(SPOILER ALERT)Shift the Past! - Zero Time Dilemma Review
Hello guys, Kuromi here. It's been a while, but I can't help it since I got college classes' works and assignments piling up. However, it doesn't mean that I'll abandon this little blog of mine. So today, I'll be bringing you guys a review of one of the most recent game, Zero Time Dilemma. I decided to write one since I've finally got the true ending.
Zero Time Dilemma is the third installment of the Zero Escape series. It is the sequel to 9 Hours 9 Person 9 Doors (999), the first game and prequel to Virtue's Last Reward (VLR), the second game. Directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, the game demonstrates a great story which pars with the previous couple of games. It was released on 30th June, 2016, and I grabbed a copy a couple of days later for the PC version. That's right, PC players, you can play this game on Windows. Besides PC, it was also released for Nintendo 3DS and Sony PSVita.
But enough with the info, time for the review!
Now before we begin, let me just give you guys a heads up. I haven't played Virtue's Last Reward, the second game. At least, I've played a little bit (managed to hassle a buddy of mine) but not much. Blame me for not getting a 3DS *cries*. However, I still can get the gist of things going on here.
They brought characters from previous games like Akane, Junpei, Sigma and Phi. New characters introduced includes a firefighter named Carlos, an ice-cream man named Eric and his girlfriend, Mira. Also not to forgot, a mysterious boy with a spherical helmet called Q and a young pacifist nurse named Diana.
Story
The characters were trapped in a place like a bomb shelter where they are forced to play the Decision Game while seperated into teams, where their lives are literally on the line. They could only escape once there are six or more people died, or so they thought. Like previous games, the game's lore relies heavily on multiple universe theory, where each decision will branch off to a different outcome and another decision will lead to another outcome. In this game, most of the characters can finally use their power to shift between these timelines at will as long as the conditions are met. So by using their abilities, they try to uncover the mysteries lurking around them, the truth behind the Decision Game and make their way out of the shelter with all of them being alive.
The plot might looked like they had lot of holes, but once the story progresses, especially after shifting between timelines several times, things finally made a lot of sense. Especially with things going with team Q. The only twist was near the end of the true end. A character which never had any appearance before suddenly appeared. What's up with that!
However, the only downfall was the epilogue. It doesn't show much of what happens after the events with the true end. There are texts documents in the 'Files' section after the credit roll. But it's not really satisfying. Besides, this game's supposed to cover all holes that's left hanging from the two previous games.
Graphics and Gameplay
The way they used cinematics for narrations is a new thing considering the previous games which used visual novel approach. Nevertheless, it's pretty nice. Surprisingly, this actually boost the popularity and sale in the West. Perhaps it is because it is similar style of narration in Western games such as The Walking Dead. Contrast to their previous works, Spike Chunsoft, the developer of the game, got a bit lazy on the animation department. However, the graphics were a lot better than the others. Perhaps it is to meet standards of the previous games.
Unlike previous Zero Escape games, Zero Time Dilemma uses 'fragments' to proceed with the game's storyline. In other words, it's not linear. True, they do have a menu screen for viewing the timeline flowchart, but to access the next fragment from wherever you currently present were hard to spot on since in the end, you just had to play all fragments and meet all ends to continue the game. Including game over ends.
The puzzles and escape from room gameplay is still the same as previous games. The puzzles were well thought and challenging. I have to admit, there are some puzzles that really had me hours to solve. (Damn you, laser puzzle!). Especially the puzzles leading to the true end. It felt like a masochist fest as a puzzle enthusiast myself. There are also situations where you need to memorize passwords or answers from different timelines. So this is a good test to see whether you had a good memory or you're going senile. Joking, joking. And of course, the Decision Game. The key of the game where you are given two or more choices, and the outcomes will differ depending on your choice. Sometimes it's as simple as picking the 'correct' answer. But most of the time it's all about your personal moral views and ideology. Which really make things quite interesting, and sometimes pretty personal. (Trigger alert).
Music and Sounds
I'm really hyped when they used soundtracks from previous games during certain scenes or escape phase. You could expect for 999's soundtrack during scenes with Akane and Junpei, while you could hear soundtracks from Virtue's Last Reward during Sigma and Phi's scene. But with improvements and new variations of them, which is really cool and refreshing. As a veteran player, I just can't keep my hype down.
Of course, there are Zero Time Dilemma exclusive tracks as well. Which are on par with those comeback soundtracks. If not, better. The sounds made you feel immersive so much that you can feel the tension with the characters in the game. Especially with a pair of nice headphones, my heart races on EVERY tense situation.
Regarding the voice acting, I have to say I prefer the Japanese voice acting more than the English voice acting. The English voice acting is great as well, but personally, the Japanese voice acting felt more... alive, and real. But I have to say, the English voice acting for this game doesn't dissapoint me much. I can feel the emotions with it, too. Unlike other localized games, where the voice acting for English was literally sounded as they simply read the script. (Roxas, why oh why...)
Final summation
So I got all the endings, including the true end and peeked on almost everything I could with the game. Again, the end was not very satisfying, at least not to me personally. But the plot was amazing and well thought nonetheless. Twists were placed well, too. Graphic-wise, just look at Virtue's Last Reward and you'll get the idea. I'm especially hyped the most by the soundtrack. Hearing a new mixed version of previous games' soundtrack, it was blissful. *Eargasm overload*.
If I have to give a scale for them, it would be a little like this:
Story: 7/10
Graphic: 9/10 (PC)
Sound: 9/10
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm still replaying this game. I would really recommend for those who never played the Zero Escape series to play from the first game before playing this one because there'll be a LOT of references from the previous games.
Until next time, thanks for reading. As always, keep on reading.
The plot might looked like they had lot of holes, but once the story progresses, especially after shifting between timelines several times, things finally made a lot of sense. Especially with things going with team Q. The only twist was near the end of the true end. A character which never had any appearance before suddenly appeared. What's up with that!
However, the only downfall was the epilogue. It doesn't show much of what happens after the events with the true end. There are texts documents in the 'Files' section after the credit roll. But it's not really satisfying. Besides, this game's supposed to cover all holes that's left hanging from the two previous games.
Graphics and Gameplay
The way they used cinematics for narrations is a new thing considering the previous games which used visual novel approach. Nevertheless, it's pretty nice. Surprisingly, this actually boost the popularity and sale in the West. Perhaps it is because it is similar style of narration in Western games such as The Walking Dead. Contrast to their previous works, Spike Chunsoft, the developer of the game, got a bit lazy on the animation department. However, the graphics were a lot better than the others. Perhaps it is to meet standards of the previous games.
Unlike previous Zero Escape games, Zero Time Dilemma uses 'fragments' to proceed with the game's storyline. In other words, it's not linear. True, they do have a menu screen for viewing the timeline flowchart, but to access the next fragment from wherever you currently present were hard to spot on since in the end, you just had to play all fragments and meet all ends to continue the game. Including game over ends.
 |
| Fragment screen |
Music and Sounds
I'm really hyped when they used soundtracks from previous games during certain scenes or escape phase. You could expect for 999's soundtrack during scenes with Akane and Junpei, while you could hear soundtracks from Virtue's Last Reward during Sigma and Phi's scene. But with improvements and new variations of them, which is really cool and refreshing. As a veteran player, I just can't keep my hype down.
Of course, there are Zero Time Dilemma exclusive tracks as well. Which are on par with those comeback soundtracks. If not, better. The sounds made you feel immersive so much that you can feel the tension with the characters in the game. Especially with a pair of nice headphones, my heart races on EVERY tense situation.
Regarding the voice acting, I have to say I prefer the Japanese voice acting more than the English voice acting. The English voice acting is great as well, but personally, the Japanese voice acting felt more... alive, and real. But I have to say, the English voice acting for this game doesn't dissapoint me much. I can feel the emotions with it, too. Unlike other localized games, where the voice acting for English was literally sounded as they simply read the script. (Roxas, why oh why...)
Final summation
So I got all the endings, including the true end and peeked on almost everything I could with the game. Again, the end was not very satisfying, at least not to me personally. But the plot was amazing and well thought nonetheless. Twists were placed well, too. Graphic-wise, just look at Virtue's Last Reward and you'll get the idea. I'm especially hyped the most by the soundtrack. Hearing a new mixed version of previous games' soundtrack, it was blissful. *Eargasm overload*.
If I have to give a scale for them, it would be a little like this:
Story: 7/10
Graphic: 9/10 (PC)
Sound: 9/10
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm still replaying this game. I would really recommend for those who never played the Zero Escape series to play from the first game before playing this one because there'll be a LOT of references from the previous games.
Until next time, thanks for reading. As always, keep on reading.
Motivation for Gaming?
Hello, guys! Kuromi here, back with an original article out of the whim. Today I'll be talking about what can motivate or demotivate you while gaming. Well, at least to me, perhaps. But I'm sure some of you out there might be agreeing with me on this. So without further ado, let us begin.
Okay, let's take a look at what demotivates you from playing games then we'll look into things that can overcome these, things that actually motivates you to play games. So I'll be listing down things that made me personally turned off from gaming hype. I won't be putting it in order, it's merely a list so don't misunderstand the gravity of each cases.
1. Too much games, so little time
It happens all the time to us players. We have so much games at hand and we feel that we must finished them all as soon as possible. If you're a kid gifted in a luxurious family with nothing to worry about life, then this won't be a problem. But if you're a college student from a family with normal income like me, this is a really BIG problem. There are works, assignments, homework, activities and more that can really messed up our gaming time. I know, it sounded like gaming have more priority than the others, but we're not talking about ethics here turn around and sit at the "I thought I'm right" corner, you goody-two-shoes. When you think about time, it always felt like it's a bummer and I never even touched my games.
So basically, to tackle this problem is nothing more than just mere time management. Yes, sounds very cliche, but it's the truth, so suck on it. Always plan what to play, how long do you play it, and stick with that schedule. I actually end up finishing long-hard visual novels like Katawa Shoujo and Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai with this method. And of course, if you got free time and had no one to hang out with, you can fill it with gaming time. So remember, kids, manage your time. Teens and adults should also take note of this.
2. Casual games VS Story-driven games
This is one of the most demotivating factors for me when playing video games. Remember when you arranged your games in your games library where you put a Mario party game next to a horror or action adventure game? Yes, that is a real turn off. Why? Because everytime I take a look at those two games, I can't decide if I want to play an instant game or a plot-filled game. It's a matter of convenience over quality, and you'll feel like if you play one of those games, then you will never play the other. Thus, you might remove the game without ever playing it, at least that's what happened with me.
So it's still about managing. Take turns on the kinds of game you want to play. If today you're playing Mario Kart, then you should play Tomb Raider on the next day. By taking turns, you'll be able to finish your plot-filled games without ever abandoning your instant casual games. For me, I set what games to play on what day of the week. This actually helps if you're playing games like Dissidia where they gave you bonus stuffs when playing on your preferred day of playing which you set on the first time you play the game.
3. 'Tried Hard' games
There's nothing more frustrating than playing a game that clearly shows how desperate the developers wanted their games to sell. These came with a variety of ways to 'sell out' their product. For example, heavily sexualize content (Bayonetta series), publicity over content (Sonic series), milking franchises (Persona 4 franchise), and of course, freemium games (all those Facebook and mobile app games). It hurts to see how much they put into the elements that they believe to bring them in more revenue. Credits to their effort, but forking players to actually buy their products? I don't even want to play Persona 4 Ultimax. Really glad that they finally focus on Persona 5.
Hear me out, okay. I'm not asking you guys to NOT to play these games, I'm just saying that these kind of games really put me off personally. If it's your cup of tea, then by all means keep on playing. You enjoyed it, then there's nothing wrong. I still wish to play Persona 4 Golden myself. To overcome this, I usually just play it when I'm really bored or I have nothing else to play at the moment. Simple as that.
4. The 'Console Barrier'
Honestly, this is the most frustrating, if not, the most heartbreaking factor of them all. Currently, I only own a Gameboy Advance, an NDS Lite, PSP 2000, Playstation One and 2, and my trusty ultrabook laptop (Dell Vostro). Remember that I said I love the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem series? Yeap, the latest games of the series both are only available for the 3DS. Not to mention the crossover of the series is now on the Wii U. Oh, and so as the PokeMon games, especially Sun and Moon. Haha, I really love my life...
Well there's very little you can do about this matter. To me, I simply hassle a good friend of mine to play some of the games. Or I revert back to the old days of emulating games (which I actually still do, on some games only). Or perhaps, find a job, save money and finally buy the said console. However, there are some cases that those games might ported to your available consoles. Like Zero Escape - Zero Time Dilemma which is originally released for the 3DS and PS Vita had been ported to PC. Yes, I'm playing it right now. So watch out for a review soon enough.
5. Community
What? You're expecting something else? Pfft. Well the last one that usually turn me off from playing a game is of course, the player community of the game. This usually applied to massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. The cases can be varied from toxic players, elitists, or a dead community. To those who know me, now you know why I don't play Dota 2 and League of Legends. I also on the verge of quitting Dofus 2 and Wakfu because of the community that seemed pretty much dead. If you're not playing MMOs and you think you're safe, no no no... it's the same case as well. Bunch of players forcing their strategies in the face of others on how to play Magicka, group of players starting out propaganda of which meta build to go with when playing Yu Gi Oh! video games and many more.
So to overcome this very depressing issue, all you need to do is very simple. Find at least one like-minded friend. Trust me, your whole gamin experience just turned 180 degrees once you did. It is much better if you can get a group of friends. I still run with several guild mates in Dofus 2 and that's what keeping me from retiring from that game. Just try not to turn you and your friends into those assholes stated above yourselves. Or you're just contributing to some other players' depression.
Final Summation
Well then guys, whenever you want to play a game or while you ARE playing a game, there will be a lot of things that will make you feel depressed or demotivated. It's inevitable. However, it doesn't mean it's the end of game, and of course not the world. The above are just the tip of the ice berg of examples of depressing or demotivating factors in gaming. But each of them had ways to overcome those awful feelings. That means whenever you're stuck with those feelings, there are always be ways to motivate yourself back to play games. Who says gaming doesn't need to have mood while playing, huh?
Well that's all for me today. Thank you for reading this shitty rant, it's very much appreciated. I'm Kuromi signing out, and as always, keep on reading.
(18+ Warning) 'Oppai' Gakuen HxH - #First Impressions
Yo, peeps. Kuromi here. Today we're gonna take a look at one of the most recently released anime, Oppa-- I mean, Masou Gakuen HxH. The first episode had been released on 1st of July and in just one night, it is already ranked one of the most viewed episode in stream sites like Crunchyroll and on unofficial sites alike. So in today's post, I'll be ranting about what I can say about this anime from the first episode.
Remember, it's just an impression and it won't cover the whole series. Also take note, I'm not going to make an episode-by-episode reviews. I'll only make reviews when the series had already ended or when it's about to end. So without further ado, let's get going!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So the episode already started with a rather... 'heated up' scene. Kizuna, the main character, is currently 'charging' up his 'friend', Himekawa. I can't really explain how the process goes, so I just leave some teaser images to show the 'atmosphere' below:
Don't worry, folks. They merely in the process of 'charging up'... if you know what I mean, huehue. No really, they're charging up energy for real. From this scene I can already guess two things on how will this series go. One, this might be just another 12 episodes anime. Light novel adaptation, remember. Two, unnecessary erotic scene for every 5 minutes on each coming episodes.
It might go well with fans who watched just for the fan service. But to me, I prefer story or plot than anything else. More specifically, thrills. However, it might be good to have some guilty pleasures every now and then, right?
So there are three heroines in this series. That means harem genre confirmed. Each heroine had their own generic tropes, rich girl, tsundere, kuudere. But all three of them had one trait in common besides their hair colours and personality. That's right, you hopeless perverts. I'm talking about...
Boobs... or oppai, whatever.
Does breasts really matter? I guess when it comes to selling via fan service, it's a staple, no questions asked. All three heroines have 'canons', so to all 'justice' supporter, I'm sorry. There are no flats here... yet. We have still yet to see the coming episodes, so who knows when a 'flat' character might come. I mean, if they really wanna sell this series right, there have to be one at least. But that's all from generic build up in these kinds of anime. Who knows what'll they're gonna do with this series.
Also, since this is their first release, that means no Blu-ray like content yet. I'm talking about censorship. That's right, censored scenes everywhere. Not just those 'convenient ray of light' kind of censors, but also stack on censors.
So putting aside boobies and fan service aside, I have to say the animations are pretty good and colours are, well, colourful. The action scenes are quite good even with the 3D rendered animations, though it felt too... secondary. I guess that's normal because they ARE selling this anime by their fan service, which is rather disappointing. If they actually put more effort in the action side of the story, it might become a rather good 'more-than-just-boobies' anime. Seriously, they put more effort in the jiggle physics and groping scenes.
There are yet any opening or ending theme songs, but at least the soundtrack showed some promise. It's actually pretty good, both in action and erotic scenes. Yes, it sounds really good in erotic scenes as well. I really hope the opening and ending songs will be good, at least as good as the theme songs used in High School DxD.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
So to summarize things up, here are my impressions on this episode.
Pros:
- Fluid animations
- Quality 3D animations
- Awesome soundtracks
- Vivid colours and beautiful arts
- Great voice acting
Cons:
- Generic borderline-hentai level ecchi plot
- Pathetic protagonist
- Generic tropes
- Might be a really short series
- Less action, more 'action'
- Boobies
- Boobies
- Boobies
- Did I mentioned boobies?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have it folks, my first impressions on Masou Gakuen HxH's first episode. I'll be doing a full review by the time this anime series ends, and I can guess it's not gonna be that a long wait. I'll be doing some of these first impressions more soon as the summer anime batch for 2016 are finally out. So be sure to come back often for more updates in the future.
I'm Kuromi, signing out. Be seeing you guys next time, and as always, keep on reading.
-----------------
P/S - I really hope more people will donate to this site, my keyboards kinda busted and I need a new one. Thanks in advance to those who did.
Relaxing flight with Flying Witch (Anime Review / Not so spoiler I hope)
Hey guys, Kuromi here. It's been awhile but finally I got the chance to write. Though, it's 3 o'clock in the morning when I wrote this... We finally got a week holiday for Eid here, but I can't go back home since the flight tickets worth more than my college fees. It's only gonna be a week so I'm gonna be just fine, I'm not jealous or anything on those who managed to get back home... nope, I don't. Really.
So to my Muslim brothers and sisters, I know it's a few days early, but I wish you guys Happy Eid ul Fitr.
So anyways, time for another review on an anime which I personally just finished watching, Flying Witch. Yes, yes, I know, I'm pretty slow on catching up but I just had much fewer time to watch anime these days.
Flying Witch had finished airing on June 26 and I just recently finished watching it a couple of days ago. I could say, it's a pretty good anime. It's good, but not that amazing, but also not bad as well. Man, that's redundant. So I'm going to break down stuff on my views on the anime, here we go!
Story
 |
| Mandrake FTW |
Flying Witch offers you a generic slice of life genre anime for your leisure. The story revolves around a young witch named Makoto when she moved in with her relative family to further her training as a witch and continue her 'normal' studies in high school. Her cousin, Kei, seemed to know she's a witch from the start, which makes me wonder why did his younger sister, Chinatsu, doesn't know that fact. But this show isn't about back stories or anything deep. Rather, it's a really relaxing and enjoyable show where anyone can watch and enjoy the ride.
Comedy are consist of Makoto's inexperienced malpractices as a witch, Kei's tsukkomi's (straight man commentaries), Makoto's sister, Akane's free spirit personality and many more. I laugh a lot of times on many occasions in this show, the relaxing progress and theme of the show made even simple jokes really funny. Just remembering the cursed snacks and Pops ate them still makes me laugh on my own. Not to mention, those weird supernatural beings were portrayed as very beautiful yet comedic in nature. Yes, mandrakes are real... just kidding.
Till' the last episode, they always end up either with a comedic or heartwarming scenes. Especially the last episode, it's really beautiful and I really hope that this show will get a season two.
 |
| Flying cousins. Yeap, I'll have that same reaction, Chinatsu-chan. |
 |
| Magic 101 |
Music
Music is one of the great points of Flying Witch as well. The soundtrack in the show is very soothing and relaxing most of the time. Added with relaxing story, it's a leisure gourmet. They also provide a 'not-so-annoying' soundtrack during comedic scenes, which is a plus for me.
Also not to forget the opening and ending songs of the anime is really great. I can feel the 'easy, cool and fun' vibe from the opening and relaxing feeling during the ending. The opening song was entitled 'Shanranran' by miwa featuring 96 neko and the ending was 'Nichijō no Mahō' (日常の魔法; The Magic of Everyday Life) by Minami Shinoda & Eri Suzuki. Both are really great that they become one of my only theme songs that I won't skip when watching anime.
Overall, the music made me feel blissful and I just can't get enough of them. I really hope they'll release an album of the soundtrack soon. I'll surely buy a copy.
Visuals
How's the arts and visual of the anime you ask? Check em' out yourself below:
Simply beautiful. J.C. Staff studio really did a good job this time as well since ToraDora. The characters are beautiful and memorable. Since the anime setting was in the country side, there'll be a lot of green and they did amazing job in making soothing and amazing scenery.
The colours were very colourful and vivid that it really attracts the audiences' eyes straight away and they won't be disappointed when they do after witnessing clear and beautiful graphics.
The animation were fluid as well. You could tell the from the quality of the animation on the effort J.C Staff animators did. A lot of work were really put into this show and it was really worth it. Thanks, J.C. Staff.
Overall
Final summation, an amazing supernatural slice of life anime. Very relaxing and very enjoyable. There's no drama, therefore it's really a leisure anime where everyone, even those who rarely watch anime, could really enjoy this show.
I really love this show that I watched it twice. Now I still watching it as well, but other series got my attention and I have to watch them so I could provide content to this blog, of course. But nevertheless, I would always find a time to enjoy this show all over again if time permits.
To those in search of an anime series that is suitable for passing time yet wanted a really enjoyable show, Flying Witch is my recommendation. That's it for now, happy Eid, and as always, keep on reading.
Seitokai Yakuindomo* OVA - Best Girl Returns! (IMAGE SPAM WARNING)
 |
| Sorry for low resolution image... making do with slow lines |
Hey guys, Kuromi's back! I know these days I'm getting slower on updating stuffs on my blog. The main reason for that is the internet reception here in my hostel (or dorms if you wish to call it) was really slow and I can't find any materials to talk about. However, fret not for I will always try my best to bring some new contents to you, my loyal readers. For those who frequented my blogs even during my hiatus times, I am truly grateful.
Anyways, recently I've managed to watch the OVA episodes of one of my favourite comedy series. That's right, Seitokai Yakuindomo* OVA. Seriously, I still don't know the reason for that random asterisk at in the title, is it supposed to be a gag? Nevermind.
The story (if it really does have... I think it does) revolves before the graduation of the Student President and Secretary, Shino and Shichijou. As usual, the series are just a bunch of short slice of life moments with heavy inuendo jokes and the such.
If I talked too much then I would just spoil the series too much. And since there's nothing really noteworthy anywhere in the episodes (I thought there were at several points, until it was rained down by another goddamn inuendo joke), I might as well just put up some 'not so' spoiling images below with captions and stuffs:
 |
| I've actually searched for what is it... lesson learnt, in a good way. |
 |
| I try not to search what's that supposed to really mean |
 |
| She had one!? |
 |
| I wish I had a cousin like this... |
 |
| This really got my hopes up. Damnit, Shino! |
However, it doesn't really matter that much. Because the real reason for me watching this series again, besides the stomach bursting jokes, is the best girl of the series for me, Mitsuba-chan!
Now I shall spam you with her bright self! Prepare to be blinded by light! (Please forgive that Final Fantasy XIII reference there)
 |
| Concentrating... |
 |
| Best girl changing. Hey! |
 |
You're feeble enough. |
 |
| That glomp... is truly 'glomp'! |
 |
| Best girl in swimsuit! |
 |
| YES!! |
 |
| So.... BRIGHT!! |
Well that's all for me for now. I hope you guys survived this 'image flood' post. I don't know if you guys like it this way or not, tell me your views on these kind of post in the comments below or on the official Facebook page (top screen, in the header). This is more like a rant post instead of a review.
I may be off again for a few days or so, but I'll make sure to write for weekly and monthly posts, so don't worry. I hope to see you guys again next time. Kuromi, signing out and as always, keep on reading.
Nostalgia Hours - Cardcaptor Sakura (Another not so spoiler)
Hello again friends! Kuromi's back with another Nostalgia Hours segment. Sorry for not posting anything these few days. I've been busy with moving back to the dorms in campus. It took a bit of time before I finally settled in, so thank you for those who checked out my blog even during my absence. But enough with that, let's move on! Today's Nostalgia Hours will be featuring, yeah you guessed it, Cardcaptor Sakura! This show is a classic favourite of mine, but I'm sure you fanboys and fangirls out there love this show as well when you've watched it. I'm holding her stick right now when writing this, her magic wand, not a different kind of stick, you pervert.
Synopsis
Oh dear, here comes the laziness syndrome again... I-I can't... my hand...!
Sakura Kinomoto is your garden-variety ten-year-old fourth grader, until one day, she stumbles upon a mysterious book containing a set of cards. Unfortunately, she has little time to divine what the cards mean because she accidentally stirs up a magical gust of wind and unintentionally scatters the cards all over the world. Suddenly awakened from the book, the Beast of the Seal, Keroberos (nicknamed Kero-chan), tells Sakura that she has released the mystical Clow Cards created by the sorcerer Clow Reed. The Cards are no ordinary playthings. Each of them possesses incredible powers, and because they like acting independently, Clow sealed all the Cards within a book. Now that the Cards are set free, they pose a grave danger upon the world, and it is up to Sakura to prevent the Cards from causing a catastrophe! Appointing Sakura the title of "the Cardcaptor" and granting her the Sealed Key, Keroberos tasks her with finding and recapturing all the Cards. Alongside her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji, and with Kero-chan's guidance, Sakura must learn to balance her new secret duty with the everyday troubles of a young girl involving love, family, and school, all while she takes flight on her magical adventures as Sakura the Cardcaptor.
.... I've copy pasted from Wikia again...
on to the next part...
Story
.... I've copy pasted from Wikia again...
on to the next part...
Story
Lemme' see... an everyday slice-of-life, undercover superhero/magical girl, shoujo love story, even possibility of yuri love story... Naaaaah! But that Tomoyo x Sakura vibe, though...
Basically, it has every element that targets the young female audience. But I bet there are a lot of guys growing up with this series as well, just like you guys did with Sailor Moon. (Me too actually ufufu...).
Basically, it has every element that targets the young female audience. But I bet there are a lot of guys growing up with this series as well, just like you guys did with Sailor Moon. (Me too actually ufufu...).
The series got that 'monster of the week' trope as its core element. But since it was a long series it fit in nicely so there's no complaints there.
Since it was CLAMP that produced this story, so of course there's gonna be a shoujo love story. If you'll make an exception to Black and White ,that is. The romance was mild, but enough to make you swoon. There are 'hnnnngg' moments here and there but it was not that focused much. Ah, the innocent days.
So far, everything's great until you reached it's humor element. What's up with the dry 'tea party' jokes? The only thing that this show can carry through its humor is by poor little Kero's slapstick. And I hate to say this but I don't think Shaoran's tsun tsun hit the right spots. I might laughed a little on some points but I really don't get their jokes most of the times to be honest, even until now.
Art
Long series equals to changing art styles. This holds true to Cardcaptor Sakura series as well. And now they've announced there's going to be a new season, I bet the style will be improved along time. But nevertheless, this is one of the earliest shows to make vibrant colours as one of their main asset. I swear my eyes dazzled each time Sakura transforms and fights the card creatures. At least until the first time I actually realized I have mild epilepsy. But what really attracts me is that this show was the first 'moe' anime I've watched and dang, those outfits, I thought I could be a fashion designer before when I redraw Sakura in her different outfits. But dreams don't come true...
Music
Her transformation and battle scenes. The BGMs were... muah... amazing. There are a lot of critics out there saying it's pretty sh*tty but to my ears, they were divine. Hats off to the composer. I don't know who's the composer is, I'm barely using my memories here. However, let's not forget the memorable opening song of the anime:
Music
Her transformation and battle scenes. The BGMs were... muah... amazing. There are a lot of critics out there saying it's pretty sh*tty but to my ears, they were divine. Hats off to the composer. I don't know who's the composer is, I'm barely using my memories here. However, let's not forget the memorable opening song of the anime:
Though I still love the first ending song more.
================================
So I guess that's all I got for now. By the way, CLAMP is going to launch a new Cardcaptor Sakura manga sequel right at this month, this year! They will be running it in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine. It had been running since June 3, so it's best to catch up now! The story features Sakura in her first year in junior high school. Yes, that's right, she's just in her first year in junior high school, feeling old yet?
Well that's all from me, I'm Kuromi signing out. As always, keep on reading.
