The Sillier Side of Anime, Manga & Games.
Roleplaying is Dangerous!
A look to the future for Transformers.
The Sillier Side of Anime, Manga & Games.
Submitted by Tennin.
Here on AnimeLeague.net and in the IRC Chat-room (as well
as listeners on the radio station), a lot of us happen to be anime, manga and
game (be it pen and paper RPG or the latest console shiny) fans. Seriously
– we are – we just seem to hide it well.
So for the fourth anniversary of AL.net I bring to you an intensive study
into the sillier side of anime, manga and games & the *ahem*
“afflictions” that they all seem to suffer from:
The Harem Effect:
It's distressing to note that this distressing effect is
beginning to accelerate its spread from within the usual quarantine zone that
are anime such as Tenchi
Muyo! and Love
Hina. After investigating this, we passed on our findings to the
“Bureau for Overuse of Clichés” in the hopes that something may be
done about it. For those unfamiliar with this phenomenon that is essentially an
extension of the “Love Triangle™”, it can be explained thus:
a young male (normally a pathetic, wet and weedy specimen) inexplicably
attracts a host of adoring female fans through some Twist of Fate/Stay
Night. The male is of course is too stupid or blind to take
advantage of this, usually much to the distress of one of the harem.
The problem is that it's no longer confined to anime
either. The once isolated weirdness that is the Love Simulation is seeping out
of
“This Looks like a Job for Uber-Bishie!”:
Recent experiments and observations have uncovered a new
species of male character emerging on the scene. These may or throwbacks from a
previous age as their existence has been indicated in the past.
They normally manifest as extremely handsome (some say pretty
– from mildly, all the way up to Pantene Pro-V+ standards) males, and
most – though not all – have either evil inclinations or some sort
of dark, angsty and mysterious past. They're largely found in Mecha anime now
it seems, though they have been found in a strange
retelling of “Journey to the West”. Not only do these
characters regularly have abilities and powers beyond the mortal ken, they
usually have the startling ability to heal pretty much any wound almost
instantly (perhaps through simply picking up and using a magic potion or
health-kit) – especially wounds to the face.
These emo-heroes have now gotten recognition through
parody of another Japanese TV staple – the sentai show. If you don't believe
me, watch the Mighty Moshin' Emo
Rangers Movie!
Solid Snake, Cloud Strife, Ken Masters, Sagara
Souske, Locke the Superman and pretty much every Comics Superhero
who's made it onto X-Box or PS2 seem to be all in on the act.
It's even scarier that a lot of the characters hardly talk
– Half-Life's Gordon Freeman is the most notorious example, you'd
think for a lab-guy with a PhD in Quantum-physics, Dimensional Teleportation
Theory and IT from MIT turned hero he might have something to say for
himself!
These males are to be considered dangerous and should be
kept under observation. Thankfully, it appears that a favourite pastime of
these characters is to be stared at by their adoring fans.
The Collateral Damage and Fanservice Theorem:
It's well known that certain characters, particularly
those with a high power or magic quota have a penchant for collateral damage to
anything within range: innocent bystanders, large buildings, small cities,
orbital space-stations, passing planets... all of these things seem vulnerable,
particularly in games that suggest they have a “fully interactive
environment modelled with an advanced physics engine.” Many good and
skilled observers have noticed one of two things:
It's
not easy getting close to these “Loose Cannons” and still survive
with all your limbs intact.
Even
being good friends with these powerhouses doesn't guarantee your safety –
just ask all the worlds that Kei and Yuri of the Dirty
Pair have “saved.”
Speaking of the Dirty Pair, games, anime and role play
game characters have consistently worn skimpy outfits in a correlation that
defies logic – apparently the less you wear, the more armoured you invariably
become, if you're female that is.
Take a look at World
of Warcraft and RF-Online for
example: Elf females seem to be less elegant than their cousins from Lord of
the Rings, and more or less like bondage sluts! It's amazing how much a tiny
leather bra and thong will defend against a bloody great big sword, but don't
blame me – blame the designers!
Even fighting games have gotten weird. Look at the
transition of Dead or Alive
(with its “fully interactive environment modelled with an advanced
physics engine” modelling not just how the rubble falls, but how everything
bounces) from arcade beat 'em-up to volleyball oggle-fest.
Supply and Demand:
Also known as the “Gotta Buy 'em All!”
syndrome, for whom the blame lies firmly at Nintendo's feet because of the Pokémon Anime & Games
thus eating at our wallets when the appropriate game, anime, manga, toy or
movie comes along due to everyone jumping on the merchandising bandwagon. The
best example that contains all of the above would probably be, you guessed it, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
This convention in particular is the cause of much fan angst and the
“ooh!”-ing and “ahh!”-ing on geek LiveJournals everywhere.
Considering how many different plushies, models, toys,
books, cards, posters, obscure DVDs, console games and SD-keychains the average
anime or gaming fan walks out of when leaving a convention dealer's room (not
to mention the very, very empty wallets), this is quite possibly the scariest
convention we deal with in our hobbies to date.
The “What The?!?!?!” Plot-Twist
Phenomenon:
Now this effect is well known to
anyone who's watched something like Excel
Saga. Take a look at the final episodes of Neon
Genesis Evangelion, FullMetal
Alchemist and things such as Angel's
Egg and “Revolutionary
Girl Utena: Adolescence Apocalypse” Movie.
Think games aren't in the mix?
Hell no! Silent Hill, Final Fantasy VII, Tekken, and nearly any pen and
paper RPG likes to do it. I probably jinxed anyone who will be going to the May London MCM Expo and participating in
the game there... but such is life.
I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at the world of
Anime and Gaming Hobby Science, and to those wanting to know more – I
have one small piece of advice: go sit in a darkened (chat) room somewhere
(#animeleague @ irc.zirc.net:6667 seems as good a place as any) and rest for a
while and listen to some good music (hint, hint!), you'll probably be better
off for it.
Roleplaying
is Dangerous for your Health!
Submitted by Iop.
Role Playing is an activity well established in our society,
everybody does it!
We are always using a mask, hiding our real ourselves, and
sometimes we have so many layers of masks that we aren't sure of who or what we
are anymore.
Ironically, perhaps we are closer to ourselves when we do
role-play, like we do here in AL.
This paradox is useful to keep us sane, as some sort of
valve that opens to steam out our frustrations.
there are other ways but this one is fairly clean and
without side effects. It is recommended by AMA...humm...well, I don't really know
if it is but, if it isn't, it should be!
However, there is such a thing as over do it! there are
warnings for it and it may be extremely dangerous.
If you begin showing any of the following signs:
You start talking like "thy shall surrender the vial with the saline
crystals..." at dinner with your family.
You start thinking "I would look pimped up in a knight's armour".
You can't sleep thinking about how hot is that "girlie elf" you're
playing with in CS.
You think how much HP you would lose if you fight that bully in your school.
You argue for 30 min about which is better; FF7 or FF6, with some dude you know
from nowhere, at your prom night.
You are thinking of naming your first born; "Cedric, the vampire
tourniquet".
You have a special DnD edition engraved in gold that cost you more than your
car.
You think "Lord of the Rings" is the best book ever written (when we
all know it's "the Hobbit").
You believe a drink called "Potion" must have restoring proprieties.
You move to
Then you are definitely at risk, you should stop
role-playing immediately, watch the news for at least 3 days in a row, and go
to your doctor. Heck, I would say you are already a bit waaaay off but, that
just might be me being a jerk.
I hope I haven't dishearten you into role-play, in fact I
invite you to go back to the forum right this minute to enlist in our quests
and spars. Let's have some fun! Have a good role-play day!
A look
to the future for Transformers!
Submitted by Zarith.
Personally,
Transformers annoyed me I thought “Yeah right, a transforming car saving
the day – wow wonder what they were smoking when they came up with
that.” Clearly the Japanese heard
me with their magical Psychic Powers because they went out to piss me off and
created a Transformer.
Believe me? If
you do then well done (But no doubt you are easily manipulate, if female and
around 17 – find me on the forum :D ) If you don’t then I have
evidence (and if your female and around 17 – find me on the forum :D ).
As said in the
song The Ultimate Showdown of Destiny :
“Abraham Lincoln popped out of his grave
and took an AK47 out from under his hat
and blew Batman away with a rat-a-tat-tat
but he ran out of bullets and he ran away
because Optimus Prime came to save the day”
So clearly there
will be a big demand for robots which can save the day – probably all
bought up by big nations wanting to rule the world. Imagine it, George Bush with an undead
Abraham Lincoln and Optimus Prime – who needs oil if you have them!?
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/wr-07-a-real-transformer
From this crappy
looking car to......
KILLER ROBOT OF
DHOOM!!!!! Now all we need is to make it
bigger and with rockets.
Past
Issue Columns.
Roleplayer's Realm..
N00b Translator.
Glorious Leader Inspires Shining Revolution
Momentum Sparrers are scary
Beware of Family Bearing Gifts
The Americans With No Life Act