually around my age at the time. The anime ran for 48 episodes, then spawned 8 OVAs and two movies. It was basically a high school love triangle with some psychic powers thrown in for fun. Everyone agrees that the best episodes really had nothing to do with superpowers, though. The movie, Kimagura Orange Road: I Want to Return to that Day is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen ... as it realistically protrays the end of the triangle as the kids grow up. It's a great film!
The reason that the soundtrack places in the top five is two-fold. First, it does have pretty excellent background music. The keys are clear and unique, and you can always recognize it. The second reason is that it took actual pop music from the time and integrated it into the show. This was not only unique for anime at the time, but for TV in general. Remember, Beverly Hills, 90210 didn't start up until 1990 -- and, as far as I know, that was really the first US show that started the trend.
Due to these factors, there were many, many, many Kimagure Orange Road soundtracks. The complete CD set had something like 5 CDs, plus several image albums. In any case, just because some of the current generation of anime fans might have forgotten KOR, it doesn't change the fact that it set the standard and had incredible music.
It was really, really hard for me to pick some songs to represent the series. So, in order, here are my choices: Orange Mystery - the 2nd opening song, Kagami no Naka no Actress (Actress in the Mirror) - 3rd opening song, and, by the great Wada Kanako, Kanashii heart wa moete-iru (Sad Heart Burning) - 2nd closing song:
Top Anime Soundtracks, Honorable Mention
Current mood: stressed
Category: Music
Since work has been so absolutely crazy, and I haven't had time to sleep, let alone read, write or play games, I've decided to put together a list of my top 5 anime soundtracks. Anime has a surprising amount of excellent music, as well as some incredible composers. It also has a lot of crap, as well as ridiculous fluff. These will be some that I think are really worthwhile and stand out a lot.
Since there are too many good one's, I'll start with an honorable mention:
The Record of Lodoss War OVA/TV
Both the OVA and TV series had absolutely fantastic opening and closing songs -- some of the best ever in anime, in my opinion. What barely stops this soundtrack from making my top 5 is that some of the instrumental tracks aren't quite original enough and don't hold up as well over time. Don't get me wrong, these are must own CDs -- and, if you haven't seen them, they're the best fantasy anime shows out there (except for maybe The Twelve Kingdoms).
I would just like to point out that the fact that Deedlit is AWESOME has nothing to do with my picking Lodoss.
Below you'll find, in order, the opening and closing from the Lodoss OVAs and then the opening from the Lodoss TV series:
How the machines begin their takeover ...
Current mood: exhausted
Category: Games
Normally, I leave the gaming stuff for the end of my blog, but this is too funny. I had dinner tonight over at my sister's with her and my nephew. He's a gamer, and he really enjoys shooters and their ilk. He also really liked Portal, as do I -- of course, this makes everything all that much creepier. I'm afraid my nephew is being stalked by a paranoid, delusional, sadistic computer. Why? Because he got this in his fortune cookie, no lie:
Of course, you'd have to have played Portal to understand ... but, trust me - this is a bizarre fortune in light of that game's plot! I guess this is a good time to, once again, share the shirt my girlfriend had made for my nephew and I:
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Work was pretty much a nightmare this week for an extreme number of reasons. I've been extraordinarily stressed, too. Part of it has to do with the fact I simply don't have enough time to get everything done that is required. That's with a period -- I just don't. To make a long story short, I feel like a decision in scheduling that was forced upon me is making incredibly inefficient use of my time, besides adding stress.
So, in the middle of the day today, I was forced to just leave work. I ended up in a bookstore. This is bad, because I left the bookstore much poorer than when I entered. This temptation would never have occured if not for work, so I blame my job. I ended up picking up books by Twain, Poe, Kipling, and Milton ... plus a manga for my gf and a magazine on DS9 that has an interview with Avery Brooks.
Please note: I love DS9, and I love Avery Brooks.
Hopefully, I'll actually get to read those books someday. Maybe while I'm starving, since I spent my food money on them.
Danger: Despondency ahead
Current mood: melancholy
Category: Life
My vacation this week is the work I have ever had. Is it the worst ever? No -- people have gone on vacation and their planes have fallen out of the sky, their boats have sunk, they've been maimed, burned, etc. You get the point. However, it was pretty damn stressful and has left me extremely stressed and spiritually strained.
I took 5 days off and I ended up back at my office on 3 days, was called on five days, had construction above me from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, I have a pipe that sounds like its going to burst out of the wall, and I've had sundry other problems. The whole reason I took the time off is because I haven't had time off in 13 months and I wanted to write some.
Obviously, nothing has been done. I just walked in the door from having to go reset the computer at work -- and, I'm not stressed because I saw some issues I'm going to have to deal with on Monday. To say the least, I'm extraordinarily unhappy -- despondent, even. I feel dead, like a spectre in my own skin haunting the days of my life.
All I wanted was to be left alone for one week -- one week. Life is just ridiculous, and I'm getting pretty sick of mine.
I'm going to go limp off and try and get something accomplished; it's just really hard to focus right now. Writing is more difficult that people often think ... at least, for me it is. It's a real struggle, and if I don't have some semblance of focus, I can't do it.
As a side note, here's the opening of the current anime series I'm watching. It's called Madlax, and it's quite the mindtrip:
The Forbidden Kingdom starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, the kid from Sky High, and a couple really hot Chinese girls was way better than I expected. No, it's not high cinema or a classic like Casablanca, but it is a fantastic escapist movie. The show is an amazing amount of fun, and it really shows a serious love for Hong Kong cinema. The movie has a sort of Neverending Story/Wizard of Oz vibe, the fight scenes are frequent and quite good (and rather bloodless), and the Chinese scenery is amazing.
It really is a good family or date movie -- it's quite funny in parts, and it's got this whole feel-good sense to it. You'll enjoy it; I'm glad it was 1 at the box office this weekend. If you have a chance to go check it out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It'll make you want to go rent or buy all the old films it references.
Not only that, my gamer geek was alight with delight as the game references rolled all over the place. Michael Angarano's character had not only old Hong Kong movie posters all over the place, but a Nintendo 64 and -- a Dreamcast!!! -- under his TV. Yes, one of the most excellent consoles ever, the Sega Dreamcast was prominent in the film. Then there was a scene with a Xbox 360, later on he mentions moves from Virtua Fighter.
All in all, I have to say, the movie was made for me.
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Obama and Clinton go at it tomorrow in PA; is anyone else glad this is almost over? Still, there are nine more primaries to go. For Obama to really show he's on top, a lot of analysts are suggesting he needs to keep within 5% of Clinton's vote in PA -- she's expected to win there.
Honestly, at this point, she's doing no one any favors by staying in. I kind of hope Obama wins tomorrow just so that the Democrats can stop beating each other up. You know the Republican party is loving their little squabble. The problem is, Clinton and Obama are pretty close on the issues, so their fights are very personal, and it's hurting their chances to get elected. McCain isn't facing the same problem. Once we get the two nominees, I think we'll get back to hearing about actual issues.
I hope so, anyway.
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As I mentioned in my last blog, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is getting a sequel. Here's a battle trailer from the game. This time, you can take other fighters down into the dungeons to help you out:
Kris Kristopher is coming home!
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Art and Photography
I don't usually do two blog posts in one day, but I'm thrilled about this! First off, I collect anime cels -- although, I haven't been getting many recently (thanks for the b-day cel, though, Gie!). If you'd like to check out a few I have, I put them on a Web site forever and an age ago; you can see them at this link, though.
Hand drawn animation generally requires 24 images per second (or there abouts, it depends some ... but this is a light explanation) to create smooth motion. That means you need to have a lot of art drawn! Each drawn image is photographed once, then next, and so on until you have animation. A single image is called a cel.
In 1997, a six episode series was released to home video in Japan (and in 1998 in the US) called Battle Athletes. In many ways, it was pretty generic -- but, it was funny and fun, so I really enjoyed it. I especially liked this really kick-ass, yet amazingly kind, character named Kris Christopher. Not throw out spoilers, but during literally 10 or 15 seconds of the show, she's drawn in priestess garb with her hair down.
For probably nearly 7 or 8 years, I've been searching high and low for a good priestess Kris cel that someone was willing to sell -- and, I couldn't get one (well, expect for one from her back, and well ... I'd rather see her face).
Enter Animaxis, an online retailer in Japan that sells the cels from the company that produced Battle Athletes. I've subscribed to their weekly product updates since 2002 -- they've never had a priestess Kris. That is, until today -- two cels went up. I almost deleted the newsletter, too; can you believe that?
By the time I got to the site, the better of the two had already sold, but I was able to get one! I do like a few features of the one I purchased better, but I think I would have paid for the full face one (it was more expensive though). Every once in awhile, someone doesn't pay -- so, I'll keep watching. Maybe I can still get it!
Anyway, here's the one I got - I think it's gorgeous!
Like I said, I think she looks great! However, here's the other one that some lucky bastard swiped before me:
I like being able to see both eyes in this one, however I kind of like the hair better in mine. Anyway, I'm totally thrilled! It's been a long week, so this was a really big deal to me! Watch Battle Athletes sometime if you can -- it's quite fun!
I want sleep ...
Current mood: exhausted
Category: Games
I'm so busy, my head is going to implode forming a black hole taking the rest of the planet with it. I probably shouldn't even be taking time to type anything out here, but I am. I'm taking a little time off next week -- however, it seems that I'm going to be dealing with the fun issues of things like plumbing.
However, I'm setting my goal to finish up my Shiloh's Way proposal so that I can finally get back to work on The Sea of Clouds. Actually, there is a ton of stuff I'd like to be working on, but actually having to make money to eat and pay the mortgage is interfering.
Don't forget, the Jackie Chan/Jet Li film -- The Forbidden Kingdom -- comes out this weekend! Go see it! I'm sure it'll be fun!
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Here's a trailer for a new Nintendo DS game I got this week. I haven't even had a moment to play it (although, I had enough time to take the plastic wrap off the outside, but that was about it). It's called Rondo of Swords, it's by Atlus -- if it looks like fun, go buy it! Atlus games disappear fast!
It's a strategy role-playing game, meaning you take a team out onto a battlefield, then take turns trying to win the fight. The cool thing about this one is that you basically choose a path and attack everyone along it. You'll see in the video.
I also heard that everyone's favorite unemployed ninja, Izuna, makes an appearance ... I'll have the trailer from her new game, soon!
When truth suffers ...
Current mood: annoyed
Category: News and Politics
We now have the perfect example of what is wrong with politics in America. This is completely textbook, so I'll hope you'll read the whole thing. It angers me to no end what McCain and Clinton are doing, so I hope they'll back off soon.
This is pretty simple -- Obama spoke the truth at a fundraiser, and sometimes the truth hurts. Now Clinton and McCain are trying to twist it to say that Obama is "elitist" -- yeah, that's a quote from Clinton -- and too far removed from the common man. The thing is, if you ask the common man, he'll agree ... the problem is, no one is going to hear Obama's full quote, just the twisted bits that come out in speeches. Here is exactly what he said:
"Our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives," he said. "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not.
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
It's amazing that two Washington insiders would have the gall to call him out of touch ... worse, that they're trying to capitalize on a hard truth by twisting it simply to win. Unfortunately, the truth often loses out when people are making a grab for power. Look how much Clinton has lied recently (see: Bosnia).
The fact is, people are bitter ... and they're angry. This is the whole reason Obama is so appealing, because he's providing a way to hope and, possibly, a different tone in Washington. It would be foolish to think he could change that much, but it could be the beginning of change -- we have to start somewhere.
Here's the story about Clinton spinning Obama's comments. I hope you read it and compare what he said to what she is suggesting he said. This is the link.
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Ah, Atlus ... how I love thee! Let me count the ways! Here's another Atlus trailer for an upcoming strategy role-playing game called Operation: Darkness. The setting is WWII, but with a supernatural twist. Hitler is employing vampires, werewolves, and other nasties of the night. You play the allies putting together a strike force to take them out. Check it out, it looks fun! It's coming out in on June 24 for the Xbox 360:
My blog just went to 25,000 hits ... wow, I don’t usually have much to say, so I really appreciate everyone that stops by! I’ll keep trying to find interesting news stories, cool media clips, and great stuff about games to keep everyone entertained. I really hope I’ll have something new to share about my writing soon, too.
The new series of Doctor Who just began, and it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun! The new companion ... well, she’s a lot better than she was in The Runaway Bride, and she was pretty funny. The dynamic between her and the Doctor is going to be a lot different than Martha or Rose, which is a great thing. While I still think Sarah Jane Smith was the best ever, a lot of people love Rose ... so, it’s hard to compete against those two.
The first episode was a very good Doctor Who episode -- that’s a qualifier; it’s not the best TV ever broadcast, but it was good. It was definitely better than any of the other season openers, that’s for sure. Even better, it had an absolutely shocking twist ending! Really, I was quite stunned -- it got me much more excited for the rest of the season, especially since I believe Capt. Jack is coming back. John Barrowman is awesome in the role -- so, make sure you watch Torchwood, too!
Here’s the trailer for the new season -- be aware, there may be spoilers:
Rough Seas ... and Jackie Chan!
Current mood: forgotten
Category: Life
I didn't really mean to disappear and stop writing, but life invaded. Work has been hell, just due to circumstances beyond any one person's control. If I didn't actually like the company I work for and the owner of my property, I don't know if I would have been able to muddle through. My birthday last week wasn't exactly the greatest celebration I've ever had, which was pretty depressing, too. Add on to that a bunch of other problems that have surfaced, and I've been somewhere between despondent and miserable for several weeks.
Interestingly enough, this pretty much corresponds to when I stopped writing my blog ... of course, the fact that I can't find more than a day to myself doesn't really help. So, I'm taking a week off later this month and I plan to sequester myself and get some work done.
I'm also planning a fun trip up to Boston with my girfriend that I'm looking foward to, as well. I'll probably talk more about that in the future, but at least I have some hope for the future ... that I'll get some rest, get some writing done, and go have some fun.
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Here's something fun to take the focus off my whining -- it's the new Jet-Li/Jackie Chan film. Actually, it's their first film together! I'm actually pretty excited to see it. I'm a big Jackie Chan fan, and it looks like the action scenes are great ... and that the film is cheesy enough to keep a big smile on my face the whole time. I love this stuff ... I eat it up! It just looks fun!
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