Since I'm into MMORPGs...

Well, I am continuing to sample anime this Summer '12. One anime that really piqued my interest was the anime Sword Art Online.

Sword Art Online - Asuna and Kirito

In the year 2022, a new MMORPG (Mass Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) which utilizes a game system called Nerve Gear. This game system allows a person to fully immerse themselves in the game - enabling them to actually perceive the game as reality. The MMO game is called Sword Art Online.

Enter Kirito, an introverted teenager and Sword Art Online player. Kirito played Sword Art Online during its beta test and managed to get to the highest floor level out of all the beta testers. When an incident happens in the game, Kirito as well as the ten thousand other players find themselves unable to log out of the game. They are told that the only way to leave the game will be to conquer all 100 floor levels of the game. To make matters worse, any death in the game leads to death in the real world. Kirito takes it upon himself to see that the game is beaten while staying alive in the process.

Being a gamer (I have played Everquest, Ragnarok Online, FFXI, and am currently playing World of Warcraft), this series really interested me. The thought of being able to actually experience a game like this first hand is just so tantalizing. Anyway, the base of the story is reminiscent of the .hack series where players are trapped in a game where the stakes is your own life. However, in this case, the ending or goal is much clearer - you just have to beat the game. As for Kirito, his character is quite interesting too. While he tends to be a loner by nature, he does seem to want contact with others. He is a good person at heart, but has a hard time dealing with others.

All in all, this is a very intriguing series to watch. I have already added it to my list of must-watches. If you're going to check it out, Crunchyroll airs new episodes weekly on Saturdays at 12pm PST.

Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai

"Each girl has her own unique treasure, and to me, it is the variety in all these treasures that brings romance to my life."

This quote...and what follows it actually made me laugh. Just recently I decided to take up watching a new anime this season, Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai (So I Can't Play H).

Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai

This series is about a boy Ryousuke who meets a shinigami named Risara. Risara is looking for a person called a special specimen and comes to the human realm to find that person. However, in order for her to survive in the human realm, she must take energy from a partner. She becomes a temporary partner to Ryousuke. The one catch, humans get their energy from a "source" and Ryousuke's source is ero/ecchi (perversion).

After watching the few episodes that are out now, I really like it. It has a lot of fan service (and the episodes I've seen are uncensored - so please take some caution if you don't want parent's or significant others seeing it), but my favorite part is that Risara pretty much seems like the typical tsun-tsun tsundere (my favorite type of anime character).

Summer 2012 Anime

Well, it's that time again. The seasons have changed and so does the anime. Last season was great with such shows as Fate/Zero, Tasogare Otome, Sankarea, and Medaka Box. This season, there are some new and interesting anime coming out that I'm looking forward to watching.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse takes place in a separate timeline. According to the story, the world is under attack by Beings of Extra Terrestrial origin Adversary to humans (BETAs in short). They have conquered much of the world and are moving in on Japan. The story follows a girl as she pilots mech suits to fight off the BETAs.

Originally, I was interested in this anime because I knew of Muv-Luv from the manga. Despite this series from being entirely different from the manga, I am still interested in following this apocalyptic story.

Dog Days Season 2

When the first season of Dog Days came out, I found it to be an all right anime. I think the only reason I really started watching it was because Horie Yui was voicing the princess of Biscotti and there were cat and dog girls involved. Though the plot was a little boring and the concept was somewhat uninteresting I gave it a go. Now that the series has a new season, I find myself watching it once again...

Anyway, the story follows Shinku a boy who was summoned by the princess of Biscotti in a time of trouble to become the kingdom's hero (in the first season). After returning to the human world, he returns to the world he saved, this time with his two friends to enjoy a summer.

Cardfight Vanguard Season 2

One thing that I'm happy for this season is that I can finally watch the second season of Cardfight Vanguard as well. The second season continues after Aichi and team Q4 win the national vanguard tournament. However, something has changed and the Royal Paladins (Aichi's deck clan) no longer "exists". In order to find out what happened to his beloved Royal Paladins, he must use the Gold Paladins to win his way through an international tournament circuit in order to meet someone who should know what is happening.

There are a few others I'm thinking of checking out, but maybe I'll save those for next time.

Three Dragon Ante

Just recently, a friend of my bought a card game called "Three Dragon Ante". I knew of the game (only in a D&D story), so I was quite intrigued. He taught me how to play and we enjoyed a few games.

The game is a gambling game where gold is wagered in an ante. There are three rounds where players get to play a card from his or her hand. After the three rounds (a gambit), the player with the highest score of played cards (a flight) wins the ante. On each card is different effects that make the game more interesting. Some effects increases the number of cards in your hand while others can steal gold from the ante or opposing players. There are also special sets of cards that will give you different outcomes.

One thing to note is that currently there are two sets of this game out. The first version was released in 2005 and has gone out of print. Three Dragon Ante: Emperor's Gambit (2011) is an expansion to the original, but works as a stand-alone game as well.

If you and your friends love to gamble (for real or for fun), this game certainly is a fun and interesting way to play.