Magic the Gathering 2014 Core Set

It's been quite awhile since I posted anything CCG related. Set to be released in July is the 2014 Core Set for Magic the Gathering.

Every year, Wizards of the Coast (the company producing MTG) comes out with one core set and one themed block of three sets from which players can grab cards to compose decks. By "Standard" tournament rules, a deck may only consist of the current and previous blocks, and the current core set. So for right now a Standard deck will consist only of cards from the Innistrad and Return to Ravnica blocks and the 2013 Core set.

Anyway, the core sets usually have new cards as well as some reprinted cards. The 2014 Core set will feature some nice new beauties. A couple in particular I hope to grab are the Archangel of Thune and the Seraph of the Sword. Both cards will make great additions to my angel deck.

After looking at the spoiled cards, it appears that "life gain" will be a rampant mechanic throughout the set. Due to Archangel of Thune's ability, I can see a lot of black-white Orzhov decks seeing a lot of play. Though I do play black-white, I think I'm not going to take the obvious route and try and come up with a better way to use that card. Maybe it might be a great addition to my white-green Selesnya deck.

Anyway, Magic 2014 Core Set is set to be released Friday, July 19. If you're interested in picking up Magic as a way to have fun, please do check your local card shop. Many players and staff of those shops are friendly and willing to help new people jump in on the fun.

Attack on Titan

What if humanity was on the verge of extinction and confined to one large city? What if that city began to fall to the very beings that are causing humanities extinction? Well, that is pretty much the setting for a Spring 2013 anime called Shingeki no Kyojin.

The story revolves around a group of young men and women who join the military to battle a horde of monstrous humanoid beings, the titans. The titans are enormous beings that prey upon humans, and up to the start of the anime, have caused the near extinction of the human race. The last surviving humans have taken shelter in a large city with three rings of high walls to protect them from the titans.

In the very beginning of the anime, a freakish event causes the outermost wall to fall, allowing the titans to invade. This event sets the main characters on their path - the path to exact humanities vengeance upon the titans.

With the series now on episode 8, I am quite interested in this anime. Although it was not one of the anime that I initially put on my list, it has become one of the animes that I look forward to watching each week (the other being Date A Live).

On a side note, the opening theme for this anime (Guren no Yumiya) is very catchy and has spawned a great number of AMV remakes on places like YouTube and NicoNico. If you get the chance, do check some out.

Detective Conan

One of my longtime favorite anime is still continuing its run in Japan, even after 17 years (though the manga has been running for 19 years). As you might have already guessed the series is Detective Conan (Meitantei Conan) also released in America under the title Case Closed.

The story follows a famous high school detective named Shinichi Kudou, who after witnessing a shady transaction by men in black, was poisoned and shrunk into the body of a seven year-old boy. Though his body regressed in age, his mind is still that of his former self. In order to get back to his old body, he is forced to find and somehow destroy the mysterious "Black Organization" which is no easy task. Upon the advice of a trusted friend, Shinichi takes on the persona of Conan Edogawa and goes to live at his childhood friend and sweetheart, Ran Mouri's place since her father is a detective. While there, he must help Ran's father without drawing attention to himself in order to get clues to the whereabouts of the organization.

Conan Edogawa (right) with my favorite character of the series, Ai Haibara

This series is quite an amazing series. Many of the episodes can stand alone since the anime is more like a bunch of smaller mysteries strung along on the main plot, though in some aspects, the main story takes quite a while to develop. Despite that, it is quite possible to learn something new in each episode. The creator is really imaginative and does research to make sure that any interesting facts are actually true or plausible.
 

Date A Live

What would you do if you met a pretty girl and were forced to date her? What if she's a little strange...and has the power to potentially destroy the world. Well, that's kind of the situation in one of the new Spring 2013 titles, Date A Live.

In the story's setting, phenomena called spacequakes often occur and cause widespread destruction. These spacequakes are caused by spirits. One such spacequake killed about 150 million people. Since the initial one 30 years ago, smaller spacequakes have been irregularly happening around the world.

The series revolves around Shidou Itsuka, a high school boy. During one of the aforementioned spacequakes, he comes across one of the spirits. After that meeting, he is told by his sister that it is his mission to make spirits like her fall in love with him. With that, he makes contact with that girl (who he later calls Tohka) to begin his hectic life of dating these "spirit girls."

Anyway, this series looks to be a fun and interesting one. I have already watched episode 2 and can say that I do find Tohka quite likable. She reminds me of Houki Shinonono (a character I like from the anime/light novel series Infinite Stratos). Subbed episodes of Date A Live can be watched on Hulu.

End of Winter Anime...

With the Spring Anime Season starting up next week, the Winter one comes to a close, which includes the endings of some anime that I have been following this season. Some have ended pretty good, while others leave me hanging and hoping for more.

Zetsuen no Tempest

Zetsuen no Tempest finally ended. It was one that I have been following for a couple seasons. The story managed to wrap up all the loose ends and gave me a good feeling at the end. While I am still sad about the fate of my favorite character in the series (Aika), I am certainly glad that the series ended on the note it did. No loose ends, no cliffhangers. It gave the feeling that the story was in effect done and there was nothing more I missed.

Girls und Panzer

Girls und Panzer, while not an anime I was following this season (only episodes 11 and 12 came out this past season), finally ended as well. Like Zetsuen no Tempest, this anime ended nicely. Though there is room for more stories to tell about the girls of Ooarai Girls' Academy, I am well satisfied if this is the end on the show.

Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT

Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT ended with its 12th episode. Unlike the previous two animes, this show ended on a cliffhanging note. I am a bit peeved they chose to end the series like they did because I really want the series to continue, especially because the ending ended up having my favorite character leave. There are light novels I can read to fill me in, but I really would like to see it visually in an anime as well. I can only hope that they will animate the next bit of story soon.

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha also ended its run with its 12th episode as well. I have got to say that despite the seemingly boring concepts buried within the plot (economics and politics), I did manage to enjoy the anime. Sadly, though the story was not finished, they ended their season and are leaving it open for more development later on. Hopefully, the same with Haganai NEXT, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha will have the next part of the story animated soon.

Love Live! School Idol Project

Though I have not watched the next episode yet, Love Live! seems to be ending too. This is one show that I didn't expect to like as much as I do right now. Right now, the current story has almost moved me to tears. I can only hope that things will turn around for a happy ending if the anime does end with the next episode. Still, it will be a little sad to know that this anime has ended. The girls of Muse entertained me well and I got to say that I really would hate to see them go.

In any case, I have to say that despite being thoroughly being disappointed with Naruto and One Piece, I have really enjoyed this past anime season. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't find anything to love, but I was proven wrong. If you'd like to check out these anime, Zetsuen no Tempest, Girls und Panzer, Maoyuu Yuusha, and Love Live! are on Crunchyroll.

Gundam SEED

Over this past weekend, I spent some time watching Gundam SEED Destiny. This series came out quite a few years ago. In this upcoming season, a remastered version of the series will also be released.

Anyway, Gundam SEED Destiny is a sequel series to Gundam SEED. These two series take place in the far future when man has already colonized space. In addition, genetic manipulation has become somewhat commonplace, giving rise to the Coordinators - humans that have had their genes manipulated at conception. However, because of this, a war broke out between the Coordinators and Naturals (normal humans).

In the first series, events start to spiral out of control as the war intensifies between the two sides. Even neutral nations are dragged into the conflict. One boy, Kira Yamato, a neutral pacifist, is put into an impossible situation where he must fight as the pilot of a giant mechanical mobile suit called Gundam in order to protect his friends. The second series starts up after the war has died down. Once again lines are drawn and the war begins to engulf the world. Once again, Kira Yamato must find an end to the conflict as a Gundam pilot.

Out of all the Gundam series (and there have been very many), I found this series to be my absolute favorite. There is quite a bit of action and drama as Kira struggles to find his path and what he must do to protect the people closest to him. Though some of the plot is overused from the older Gundam series, I do think that it matched well with story.

Along those lines, if you like military-type shows or just love giant robots, any of the Gundam series are great anime. Please feel free take a chance with some of them (like Gundam SEED or another one I like Gundam 00). You might be surprised and find yourself liking them too.

Spring 2013 Anime

As the winter season begins to close, I look forward to what anime will be released for the coming season. So far in the Winter Season, I enjoyed Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next, Maoyuu Yuusha, Love Live!, and the continuation of Zetsuen no Tempest.

Since Naruto has been a big disappointment this past season (and Sword Art Online finished for now), I have found myself wondering what I can rely on to fuel my anime addiction in the coming months. Four animes have caught my eye: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S, Date A Live, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku Outbreak, and Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) is the continuation of the spinoff series of To Aru Majutsu no Index. This series follows one of the heroines of the Index series, Misaka Mikoto, a Level 5 esper. Misaka Mikoto has the power to use electricity and is one of only seven Level 5 espers in the city. This season, the anime will follow her ordeals after she discovers her "sisters" in the Radio Noise project. Because I loved the original series and the first season of this series, more than likely I will find myself watching this one.

What would you do if you met the spirit that devastated most of the world? Would you think of dating her? Well, that's what will happen in the series Date A Live. I have only heard a little about it from a few people and reading the synopsis, but as a fan of some interesting love comedies, I think I will definitely take a look at this one. Also, it just so happens to be a light novel...which I might end up reading too depending on how much I like the series.

There have been a few Higurashi series. Honestly, I only watched them on occasion. However, since I have a few friends who love the series, I think this time I'll make a serious effort to watch. Anyway, this series will cover a particular event involving a mysterious virus and a certain village. The village was sealed off, leaving the Higurashi characters Keiichi and Rena to deal with the incident.

Lastly, Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride is the second season for the earlier Hyakka Ryouran series. While I didn't care too much for the first season (I hated the ending), I am hoping that the second season will fix all my misgivings about the series. Hyakka Ryouran takes place in a somewhat alternate time period where the Tokugawa Shogunate still rules Japan. Master samurai are warriors with incredible abilities that live to serve the "shogun." Most of the master samurai are all women...which usually develop a romantic relationship with their shogun master. Anyhow, the series will follow Muneakira Yagyuu and his companions.