The Mists of Pandaria

I had mentioned before that I do play online MMORPGS, one of which being World of Warcraft. I have several characters on a few servers, but currently I only have two that I'm active on - a resto (healing) druid and a beastmaster hunter. Anyway, I figured I'd write a little about WoW because coming up this Tuesday, Blizzard will be releasing the fourth expansion to the game: Mists of Pandaria.

Mist of Pandaria will now move the level cap to 90 and introduce the new race Pandaren as well as the new class monk. When Blizzard announced this fact, I am very sure that I was not the only person who thought "so we're now in Kung Fu Panda?"

Along with the introduction of those things, Blizzard has made some gameplay changes. First and probably most noticeable was the change to the talent system. Where before you chose a specialization and chose talents within a tree, now you choose talents regardless of specialization. Also, there is only a level prerequisite to obtaining a particular talent. You do not have to get the talents above like when you had the talent trees.

In addition to changes in the talent system came changes to specializations. Many of the spells that you would have found in a certain class have been changed to specialization dependent. This means you need to be a particular spec to have it. Apparently, Blizzard did this to streamline the classes and make their specializations take on roles "most suited" to their build.

There are quite a few more changes, like scenarios, challenge mode, and battle pets, but the above is mostly what I was very concerned about. To me, Blizzard has lost some creativity in creating new content by introducing the World of Warcraft to Kung Fu Panda. There was much more that was already in the Warcraft universe that could have been explored. Personally, I would have liked to maybe have seen a third faction crop up or the introduction of another hero class - perhaps maybe make faction specific hero classes like have Blademasters for Horde and Demon Hunters for Alliance. Still despite my rage, I'll probably be continuing to play this game...

MTG Return to Ravnica

One of the games I play frequently is Magic: the Gathering, a CCG like Cardfight Vanguard. It has been around for quite a long time (I remember first playing it 17 or so years ago). Though I quit somewhere in the middle because I didn't have the funds nor people to constantly play against, I picked it up again a few years ago and have been more active.

Every year or so, Wizards of the Coast (the company handling MTG) comes up with a new block consisting of three sets. This year, the block is called Return to Ravnica, a plane which was visited prior. With the Return to Ravnica block, we'll be seeing the re-introduction of the dual colored guilds. As a part of the activities for the event, players can choose one of the ten guilds to ally with. Despite there being ten guilds, the first set for the block will only showcase five of the ten, with the last five showcased in the next set.

Originally, I allied with the Boros guild due to the fact that my main decks have always run angels (the Avacyn set made me really happy since I got a whole bunch of angels to upgrade these decks). However, this time I will be going with the Golgari, a black-green guild focusing on life and death. While the new planeswalker, Vraska, was very enticing, my choice was because gorgons and grave summoning was one deck strategy I had often used prior. I usually have fun revolving my decks around the graveyard, something, which according to the story, is the modus operandi of the Golgari. In a way, I guess, my whole being utilizes the light of angels and the darker side of necromancy...

Vraska, the newest planeswalker to MTG

In any case, this looks to be a very fun set, and Wizards of the Coast has planned some fun events for the releases. Return to Ravnica releases on October 5th, but if you can't wait like me, the pre-release weekend is from the 28th (29th actually since its at 12:00 am) to the 30th. If you're looking for somewhere that sells MTG, check out the Wizards of the Coast Store Locator.

Campione

What if all the gods throughout all cultures across the world existed and wreaked havoc upon the world whenever they felt like it? That is part of the setting for a recent anime called Campione.

In the world of Campione, gods exist, and some of them are rogue gods that bring misfortune to mankind. Because of this, "hero kings" exist. They are the godslayers or Campione. By slaying a god, one receives all the powers and authorities the god had. So enter Kusanagi Godou. During a trip to Italy, he gets caught up in a battle between gods. Through various circumstances, he manages to defeat Verethragna, the Persian god of victory, thus becoming a campione.

This anime comes in the for of your typical harem anime. One guy with many girls, all of the girls in love with that one guy. Situations like that make you a little jealous. Anyway, while I do enjoy some of the antics of the characters, I have to say the main point that I like about the series is how cultural deities are incorporated into the story. I have to say I did not even know that Verethragna even existed. The author also goes through a great deal to analyze and explain how some gods even may have come to be...though this may only be his interpretation. All in all, it looks like a great series, and it looks like I will be following this one as well.

Due to a recent chapter of Naruto...

Even though I told myself I would never...NEVER (I mean)...write about Naruto in this blog, I still find myself doing so after the latest chapter in the manga. This come because Kishimoto Masashi has decided to finally reveal the answer to one of the biggest questions and controversies - the identity of Tobi.

Tobi, currently one of the main antagonists

Now, I won't spoil it and reveal the answer to all of you, but let's just say I wanted to believe it would be someone else, and I've entertained some pretty wild guesses as to who it might be. I've denied the possibility of who he actually is due to the fact that there was evidence to contradict that outcome.

Who is the man behind the mask?

Anyway, with this new revelation comes more questions. How will Kishimoto explain how this character is Tobi...and then more importantly, why he became Tobi?

At the very least, right now the manga is not about Sasuke...

To Aru Majutsu no Index

Not too long ago, I first watched a certain anime about a certain young high school student that seemed to have the worst of luck. He then met a certain young girl who was running from a certain group of magicians through a certain city entirely devoted to science. The series was called To Aru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index).

The story is set in a time where supernatural powers can be gained through science. One of the leading places where this power development occurs is Academy City. Here, esper powers are commonplace and those who possess these powers are ranked on a scale of 1 through 5, with five being the highest. There are only seven level 5's in the city. People who are "power less", level 0's, still exist in the city but are rare.

Anyway, enter Kamijou Touma, one of those level 0 power less people in Academy City. As he is going through an unfortunately hot day without an AC or power in his fridge, he comes across a young girl dressed in a nun's outfit named Index. Index is being chased by magicians because she is in possession of 103,000 magic books...and there the story begins.

I found the anime to be very engaging, but while the anime has technically ended for now after its second season, the light novels in which it premiered continues beyond where the anime ended. Right now, I've found myself hooked on reading some of these light novels. Hopefully soon, I'll get to the parts beyond where the anime covered.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation

For most my life now, anime and Japanese culture has been a huge part of my life. Aside from Sailor Moon (which my sister watched every morning it was on), my first exposure to the world of Japanese anime was a short series called Iria: Zeiram the Animation.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation, my first real anime!

The movie was about a young female bounty hunter named Iria. Together with her brother and another bounty hunter, they go on a rescue mission, but encounter an "indestructible" alien creature called Zeiram. Iria manages to escape, but her brother is assumed to be dead. Iria then embarks on a quest to find out what happened and if he may be still alive.

The series was part of a six-episode OVA that I watched when the Sci-Fi channel originally had its AniMidnight program. After watching the show with my father, I got hooked on anime. I found that the stories more engaging and the art more beautiful, far better than any American cartoon at the time. So as far as I am concerned, Iria is what started my anime addiction.

Hashimoto Miyuki

So far I've posted a lot of things that I have gotten into recently (like new anime and new games I've picked up). So far, I don't think I've visited any of my current favorites.

Anyway, following along those lines, I love Japanese music. The words being sung sound so much sweeter and more beautiful when in Japanese rather than English. I think a lot of it has to do with the way the Japanese language is structured. As far as favorite singers go, I have quite a few: Chelly (who sang some songs for the Guilty Crown anime), Asakawa Yuu, LiSA, Toyama Nao, but by far my most favored singer is Hashimoto Miyuki.

Hashimoto Miyuki

Hashimoto Miyuki debuted with Koko ni Iru kara, an ending theme for the Girls Bravo anime. However, the first time I heard her music (not counting another special circumstance) was the song Innocence which was the ending for the Shuffle anime. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to the song (after all, I skip over credits or don't pay too much attention to them). Later, when I heard Nerine (a character in Shuffle!) sing a song, I was curious to see if there was a full version and what the lyrics were. What my search for that song found was a full version sung by Hashimoto Miyuki. The song was In the Sky, and it was the ending theme for Nerine's route in the Shuffle! PC game that the anime was based on. Ever since then, I have been hooked on her music.

Innocence

Currently, my favorite song is sung by Hashimoto Miyuki. That song is Especially, one of the insert songs for Da Capo II. Since the time I started listening to her music, I have collected all of her albums. Her first album was Lovey-dovey and it contains Innocence from the Shuffle! anime. Her second album is Prismatic Colors (my favorite of her albums) and it contains Especially. Her third album was distributed through iTunes and is called Secret Masterpieces. The fourth album, Brilliant Moment, contains Natural Tone from the Shuffle! Memories anime. Double Flower is her fifth album and it contains Here to Stay from Akane Iro Somaru Saka PS2 game. Her most recent album is Espressivo.

Cover of Prismatic Colors, her second album

Because Espressivo was released in 2010 and it has almost been 2 years since an album of hers was released, I am anxiously awaiting another album to add to my collection. I do know that she is still active as a singer. She still does songs for animes and games through Lantis - one of which was a collaboration with other Lantis singers in Super Affection for the Carnival Phantasm anime. I also do hope one day to see her perform. She has done a few live performances (I subscribe to her website so I often see updates on where she will be performing).

Hashimoto Miyuki Website

 Lastly, I do hope one day to meet her. Her music has always been a bright point in my life so I would at least like to thank her personally for all the happiness she has brought into my life through her music.