I forgot to post about this one when It went up about five weeks ago…
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Fallout 3 has lasted me, between the core game and the expansions, nearly 90 hours over 9 months. If I think about what keeps me coming back, it's very easy: Those little green triangles.
You know the ones I mean, the triangles under the compass that show you discovered and undiscovered locations. In such a massive game with so much to do, why does such a little design decision make such a big difference?
My long-time friend Serdar Yegulalp is out at the New York Anime Fest this week and brought back some news for me (I should add that my beautiful wife informed me of this earlier in the day but she’s not AT NYAF where the announcement happened).
Initial D First Stage, Second Stage, Extra Stage, Third Stage, and Fourth Stage will be rereleased by FUNimation in the US with rerecorded dubs and original music preserved.
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*pee*
Here’s a nice fancy news link.
When Tokyopop announced the release of Initial D back when I was in college (maybe 2001 or so), I skipped and danced and acted like a fool. The first volume of the manga came out and it was great. Then Tokyopop really turned me into the fool.
Instead of bringing us a manga and tv show with a preinstalled fanbase, Tokyopop decided to second guess us. Americans won’t get all those… Japanese names. With the Asians and what not. And how come the cars don’t have spoilers and fartcan mufflers? And what’s with this thumping eurobeat? Americans listen to THE RAP MUSIC.
Tokyopop did everything they could to make Initial D acceptable to an American audience, from shortening the names, to adding unnecessary special effects into the visuals, changing the music that helps make the show what it is.
The first volume of the manga had the names all correct, so this change clearly came from on-high late in the game. An open letter from Tokyopop joked rather insultingly about including a bottle of white-out and a felt-tip pen with the manga so that fans could make their own edits. Of course Initial D was being “positioned for a younger audience,” which makes sense because IT IS A SHOW ABOUT CARS. So some important plot points involving sex were modified. Honestly, I never read the manga past volume 1. I’d already seen the first two stages of the show twice through by that point.
I never would’ve watched the US DVDs either, if it hadn’t been for our friends at AdvancedMN Anime. I was able to review the box sets of the first and second stages, reprinted by FUNimation. I was surprised. Despite Tokyopop’s best efforts, the dub actually was not bad. I grew to like the actors portrayals of the characters, despite the stupid names, obnoxious rap music (Initialiiiiiize, Customiiiiiize), and “tricked out” car sounds and visuals. I wouldn’t mind seeing them back for the new dub!
FUNimation’s decision to do this shows me their commitment, once again, to the fanbase. Of course they could go and screw it up, but they’ve built up a pretty good reputation for doing this stuff right. It’s fairly safe to assume the money is already out of my wallet and in their hands.
FUNi, are you taking preorders? I want to help!
This was some of the best news I’ve heard on the anime front in a while! Now, how about a manga rerelease? BIG-style, similar to VIZ. I’d pick it up, if you did it right, guys.
Sad news last week, good news this week.
Last week, the body of Shin-chan creator Yoshito Usui was found at the base of a cliff he had apparently fallen from while taking a picture.
While the version I of Shin-chan I adore so isn’t HIS version, it couldn’t have happened without him. Usui’s irritatingly perceptive five year old stood up as well as Bart Simpson has for so many over here in the US.
I think the Simpsons is actually a good point of reference to get an idea of the significance of Usui’s work. The Shin-Chan manga has been on-going since 1990 and was still going; the last couple chapters will still be published, in fact. It was turned into an anime starting in 1992 and is one of the few anime series that doesn’t fall into the “13-26-52” pattern. The series has been almost as long lasting and just as popular as the Simpsons and in fact has inspired 17 anime films.
When FUNimation started bringing it over to the US, they decided to do something a little different with it. Instead of just a straight dub, Japanese jokes in tact, they decided to actually rewrite the show. In, well, 99.9999% of shows, this would be an utter disaster, a total affront to the source material. In fact, my next post will go into a bit of that side of rewriting. However, the people working on this were aware of what they were doing. Instead of mindlessly rewriting it in hopes of making some cash, FUNimation gathered together a group of writers with some of the dirtiest, most random, acerbic senses of humor. The writing ended up being some of the funniest stuff I’ve heard, well, anywhere.
Booger butt poopy shit poop.
I’ve reviewed the first and second box sets over on AMN, and the show just keep getting better. Of course in America there’s plenty of source material if FUNimation wants to keep doing it—and the Japanese licensors are still interested—but it’s sad to think that the creator of something that’s brought me so much joy passed on so suddenly, and so early (Hey, 51 is NOT old, despite what I’ll be saying in about 24 years).
It’s hard to think of something meaningful to say about the creator of one of the dirtiest things I’ve ever watched. I know Shin would have something memorably inappropriate to add, but I’m out of words.
The best part about digging around the vast world of fansubs of unlicensed series is finding all the hidden treasures waiting for someone to find them and press play. The worst part is seeing how many great shows will never make it over.
Over the last few years, a sort of trilogy of semi-connected anime has been developing that I’ve come to call The Gambler Trilogy: Mahjong Legend Akagi, Kaiji, and One Outs. I say only semi-connected because of the similar nature of the subject matter and the staff behind the shows. Kaiji and Akagi actually come from the same mangaka, while all three share a mostly identical production staff. The three shows have been some of my favorites and they’re also the type of show you’d never expect to see on our shores.
Mahjong Legend Akagi
It should be obvious why this one isn’t coming out here just from the title. It’s about mahjong, a rare game in America. If you could swap in a deck of cards, it’d be a sure-fire license, what with the pokermania going on.
Mahjong Legend Akagi (or just Akagi for short) is about a genius-level Mahjong player, a teenager named—you guessed it—Akagi. He also has almost disturbing luck.
It quickly becomes apparent that this show is not about mahjong. Just like Initial D is not about racing, and Hajime no Ippo is not about boxing. No, Akagi is about its very namesake. Talking to friends, I’ve compared Akagi himself to some of the more deeply evil characters I’ve met watching anime. Berserk’s Griffith and Monster’s Johan both come to mind. The evil Akagi represents isn’t madness; It’s too well-thought out. It’s also not the GI Joe kind of madness of a villain desiring world control. It’s more like Akagi can see through everything, and he wants to expose how stupid and weak everyone and everything is. He sees every angle at once. After his first tense match, you never doubt whether he’s going to win, and you never wonder whether his opponent is going to come out sane on the other end. He is, and they’re not.
As the art above demonstrates, the show doesn’t have the typical look you expect from anime. The art of the show borders on ugly a lot of the time. This is off-putting to many fans, but here’s how I see it: Just like you might expect a romantic drama to be full of beautiful women and strong men, a show about an evil gambler is going to be packed from end to end with ugly, corrupt people. Those people will inhabit smoke-filled rooms with glaring overhead lights, and see more sunrises than most good people will ever see.
I’m getting a bit over descriptive there, but you get the point. I loved the mood of this show and the character is one of the more interesting I’ve seen in anime. The funky art and specifically Japanese subject-matter will keep it from coming over here. Would I change it to see it come over? Not in a million years. But if I were a producer, I’d sure as shit have someone working on a script for a poker variant.
Kaiji
Time for a 180. Kaiji, despite having the same goofy art as Akagi and the same subject matter, is a very different show. Mahjong has been swapped out for a more basic gamble. Things like paper-rock-scissors and simple visual tricks make up the games.
After watching Akagi do his thing, meeting a guy like Kaiji feels like being on the other side of the table. This is the kind of guy Akagi would rip apart, it seems. Whereas Akagi lived for the gamble and had no understanding of the concept of hesitation, Kaiji is a miserable bum.
Kaiji’s in a bad place. Locked in a dead-end minimum wage job, he takes his anger out on expensive cars by ripping off their hood ornaments. Now he’s suddenly saddled with a debt he cosigned on for a friend who disappeared shortly after. However, he has a way out. Spend a night on a cruise ship and play a game. Sounds fun, right? Well, until you find out that no one knows what happens to the losers after they’re stripped naked and stuffed in a room.
I said before that Kaiji seemed like the kind of guy Akagi would tear apart, but that’s not quite right. He comes off that way, but when the going gets tough, Kaiji’s brain turns on. He doesn’t see things from every direction right away, but he CAN see when he starts looking. But his victory is never as clear as Akagi’s. In fact, Kaiji always seems to be scraping and clawing to get out of the bottomless pit he keeps getting pushed into.
Once he makes it off the boat, he finds out that his debt has actually increased despite making it out with his clothes and his freedom. Seeing an easy way out, Kaiji takes the bait again and finds himself in an even crazier situation. Walk across the increasingly skinny beam, or fall a good twenty feet. Oh, and you you’ve got a line behind you of guys that want to make it across first so THEY can get the money.
The show ends with a truly surprising turn of events that make it worth watching. Keep in mind though, that the show is not for the squeamish. It’s not a gore-fest by any means, but there are some uncomfortably painful moments. Again, the funky art will play a primary role in the show staying where it is. The barrier of a very Japanese thing like Mahjong isn’t there, but it’s not typical US license fodder.
One Outs
And back around again. This show’s a bit more like the first.
One Outs is about Tokuchi Toua, pitching phenom and brilliant strategist. The tone of the show is a bit closer to that of Akagi, but on the baseball field. That said, it’s definitely not the same show.
Like Akagi, Tokuchi is the kind of person that can see every angle and play the ones that are going to work for him. He’s not quite as omniscient as his white-haired predecessor, but he’s very perceptive in his own right. Hired on by a star hitter desperate for a championship run and an owner that thinks he can get a star player for free (or better, make HIM pay), Tokuchi joins the Lycaons (essentially the Hyenas) to pitch for them. It quickly becomes apparent that his pitches don’t possess the same level of variety that you’d expect out of a star pitcher, but at the same time he’s no less effective.
Even more than Akagi, One Outs becomes a show about manipulation. Everything Tokuchi is doing on the field has a purpose. From a dropped catch to a time-out or slipped bat. Every action is meant to manipulate the opponent or his teammates. Used to losing, the Lycaons typically have a pretty negative outlook when things don’t go their way. They depend on their star player and league icon Kojima (think Derek Jeter here) to bring them wins. Their new pitcher isn’t the type to tolerate weakness and doesn’t hesitate to point their weaknesses out. It’s also clear that he’s not doing this to bring them down, either. He’s on a team and he needs his team to win. He reminds them they’re entirely capable of winning if they’d stop acting like a bunch of failures, and move their eyes off the ground and onto the other team.
Another thing I like about One Outs is that it’s well aware of the fact that it’s about a team sport. While Tokuchi is the main character, he’s not the only one. A few of his teammates are willing to have their eyes opened, allowing Tokuchi to not just use them but actually involve them in his strategies. He still seems to think everyone weaker, but his willingness to, well, play well with others, makes him a more interesting character to watch than he might be otherwise.
One Outs is much prettier than Akagi or Kaiji, and it’s also about baseball. Those factors make it a more appealing American release, I would think. However, Americans don’t really take to kindly to animated representations of their sports. Sports anime pretty much flatline here. Slam Dunk needed to be released free to come out to completion here.
All three shows are awesome shows that offer something rarely seen in anime or television. They’re tense, mature thrillers about interesting characters, that don’t depend on violence, action, or fantasy for their hard hits. They’re cerebral and engaging – even if they’re a bit predictable at times.
Few video games have been subject to as much unchecked hyperbole as The Beatles: Rock Band. If you don’t know why, here’s a hint: the freaking Beatles are in the game. One particularly empty-yet-full-of-it review was written by Seth Schiesel of the New York Times. I’m not really going to go into what’s wrong with it. Instead I’ll link to the Cripsy Gamer! John Teti’s piece is far more insightful than anything I could say would be.
[via InsultSwordFighting]
The adventure game, epitomized by classics like LucasArts' Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango, has been on life-support for some time. Games like Syberia and Still Life come out once in a while, reminding us that it's still fun to point and click on things, but rarely do these titles get any kind of broad attention. In the last year though, things have taken quite a turn for the opposite. Is it here to stay?
Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was too busy celebrating Dreamcast's big birthday yesterday. There was cake, soda, and of course, lots of games.
Dreamcast, for me, marks the first time I very consciously recognized that I was a gamer. I was scraping money together to buy games, anxiously awaiting releases, scrambling to read magazines. I was reading NextGen magazine, the publication that eventually put me here, writing this. Sure there were moments previous, like Metal Gear Solid just a year earlier, but with the Dreamcast I knew I was in for life.
Looking back over ten years, it's hard not to be nostalgic for a lot of games. The Dreamcast was a quirky system with a lot of truly unique games and experiments at all levels of production. It also was home to games that are still significant today and some of the best in their genre.
With so many open-world games and MMORPGs taking up our time in the last few years, the time we spend getting from one place to another in games has risen dramatically. The old adage goes, "Getting there is half the fun!" With wide open games like these, that absolutely has to be true. If going from one place to another isn't entertaining, why make the gamer go through it?
This summer's Prototype and inFamous both took that to heart. I'd argue that getting around the city in Prototype is actually the most fun part of the game. inFamous' railgrinding is entertaining and stylish and adds to the character of Cole McGrath. Both are fast and interactive ways to get around open maps. The upcoming Champions Online MMO, like City of Heroes before it, provides a variety of ways to get around: jumping, flying, swinging, burrowing all give the player a way to get around that allows them to interact with it as much as they like.
