September 30 2016, Friday

She woke up to an unusual smell. That's odd, she doesn't remember anything. As her eyes lazily flutters open, the light blinded her momentarily. After a few seconds of adjusting, her eyes opened once again to see the world. She wasn't in her room, that's for sure. The foul smell of death wasn't always present at her doorstep. Her walls were much livelier before, humming a tune of soft mellow music. These walls were plain like a canvas waiting to be painted on. Attempting to pick herself up, the girl finally realizes how tired she felt despite having woken up minutes ago by the awful smell. After squirming a bit on her bed to get into a comfortable position she takes in more of her surroundings. A beeping sound came from the heart monitor beside her.

She was in a hospital. It should've been obvious enough with the white walls and the smell of chemicals in the air but her mind was not functioning properly after being woken up from what seemed like an eternity. Everything was just so white she was starting to feel sick of it. Just then a beautiful lady came in with a warm smile. Though it looked more of a forced smile from all the stress she's going through ad if you look closely her eye bags would be more prominent than you think. "Good, you've awaken. Are you hungry?" Her voice may sound sweet but don't be deceived, the girl heard an undertone of annoyance from it. Right now the girl couldn't think of anything, the nurse's voice was delivered to her but not her words, there was only one thing on the girl's mind: 'How did I get here?'

Sempai

Obsessed? Nah, just devoted.

What's a sempai? a sempai is a japanese term for an upper class man whom you respect. And I'd like to talk about my sempai. My sempai is very energetic. He may loo scary at first but he's actually really kind. He may like to taunt others but that's what actually makes me like him. He makes a 'scary' face and taunts the enemy or others in general and I can't help but squeal in delight every time I imagine him being possessive over me~! Sempai may not be the best looking in his team but looks doesn't matter . I've seen how kind and how strong he is during games and practices. Although there is someone trying to steal my sempai...

She's beautiful and kind plus she's the manager of sempai's team. I can't help but actually hate her this time. I'm jealous. I admit that. I hate that feeling. The problem is I can't harm her. I can't hurt her because sempai has a crush on her. It breaks my heart to see that every time she comes in the gym, sempai and Noya-sempai fawn over her immediately. Sure she can play well but she doesn't even do much in practices or in games!

I don't now what sempai saw in her. Sure she's beautiful and all but she doesn't even give sempai attention! It annoys me to see my sempai doing his best just for her to look his way but she doesn't even give a damn! Forget about her being kind, she's a total snob who doesn't even deserve sempai! Sempai will love me and he will be mine. I'll do whatever it takes to get sempai's attention. I'm way better than their manager! 'll even take good care of sempai! Sempai is mine and only mine. Who's my sempai you ask? Well t's Tanaka Ryuunosuke!

Tanaka Sempai

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Review

Family are always there for you

Another lovely game on the Ps4 and surprisingly it's not an anime. Brothers is a story about two brothers. The story takes place with the father getting sick, both the little brother and the big brother takes him to a doctor. The doctor of that village says that they must go on a quest to find the 'Water of Life' to cure their father. The two boys set out on their journey and the game officially starts.

Naia (older brother) on the left and Naiee (younger brother) on the right

Brothers is a puzzle game where one player controls both siblings. It's a bit confusing at first since the left joystick and the L2 button are used for the big brother while the right joystick and the R2 button are used for the little brother while L1 and R1 buttons are used to move the camera. Despite it's lack of controls and proper tutorial, I found it fun to indulge myself in a whole new game that I have no idea about. I'm really not quite fond of surprises because I hate the feeling of not being informed, whether it's my birthday or not, I still hate getting surprised.

Though I did enjoy the moments where I had to solve a puzzle in the game what I can interact with and later found some easter eggs in the game. What I loved most of all are the graphics, the music and the story kine. Nothing beats a good story line of a game. Throughout the entire game we slowly come to know more about the big and the little brother. We found out that the little brother can't swim, while the big brother is easily seduced by women. I don't want to spoil anything but that's all I can say for now.

September 27 2016, Tuesday

Earning

Evening came quickly. Her lame excuse of a father picked her up from school. She was exhausted from their Physical Education. It was Volleyball and to be honest she didn't expect herself to perform good. Surprisingly she was even praised by her teacher for having some sort of gaming sense? She didn't know what that was but she took it as a compliment. She felt more comfortable with Volleyball since she and her little group of friends play the sport from time to time. She left the car and open the gates to the garage. It was weird that her parents are still together despite them not feeling any relationship at all anymore. Maybe she shouldn't have been so clingy that day.

Who could blame her? She was innocent and afraid to loose both her parents. Ultimately her goal was to use her parent's love an kindness as an opportunity for her survival. After getting a job she'll leave the house with no hesitation. She always hated it there. It didn't feel like home to her ever since she was a baby. Now that they moved from their grandmother's house, she still didn't feel at home with their new location. Ever since she was born she had felt jealous eyes on her, she has seen flying chairs and had her ears bleed from angry shouting. It was no wonder why she was such a weak child.

September 27, 2016 Tuesday

Afternorm

Today's lunch was a bit lonely. The shadow's presence doesn't count as the best companion to eat with. Now it seemed like news spread and now everyone's avoiding her at school, it was to be expected. It was the same shadow from this morning, the same size and height, the same beady eyes. She was starting to get nervous, is it finally her time to die? Will she finally see Alison again? It was quite the opposite really, she was supposed to die not Alison. Those two were innocent that day. The day of death, the day where someone would have to die within that school.

Inevitable is such a negative word. But there are many things that were inevitable, like Alison's death. The man was strong, too strong. By the time she returned with the police, Alison's corpse remained in place of the murderer. It was horrifying. Seeing her best friend's corpse made her nauseous. Her funeral was held a few days after and school was suspended for a week. Apparently the killer was still around the area so people were advised to stay indoors. A week is too short, much too short for her. She could't forget it. Alison's last words were still stuck in her mind. 

September 27 2016, Tuesday

Mourning

She can feel it. The stares of her classmates burning through her skin. She can almost hear their whispers and she knew exactly what they were talking about. Alison Porter died. She witnessed it. Her dead was very quick and not too painless. It was inevitable. It wasn't her fault. No one sat next to her that morning. No one talked to her. No one asked her if she was okay. No one was there for her. No one but those things. They stuck by her like glue. They were naturally silent creatures, she hasn't heard them make a sound that is. She concluded that they were mute. It wasn't like she was seeking for their comfort, no. She could never seek comfort from those things.

There was one shadow that stuck by her. Almost as if it was comforting her. She ignored it's presence as usual but this shadow was persistent. Usually after twenty minutes or so they would have went on their way but this shadow has stuck to her ever since she woke up today. She would glance at it from time to time then ultimately ignore it but it was starting to disturb her a bit. She has to act normal, after all, today is a school day.

My Hero Academia Review

Another 'Super' Anime

Main Characters of My Hero Academia

Another new anime that I actually like, what a surprise. It's concept is a lot like One Punch Man. It's based around the world of 'super heroes'. In the anime, 80% of the world's population are born with some kind of power. They call this power as their 'Quirk'. Our main hero, Izuku Midoriya ironically doesn't have any quirk despite both his parents having one. He dreams of becoming a hero even if he is quirkless. He then meets his favorite hero All Might and was then chosen as his next successor. All Might, the number one hero, had seen the kindness and heroic act that Izuku had displayed in town when his frenemy was captured by a villain.

The anime may sound very mainstream with a simple plot but the passion, the emotion, the drama, the screenwriting were just so astounding. I was able to relate myself with the main character because he's depicted as a weak scrawny-looking boy who can't stand up for himself when being bullied by his frenemy. We both didn't have anything at first and would always be the easy target to bully. When All Might had granted Izuku his quirk, I saw a reflection of myself discovering the wonders of art. I love drawing, and Izuku loves heroes. I want to be an artist he wants to be a hero.

J Stars Victory Vs + Review

An Awesome Anime Collaboration

J Stars Victory Vs +

Take two of your favorite shows and put them together in a game. Wouldn't that be awesome? Well J Stars Victory Vs made that dream come true. Naruto, One Piece, Hunter X Hunter, Samurai X and 

many more of these awesome anime are under the company of Shonen Jump. Shonen jump has been running throughout all the years without really being openly known throughout the world. I've neglected this game after being a bit disappointed by it's cut scenes. But now the entire game just seemed different in my eyes today.

The computer animation of the game were on a very unique but different level compared to our other games. For example, Naruto looks a little off as well as Sasuke and Madara. Other than the Naruto characters in the game I guess everyone else seemed fine. Even Ace looked more realistic than how he looked like in the previous One Piece games. Comparing it by animation it's no where as smooth as Naruto Shippuden Storm 4. The way character's get hurt and are down on the ground is still a bit rough. I guess it's pretty okay considering that it would be harder for them to animate every single character in the game.

New and Old Anime part 2

Old Anime

There are a lot of popular anime back in the day where the anime community was just starting, when the fans haven't really lost their minds and went crazy for the anime. I'd like to start with Samurai X. The anime has caught the heart of men and young women. The story revolves around the wandering samurai, Himura Kenshin. He helps a girl, the girl then offers him a place to stay and that's practically where their love story began. Kenhin has an aloof personality, he's carefree and very kind. Not much was said about his past but it only revealed the fact that he used to kill mercilessly with his reversed sword. Once he has gotten out of that era, he then became the wandering samurai. Stories like these make things more interesting. Every episode shows more facts about the characters.

Next is Hunter X Hunter. It's a more unrealistic type of anime but that just adds up to the twist. A young twelve year old boy sets out on a journey to find his father who left him at birth. Gon, the protagonist, concludes that being a hunter would be a step closer to finding his dad. In the Hunter X Hunter series, hunters are a common thing and even a job. Being a hunter gives you privileges to access information or transportation and the like. If someone wants to quit being a hunter they can sell their hunters licence which would usually cost a lifetime of money. I like that there is a goal in this story, he aims to find his father and the 'unofficial ending' was that he did find his father. Though the manga is still ongoing, sadly the story no longer focuses on Gon in the next part.

I'd like to throw in One Piece next. One Piece is an anime series that I'v followed since the sixth grade. Up until now the story never gets boring. Luffy, the hero, embarks on  journey to become the Pirate King. With his kind and silly character, Luffy has no problems in making friends, and getting his crew. Everyone in Luffy's crew have a thing in their past that gives them their unique personality. Alongside One Piece, let's not forget about Naruto. Naruto is also another long time anime series that has just ended last year. Naruto, a twelve year old boy, aims to become hokage, the leader of his village but everyone thinks that he can't be a leader. Four years later he then proves to the people that he's not some cursed child and saves his village from an attack. Slowly he's then being known around the continent. The series ended with Naruto being the seventh hokage of their village and happily lives with his wife and two children.

I almost forgot to mention Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. This is a remake of the first series of Full Metal Alchemist. Personally it's better than the first one released because Brotherhood follows the manga. Most anime are based from it's manga, though some like Erased, Sengoku Basara and some others follow a light novel or is just an anime itself. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood is about two young boys learning alchemy. In the anime Alchemy is something like magic. They can literally recreate and destroy things if their have the right transmutation circle. In the first episode of the anime it shows that their mother died from an illness and they wanted to bring her back alive. Resurrecting someone is a taboo in alchemy. In the end Edward, the older brother, lost his left leg. While his younger brother, Alphonse, lost his entire body. Edward sacrifices his right arm to bring his brother's soul back and fused it to an armor. Edward then got a mechanical leg and arm from their friend who was a mechanic. The two set out on a journey to get their bodies back. 

There are also newer anime that has caught my eye such as Haikyuu, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Erased, Garden of Words (movie) and Death Parade. I can't say much about these anime but they have caught my attention and I did enjoy them. Their the shorter anime series with either twelve episodes or twenty four episodes and two seasons. They're also the anime that I enjoy that have less action.

New and Old Anime

Are The New Anime Getting Worse?

Okay, so there's a bunch of stuff I'd like to clarify. Not all new anime are bad but there are a number of them that I just don't see any potential in. Unlike the older ones, like One Piece, Naruto, Hunter X Hunter and Samurai X, those were the old anime that made a huge hit. Maybe even Voltes 5 but I'm not quite sure, I'm not really interested in robot action. It's just that the newer anime have lost it's essence of story. The plot doesn't really pull you into the show. These are only my opinion, and I know that a lot of people are going to disagree with me and would probably be hunting for my head, but this has gotten too far.

I can already imagine the amount of fangirls who'll be out for my head. First on the list is Tokyo Ghoul. It's an anime that got popular last year and probably up until now but I don't get why they like it. I've tried but then stopped at the third episode, I just can't continue it anymore. The cringe is real, I could barf at the plot line. Though I have to give it some consideration, it's only a two season anime both with twelve episodes, so the story line should pace faster than usual. I was just so thrown back at the first episode. It's like almost all the cliche anime ever made. The boy falls in love with this person, then in the same episode their loved ones reveals themselves to be mankind's enemy, ghouls. She injured him, died and the boy went through phasing and acted like a complete wimp who couldn't accept his fate.

Then it gets better (worse), the boy then finds out that he too is a 'ghoul' and has to live his life in secret as he also wants to kill ghouls with his newfound abilities. Then the character development was so bad that I wonder about girls nowadays and their preference with men. The boy turns out to be a complete psychopath. Typical. And most of his fangirls just go for his looks, typical. It's so bad that I couldn't finish an episode without predicting the next scene.

Next on the list is a pretty harmless anime but annoys me to no end. Chunibyou or the Eighth Grade Syndrome. In the anime it shows that their last year of middleschool (grade eight) is spent by the student's imaginations going wild. To the point where they act like they're in a game. Some may think it's cute and all and I can totally agree that this is a childish thing to do because they're only eight graders (this only occurs to anime, if I ever see an eighth grader acting like a child I'm going to slap them-). Then in their first year of highschool (grade 9) they lose their passion and continue on their lives as a normal human being. But like all shows, there's a twist.

There's still a person who still has the Eighth Grade Syndrome. And not to mention that the character is a girl. How embarrassing. It's so humiliating to see someone as old as you acting like a complete fool just to escape reality. It's absurd. I didn't finish the anime either, it's cute and all but jeez. Wake up this is reality you're facing, you can't live like that.

Lastly there's the new season of D. Gray-Man called D. Gray-Man Hallow. It's pretty shocking that Allen and the rest changed uniforms, have new accessories, hairstyles and even new voice actors. I tried to disregard those things in the new season because I waited for four years just for the new season to come out. D. Gray-Man kind of throws you off your chair with information being bombarded to you in every episode. So many things are happening that could've happened in the first season, I guess the first season was only a warm up to let the viewers feel comfortable around the anime's story line. But that's the only thing I wanted to complain about this. It's still an awesome anime.

As for the anime that I would recommend, I'll just put that up in a separate post. So part two will be coming up next week

September 9, 2016, Friday

I See Shadows

It was another normal day for anyone. People doing their usual routines, the scorching sun beaming it's rays down on the city of Valenzuela. The tiring event called school passed by in a flash. Though, it would have been faster if she were to sit in a corner and draw. The pencil scratching on the paper and the way her molded eraser easily deforms is one of the few things she liked about drawing. It was going to be her career in the future- well, she hoped. Her group of friends or rather her barkada would occasionally praise her for her works, though she knew that each one of them has a unique talent of their own. She would rather stay in the classroom and dive into the depths of her imagination if it wasn't for this.

A baking activity. She had no problems with cooking, none at all. The girl only disliked the idea of baking with a group. Her teamwork is poor, to the point where she'd rather do everything herself. But she didn't have the guts to say that out loud. Students from her school are very strong-willed and stubborn. They would do anything and everything they wanted whenever and wherever. It annoyed her to no end, but she had endured her classmates personalities for more than a few years now, so now's not the time to complain. It was just like every year, though with more concern than that last. They were doing all the cooking themselves. Did she complain? No, she did not. She didn't even say a word. Did she want to cook as well? She did want to cook. She wanted to show them that she can do it as well.

Did she cry out for help? No, she did not. It was a few weeks back when she started seeing them. The things her classmates would label as 'monsters' or 'ghosts'. She didn't know what to label them. They were all harmless. The shadows, as she would like to call them, only appear beside certain people, move on to another or stay in an isolated place. They didn't have the appearance of a human or any mythological creatures that were imagined by man. They were just one tall shadow with two white dots for eyes. They do have mouths, yes. She knows that they have mouths very well. After all she has seen them eat. It was accidental, a complete coincidence. On her way home with her father one night, she had saw it eating something that looked like a corpse of a stray dog in the playground.

It scared her. The poor animal looked like it had died of starvation and passed on with it's corpse in the grass. Other than the decaying smell and the rotting flesh of the animal, it was the shadow that bothered her the most. it's white beady eyes were red and it's mouth was coated in blood. Slowly it had leaned over to devour the dog once again. The sound was that of wet slippers being sloshed in the mud, but the image was gruesome. It was dark, so she could not see very well, nor did she want to see the horrifying event clearly. Swiftly, she ran inside the house (her father had finished parking) and could not sleep that night.

Everyone has a body clock and depending on the person's routines, their body adjusts. It just so happened that it was one of those few nights where her body would automatically wake up. She knows that she's awake, but she refuses to open her eyes in fear that the same monster would be right in front of her. Feeling around her bed, she could not find her cellphone and had no choice but to open her eyes to look for it. Thankfully it was just at the edge of the bed, she must've kicked it while she was asleep. Relieved and satisfied, she placed her device under her pillow and laid down. It was silent, save for the electric fan. Her favorite red curtains fluttering beside her due to the fan's wind.

It was quick, but in the corner of her eyes she sore she saw the same shadow from the playground (which was two blocks away from her home) staring at her with white eyes. They weren't red anymore, but the staring made her uncomfortable. Luckily, it was outside and had only been staring at her blankly, though the unnerving thought of it passing through walls left her awake that night.

A Darker Side

The World Today

Normally us mortals have likes and dislikes. Things that we prefer and do not. Us as an individual has their own right to say those things out loud. But what if there came to a conclusion wherein you are so used to doing things that you hate, you start liking them? Where all the things that you hate to do, you need to do? It's definitely not peer pressure. Not the majority of the audience's preference but rather as orders from a higher-up. Orders that you now you will dislike it but because that person is your higher-up, and a respected one at that, you'd have to feign enthusiasm just so that the weight on your shoulders lifts up a bit.

Then there are times where their calculating eyes never leave you. And the most humiliating thing is when making a mistake in front of them and they're not correcting your errors. As a person give with the most responsibilities and high expectations, there would always be a sense of pride to now that people have the knowledge that you do your best. Then again, their orders always seem to be pulling down your confidence. Anxiety for the failure of the task, refusing or sometimes even eating your mentality from the inside and out. Their stony stares burn through the back of your head and you know that you're being evaluated for each and every actions done.

Simple f you don't obey you're a bad child. If you obey, you will earn their trust and soon use them for your own resources. Everything comes with a price doesn't it? Obey. Obey and don't talk back, don't comment, don't bring up or show any emotions, just act like their loyal robot who serves their every need until the society itself declares that you are finally legal of age. Maybe then you can be free. Doing all the things you want. But then again, what is a loyal robot without it's master

That's why I've come to love the things I've despised the most.