He has begun a story without a beginning...

I AM ALWAYS TOO LATE.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:00:06 GMT

I can't believe I have turned into such a fucking Naruto freak.

I'm ridiculously depressed that I had to come into the series so late, that I had to miss so much. The "Golden Age" of the fandom was a few years ago, when I was against having anything to do whatsoever with the series. So I ended up missing all the good shit. All the old fans have moved on out of general outgrowing-seroes or irritation at the way the series has been going. I missed Part I entirely and I really can't find much of anyone who still writes/draws that, and all my favorite characters for Part II are dead.

I really, REALLY wish I could have at least been involved in the fandom even a year or two ago. Before Itachi died. That was kind of the driving force behind the first 43 books, and the whole Itachi thing was why one of the heroes went batshit evil, so the fandom discussions and speculations about him must have been EPIC. Before Itachi died, I at least slightly liked Sasuke, and earlier on I liked him more, and I LOVED the Uchiha-angst until Sasuke turned into a total bitch. I can't see the situation without hating him for it now. That part of the series is just gone forever.

And even if I CAN find fans who are into the series enough to discuss and obsess, that part is gone. We can't go back to it. I missed what were probably some of the best friggin discussions in all and any fandoms ever because I automatically disliked Naruto without knowing anything about it.

Granted with the newest chapter, the end is imminent and all hell has just officially broken loose, but it isn't the same. For the most part, people are just bitching about the way it's going. I'm frustrated about everything, too, but I guess because I came in so late, I didn't have a chance to see the buildup and sudden collapse of the plot. So everyone is raging about it and I'm just sitting there like ? There are a lot of minute details form Part I that are suddenly coming into play now, and that gives me hope that Kishimoto isn't pulling this all out of his ass at this point, because those loose ends mentioned and dropped like eight years ago are necessary now.

I am having trouble finding REALLY GOOD fanfic authors who are still active, too. And fanartists, too. And just people who want to talk about it for hours, because most everything except the newest stuff has already been talked about to death by everyone but me.

It's not just a series I get obsessed with. It's the whole "fandom experience", which sounds pathetic but it's true. And I missed out big time with this one. ._.

Both the new op and new ed = baw.

WHAT.

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:03:33 GMT

I start school tomorrow. Should be interesting?

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I REALLY don't like Sasuke. I liked him for a while, and in Part II I was struggling with it, but at the point where I am now (middle of volume 44), I just hate him. His decision to turn around and try to undo everything Itachi ever did for him...gah HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU. It was bad enough he basically caused my two favorite characters to die, but I didn't dislike him for that because he didn't technically kill either of them.

I can see how the manga goes downhill rapidly from here though. It would have been a logical jump after Itachi's death for Sasuke to realize what an idiot he's been those last 3+ years and turn back towards home. But somehow he decides to do the exact opposite (?) and now the series keeps going on and on and just getting ridiculous.

I don't normally bother with revisionist fics, but now I want to go find some. And I need to completely catch up so I can appropriately bitch about this in a comm.

Hidan wins the award for omg-did-this-really-just-happen-in-a-T-rated-shonen-manga?

New obsession. And angstttt.

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:45:23 GMT

CONFESSION.

I HAVE BEEN READING NARUTO.

AND I ~~LIKE~~ LOVE IT.

I'm actually really upset I didn't get into it sooner. The series may still be going on and I may still be able to get into fandom while it's active (which is a million times better than joining a fandom once the series is already over), but my favorite character died two years ago. TWO YEARS AGO.

I have the first 45 manga in English, and I'll read the other 40 or so recent chapters in Shonen Jumps and scanlations when I get there, then just be up-to-date every new chapter. I've heard that it's gone kind of downhill, too, so I already missed the so-called Golden Age of it, I guess, even if it is still ongoing.

Yea. More later.

I haven't been watching the anime, though I probably will eventually. Evidently the most recent episode was released yesterday (27th) and it's the episode where DEIDARA DIES. So I kind of have to watch that because his death is just epic.

EDIT: Wow. His death was even more epic in the anime. I bawwed. ~~And he called Itachi beautiful.~~

It's my birthday. 23 holy shitttttt. 23 and I am sitting here bawling my eyes out over "Unlimited Sky." WHERE IS MY GUNDAM. Because nothing can fill that. ._.

BITCHRANT TIME. In which I explain how Twilight is bad for your soul.

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:06:57 GMT

I know I promised fandom-related subjects, but I need to get this bitchrant out. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW YOU WANNA HEAR ME RIP TWILIGHT APART.

"At least they're reading..."

What the hell does that mean? As someone who works in a bookstore, I hear this moronic statement at least once a day. The more I hear it, the more impatient I get, and sooner or later I'm going to freak out on someone who says it.

I am an avid reader. I do not look down on reading. What I DO look down on is the idea that reading, and reading anything at all for that matter, is intellectually superior and more morally acceptable than other activities. I work in a bookstore. I own thousands of books. I have a BA in literature. However.

I am also an avid video game player, and this activity is often counter-acted against reading. "At least they're reading..." is often followed by a variation of "...and not playing video games all day." I have played hundreds of video games. I have studied them so extensively I might as well have a degree in certain series. Arrogant as it may seem, I am fairly confident in the idea that this has not lessened my intelligence nor my judgement.

My main point here is this : Reading books is in no way superior to playing video games, or even watching TV in some instances. It depends on the content and how it affects your way of thinking, not the medium. Someone can be just as affected in a negative way by reading a novel as they can be by playing a game. They can also be affected in a positive way in both instances.

****

Examples:

1. Negative effects.

At this point I am going to bitch about the Twilight phenomena, as it is a prime example of what I despise about the comment "At least they are reading.".

Though I myself find it impossible to judge just how affected kids are by playing violent video games, it is safe to say that the majority of video game players do not go out there and shoot people for fun. And those that DO, do not do it because someone in a video game did it. Regardless of what many so-called experts claim, there is no evidence to that. The average video game player is perfectly able to distinguish between game and reality. They understand that what may be acceptable in-game is not acceptable in the real world.

However, the majority of young girls who read "Twilight" find Edward Cullen to be an amazing and idealistic boyfriend. Because of the way the books are written, it is easy for one to overlook the fact that he is cruel and exceptionally abusive. And he is controlling and emotionally manipulative. Girls who read these books and see this as acceptable ARE likely to go out and seek a boyfriend such as Edward, whereas a Grand Theft Auto player is unlikely to go out and kill someone for their car.

I have read the first book in the series and I was horrified at how abusive he was, and two years later, when it became all the rage, I was even more horrified to see just how many girls desperately wished for a boyfriend just like him. Hearing twelve-year-old girls obsessively talking about how they want, no, need a boyfriend like Edward is very unsettling.

As someone who has had such a boyfriend, a boyfriend so similar that the book had an eerie sense of deja-vu sans vampirism, I can honestly say that this is far more likely to fuck you up than playing Halo.

2. Positive effects.

On the beneficial level, playing a strategy game like FF Tactics is FAR more intellectually challenging than reading most books out there. Playing a video game does not encourage stupidity and violence, just as reading a book does not automatically make one smarter and give one a greater ability to judge. In fact, in my experience as a literature major, as a bookseller, and as a hardcore gamer, the result is quite the opposite.

****

"At least they're reading" is an interesting statement, as it is often used to describe ANY sort of reading, be it comics, philosophy, or romance novels. It does not matter. It just seems to be ingrained in the heads of most parents, and indeed most people, that reading anything at all is preferable and safer than playing a video game. Meanwhile video games are all lumped into one category such that playing "Animal Town" is just as stupidity- and violence-inducing as Grand Theft Auto is.

Indeed, books can be MORE dangerous, as they have the surprising ability to insinuate themselves into one's own philosophy. Read too much of one particular writer or thinker and you will understand. I have witnessed a fellow student suffer a nervous breakdown and end up in an asylum after reading every bit of Kierkagaard that has been translated into English. But as of yet, I have never met a person who follows the ideals and mindset of Sephiroth.

Perhaps it is something to do with the idea that with reading, one is an observer, while with playing a game, one is actively engaged. At first glance, this would seem to have the opposite effected, but upon closer examination it does make quire a bit of sense. As an observer, one is more likely to want to experience what one is observing. As an active participant, one is able to not only release these desires, but witness the consequences. In Halo, your murdering someone can result in your own death. In the "Twilight" saga, the abusive relationship relation ends in, what is it, "this small but perfect piece of forever"? How delusional can you get?

People have this strange idea that just because something is a book, it is good for you, and because something is a video game, it is bad for you. I have met many people who have been led astray in dangerous ways by books, but I suppose because it is only about girls drawn into abusive relationships and not boys robbing banks, it doesn't matter. After all, at least they're reading.

END BITCHRANT OMG I HATE EVERYTHING SOMETIMES.

HP 6 movie

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:27:43 GMT

Saw the midnight showing of Harry Potter 6 and holy shitttttt.

That movie DEFINITELY made up for the book. The sixth book really bored me for some reason (as did the fourth), but the movie for this one was awesome. It was a little cramped though, and cut out pretty much everything school-related (though the book was kind of like that, too). Relationship angst was a little bleh but they managed to balance it with friendship stuff (Harry comforting Hermione and vice versa = win) AND BELLATRIX BLACK YOU SEXY BEAST.

I wanted to dress up but I came right from work, so yea. Did not happen.

But I was very impressed. And now I'm sad, just as I always am after coming from a big Harry Potter event. Whatever I had with that fandom isn't something I'm ever going to feel again, and lame as it sounds, I feel like I lost something. That and the older I get, the less likely it is that my life will ever be anything but mediocre and seriously fucking boring. Hell I lost my chance to go to Hogwarts 12 years ago. I'm slowly being killed by nostalgia for something I never even had.

._.

ON THE DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON:

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 03:41:22 GMT

So pandatchi is poking me to update, and my life is just so exciting that this is all I have to say:

LL Rude J owned by pandatchi and pikacheeka like whoah. If you want him for the night, well we charge by the 5-minute block.

LOL YOU BE TRADEMARKED MAN.

Anyone else suddenly submerged in drama that they aren't a part of?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:38:59 GMT

Evidently I can not escape the drama even when I'm not online.

Has anyone heard/seen anything weird going on in my username lately? Anyone see any comments or posts made that probably weren't by me?

Because I was just defriended and blocked by someone I liked, and she sent me a very long letter about how I've been sending nasty emails to a friend of hers. She said that I and several Gundam people on my FList have been harassing Sapphire Hime starting around June 10th. So has anyone on my FList started having this same problem recently?

I don't know. I would think that if someone did get into my username and was fucking around, I would have received a few more complaints than from this one person, but I don't know.

She said they were EMAILS, but I don't know how that can be considering the security I have on my email account. If it is from my email, then I have a serious, serious problem, and I'm wicked freaked out now.

SO.
I guess the deal is that someone is running around sending nasty anonymous messages to another girl in fandom and claiming they are from me. Said person is also showing anonymous threads in memes and claiming they are from me. Seriously people, what the fuck. I haven't been around in a friggin month. I guess someone got bored and wanted to start some fandrama and evidently I'm just a big target. Goes to show how popular I am.

xmen movie and omgggg

Fri, 29 May 2009 05:50:52 GMT

So I finally got my butt around to seeing the new X-MEN movie and omg.

Am I the only one who found Sabretooth ten times hotter than Wolverine? ~~And that was one scary intense kid playing young Sabretooth~~

They gayified Gambit more than I ever thought was possible. And I'm kind of confused about Deadpool's identity but I was never a hardcore X-Men fan so it was probably just something I didn't know about. And even though Sabretooth-as-brother is questionable I like it. Because from what I understand his past was ambiguous and he knew Wolverine from waaaaay back, so I guess throwing them together as half-brothers works.

Now I want to go try and read some more. I've read maybe 10% of the comics (seeing as there are probably a million) out there and saw all the other movies, but idk Sabretooth <3 Even though he's damn unattractive in the actual comics and in the other movies, I just think Liev and all is well.

But more than anything I want Victor x James slash. Or better yet, doujinshi.

Anyway, good movie. I highly enjoyed it. Lot of people bitching about the plot being bland because it was so simple/straight-forward, but that didn't bother me. I don't want anything deep and thought-provoking, and most of the time when they try to make this kind of movie too complex it ends up coming out shitty (cue in Spiderman movies) Hell, give me explosions, violence, and hot (older) guys trying to kill each other any day and I'd be happy. ~~Especially when they're mildly gay for each other.~~

He reminds me of Kiriwar so bad. I think thats what the problem is.

That opening sequence was so fucking cool I'd pay 10 bucks to just see THAT again. I can't find any screenshots of it, though.

Victor just wants a hug and gets his ass kicked for it.

Ever since TnC my tastes have turned more towards guys like that. damnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Anddd just because this needs to be noted. MARK YOUR CALENDARS, GUYS.
Marvel Bromance Volume 1
Sadly, it does not look like we are getting any claw-boy action there.

post-con

Sun, 24 May 2009 06:15:02 GMT

Sooo AnimeBoston. Went all day Friday and about half of Saturday. I got in so early and didn't have to wait in line really, which was nice compared to last year.

Got to my sister's house Thursday evening. Friday morning I took the bus to the T and took the T to Hynes with my brother. Along the war we ran into dmp and her fiance Ashley, so we were with them for a bit. Then they went to their panel and we went to the dealers' room. Met up with electrumicity, scoured dealer's room, then met up with a couple of her friends. Wandered around, then I went to Artists' Alley and met up with them again afterwards for the Gundam photoshoot (which was sadly disappointing and soo small). We grabbed something to eat, and I left around 8.

Saturday I went back in, hung out in AA for a bit with Vicky, met up with Rel again, invaded the dealer's room again, then went to her hotel to take pictures of me with booze. (I don't drink though) XD

Kind of disappointed because there were a LOT of panels I couldn't go to. They changed the time of the yaoi panel last minute, so it ended up being from 9 to midnight or something on Friday. It was originally about 7 to 10, so I could have gone, but if I'm staying at someone's house, I can't really show up at 2 am like that. There were 2 panels I wanted to go that were on Sunday, but I couldn't stay another

Didn't go to the Kalafina concert because due to complicated schedule issues, I had to go home right when it started. I tell myself I never would have gotten in anyway, because about 75% of the people there wanted in, and there were at least 8,000 people there.

Next time I go con I'm definitely getting a hotel so I can stay out as long as I want, dk whatever I want, and actually be able to stay the whole time. There were a lot of complications this time around, as my sister is paranoid and wanted us home early. I was expected to watch out for my brother the entire time, which was a pain in the ass for both of us. blah blah blah

Went through dealers room TWICE Friday and again on Saturday. Couple of Gundam 00 things here and there, but not much. Someone had the petit props from second season, but I have most of them so I didn't bother. There was a shop that had a lot of things available for pre-order on the Gundam comm, soo. Yea. This is the haul, but it's not much.

GUNDAMUUUUUU
CB Keychain (this is so badass I wish I had bought 2)
CB phone charm
CB card case
The large Nena figurine
Marina phone charm
Setsuna calendar toy - August
4-figure gashopen set of the girls in their bathing suits

Togainu no Chi
FUCKING NOTHING BECAUSE NOBODY EVEN KNEW WHAT THE HELL I WAS TALKING ABOUT AND NO-ONE WAS SELLING ANYTHING. So I settled for Lamento, and I bought like the only Lamento stuff in the whole place.

Lamento
Clear folder of the devils
Random doujin that isn't even interesting

At Artist's Alley I bought...
A Loco Roco plushie with 2 small ones inside
A poster, yaoi manga, and card from C Lijewski
a copy of HoneyDew Syndrome

And I bought a couple of small gifts for people. HAHA OMG SUCH EMBARRASSING THINGS.

I got to meet Lijewski though and I almost died. Admit to having a huge crush on her. I've sent her like 5 fan letters over the years. She's the only "American" manga artist whose manga is actually....manga. She has the culture down and her plots are very manga-esque and besides, her art is fucking hot.

I found a few people I'm going to ask for commissions, too.

But in all, I guess both my fandoms are so obscure it's not funny. There were 2 Allelujahs, 1 Tieria, 1 Ribbons, 1 Regene, 2 Lockons, 1 young Alle, and 1 young Lockon. And moi as Sumeragi (technically as Lisa Kujo). That's all I saw in 2 days walking around anyway. And no Togainu characters at all. When it came to the dealers room and the artists' alley, there was almost nothing for G00 and nothing at all for TnC. I tore all the doujinshi sellers apart and all I found was one Lamento doujin, which I bought out of bitterness. But come on, one is a GUNDAM SERIES FOR GOD'S SAKE and the other is a yaoi game. Why the hell doesn't anyone have anything for them?

This is the only picture of me I'm happy with because my butt looks friggin big in those pants so yea. In the end I managed to even get the belt, but there were a few minor details that failed. Like my coat should have straight corners at the bottom, not rounded. And my pants should have been slimmer, but I have a stupid body shape so that didn't work out so well. I made the coat, trimmed my hair to look more like hers, and managed to buy everything else.

I cropped myself out of the picture because omg ugly and I look like a pedo. My facial expression is so creepy. But this is Rel as young Allelujah and I am forcing alcohol upon her. She made an adorable young Alle. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of her, or of anyone really.

This is my silly brother as Lupin the 3rd. He had the real shoes on earlier, but changed out of them. He also had his picture taken with something like 80 girls (he kept track for a while) because evidently Lupin the 3rd is someone all girls want a picture of.

IS ANYONE ON MY FLIST GOING TO ANIME-EXPO IN JULY?

I want to go but need a room-mate or 2 or 3.

excuses excuses

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:05:32 GMT

Been MIA the last few days because I had to buy a new AC power adaptor for my computer and by the time I realized this on Wednesday, I was at 21% battery. So I had to shut it down until I could get a new one today FREE UNDER WARRANTEE so that was exciting.

Shitload of emails and PMs and comments to catch up on because I've been being lazy lately anyway, so sorry if it takes me a little while to get back to you.

Other than that, do I have anything to say? No. Life is boring as hell and I miss Gundam.

I can't embed these ones but HALLELUJAH IN ENGLISH. Episode 11 dubbed. I laughed. Only a couple of real differences I noticed in the dub though, so not bad. But his voiceeeee.

Rewatching season one makes me cry. Seriously. Why am I so wrapped up in this show?

News about Gundam movie and merchhhh

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:27:57 GMT

Article from GoodHaro's blog

All four Meisters will likely be in the movie again. Allelujah's VA aspecially talked about how there was more to be done. Tieria's VA was just OMG NEW MACHINES!!! (ha) Setsuna's is as dependent on G00 as Setsuna himself is on Exia, which I find cute. And Lockon's seems kind of bored with the whole thing.

Also a blurb about how Graham finally got over himself when Setsuna freaked out on him. So all those people whining about how they didn't get a final fight can go to hell. It wasn't bad character development. It was brilliant.

Anddddd perhaps most interesting, there were two possible endings decided on for the TV series. The movie will use the one the wasn't used in the series, which makes me think that the movie will have a bad ending or at least a sad one.

So very curious and excited. I am addicted to this blog.

List of G00 stuff I have to buy as they come out:

May 9th - “Mobile Suit Gundam 00 MISSION COMPLETE 2307-2312″ B5 160 pages 1680 Yen

June 10th - “Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Kouga Yun Dear Meisters COMIC&ARTS” The comics published in Newtype plus one new one. All color illustrations + original character designs B5 144pages 1365yen

July 8th - Mobile Suit Gundam Complete Best CD + DVD. (already pre-ordered and paid for)

Up for anime, manga, and video game suggestions.

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:02:10 GMT

LOOKING FOR NEW ANIME TO WATCH. I'm ridiculously lost now that Gundam is done and I want a series that is already done that I can just start on and watch really quickly. I'm on vacation for the next two weeks. So right now anime is the top priority, though I'm also open to Manga and video games.

I AM ALSO LOOKING FOR A NEW MANGA SERIES TO START. All the same requirements, though I want it 10+ books instead of 1-2 seasons. I'm fairly certain I've found and read everything published in America worth my time, so a scanlated series is fine, too.

NEW VIDEO GAME SERIES ALSO WELCOME. Any system except a PS3. Again, same requirements, but must be LONG.

I've come to realize that my standards for anime and manga alike are so extreme that it's no surprise I can never find anything I like. =\

Requirements for everything:

Serious plot. Preferably war anime/manga (all VGs are war), be it mecha or traditional fantasy or other.

Coherent plot that actually makes sense.

Non-episodic. Basically, I don't want 24 mini-stories.

All major characters must have depth. No flat characters.

The 'bad guys' also have depth and can be sympathized with.

Hero can not be dopey and annoying, then stereotypically super-scary in battle.

Romance to a minimum.

At least 13 episodes, preferably 1-2 full seasons though.

No school drama. No teenage angst drama. No annoying love triangles.

No chibi-fying or SD-ing of characters. No cutesy shit.

Good music.

Preferably a series than can be 'fandom-ized'. You know how some anime may be completely amazing, but they just don't seem the type you'd want to write/read fanfics on, or even the type that CAN have a fandom? Yea.

Have not seen/read/played obviously, not that you'd necessarily know.

Examples
Ex of anime: Gundams, Death Note, Nabari no Ou, Full Metal Alchemist
Ex of manga: Angel Sanctuary, GodChild, Death Note, D. Gray-man.
Ex of video games: Final Fantasies, Xenosaga
Things like FMA and D-Gray-man CAN be okay even though they do have some of the cutesy shit, but their plus sides REALLY have to outweigh that. I'm considering Soul Eater but again, lots of annoying shit. So I don't know.

Post-subs.

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:40:45 GMT

After giving it some time and watching the subs, I can safely say that I am impressed with the ending, and fairly happy with it. Arguably, it was the best ending of an anime that I've ever seen, because they almost never end up making any sense. Most of my ranting is on the comm, but yea.

Watching that final battle in high-def high-res without lag was EPIC. Friggin amazing. They saved half the budget for that battle. Hallelujah was sick, even though he did kill Hilling. And Lyle was pretty badass, too. He pulled a Neil, fighting like crazy with a suit he knew was too damaged to handle it. Music was epic, and Setsuna getting Exia back was just the coolest thing. So happy they did that and didn't give him the 0 Gundam, because Exia is really his, regardless of what he was meant for. Still a little confused/shocked about Setsuna quantizing. It was awesome, but very weird.

Marina writes a letter to Setsuna, just as season 1 ended with Setsuna writing a letter to her. SO COOL. Patrick and Kati marriage still adorable and they played Unlimited Sky during it (well during most of the epilogue, which I loved). I was happy with Louise and Saji kind of narrating the ending.Allelujah's still bitter and depressed, but now he's accepting of Hallelujah and seems satisfied with him. No lovey-dovey talk between he and Marie in the end, which was nice. And Lyle went to visit Neil's grave (finally) and joined CB permanently. Tieria is chilling in Veda, and Setsuna went back into space while Marina waits for him on earth (I love them as a pairing). Billy gets aww daw when Graham goes to him, proving they are super-gay for each other.

Strongly implied that all the Meisters will be back for the movie. And movie looks epic already, just from the hints dropped throughout the epilogue. Show finished with Daybreak's Bell, which I predicted ages ago.

I'm happy. It ended better than I could have hoped for. Still kind of in shock but oh my god. I love Gundam 00 so much.

EPISODE 25

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:18:12 GMT

SO FRIGGIN IN SHOCK RIGHT NOW. Spamming the community like crazy but anyway.

Movie in 2010 confirmed.

Episode way too short.

Doublejah came back. Super-fucking hot.

Doublejah v Hilling. Lyle v Revive. Setsuna v Ribbons.

EXIA CAME BACK. EXIA VERSUS 0 GUNDAM. ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.

Lyle went to his brother's grave. Had a grave for Anew next to him. Kind of weird.

Setsuna and Lyle stay on in CB protecting world.

Setsuna and Marina still strongly implied (yes).

Allelujah and SoMarie are on a pilgrimage, probably for retribution for his sins.

Worried that Alle won't be in movie now, as he's not in CB.

Patrick/Kati get married. Louise is slowly dying. Homer killed himself. Graham went back to Billy.

Tieria goes byebye.

Innovators abounds.

Rumors say Kati is pregnant.

All in all, I'm kind of in shock. It wasn't at all what I expected. They pulled it off better than I was afraid of, but I really am kind of !!!! Like no Graham fight? Well, they'll save that for the movie, probably. And disappointed in AlleSoma ending, as I really want him to fight in the movie. As Doublejah.

ahhhhh I can't believe it's over.

TRAILER OMG

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:41:28 GMT

FFFFFFFF OH MY GUNDAM.

Episode 24.

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:14:49 GMT

This was another Oh-My-God episode.

I still don't even know how to really respond to it. I shall wait for subs, but from what I understood, it was pretty amazing, if not horribly depressing and a little strange.

Next episode is going to be horrible. I can feel it.

Episode 23

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:48:25 GMT

I realize that the last 2 times I've made a Gundam episode post, I never replied to any of the comments because I've been such a spaz about it and get freaked out if I think too much. So at the moment I'm not going to babble about episode 23 except to say OH MY GOD. Maybe later I'll have something coherent to say (unlikely, as I saw it...24 hours ago now and I'm still OH MY GOD) Scared of what next episode's preview implies.

I'm ridiculously friggin depressed/panicked that the series is ending in 2 weeks. I honestly don't know what to do with myself. ~~I've got nothing else going for me. I've even been CRYING over this. Pathetic, isn't it? Whatever.~~

PS - He's not dead.

Episode 22 AND MY LIFE ENDS IN 3 WEEKS.

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:33:37 GMT

I honestly don't know what to say about this episode except OH MY GOD THE SERIES IS ENDING AND IT'S SO OBVIOUS. Everything is so DOOOOOOOM-FINAL BATTLE already. And none of the spoilers look very good.

There is a movie coming out though, pretty much confirmed. Which is exciting.

Graham is jealous of Setsuna because he wanted to go under an amazing Bushido-awakening-into-new-humanity and Setsuna beat him to it.

Louise is Innovator-ed even more and goes evil.

Bring and Devine return by the hundreds. Good old Ribbons.

Tieria asks Lockon to give him strength during battle. Lyle-Lockon saves his life just as Neil-Lockon did, which probably exploded his mind.

More tense angst between Alle and Soma, who says he can call her Marie. It isn't an acceptance on her part though, just an irritation. Alle makes some comment about wanting a world where people like he and Soma will never exist again and she gets kind of wtf-you about that.

Feldt gives Setsuna a flower and fandom explodes over this 'new pairing'. Even though she said Marina would probably be mad, I'm not seeing it as a real pair or anything (though I laughed when Setsuna was immediately all "We don't have that kind of relationship" because he keeps saying that). Seemed more of her saying Please-don't-die-like-everyone-else thing.

Poor Weeaboo Bushido wants to kill himself now because he lost the battle. Which he obviously isn't going to do.

PATRICK AND KATI RETURNNN. I'm assuming she and Sumeragi are going to join up at some point.

Marina watches the battle and says something about seeing the "light" of war, so maybe she's finally realizing she's an idiot for thinking it can not exist.

Regene blew Ribbons' brains out. Again, obviously not really true because a) major antagonists don't die that early and that easily b) Gundam characters are never killed in such an unambiguous manner c) he's in the preview d) we know he can create other Innovators, so that was likely a clone e) he can read Regene's thoughts, so he must have known that Regene wanted to kill him.

EVERYTHING IS GETTING SUPER-DRAMATIC AND I AM GETTING SO FREAKED OUT AND UPSET THAT IT'S ENDING.

Holy shit this show keeps getting better and better

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:43:35 GMT

Holy shit this episode exploded my mind. It's ten times weirder with subs.

Setsuna is becoming a HUMAN Innovator because of the GN particles. Up until now we only knew that a) something was preventing him from dying of the cell deterioration and nobody knew what it was, b) Ribbons was psychotically desperate to get 00 back and he made mention of something "beginning" with Setsuna when he realized he wasn't dying. This was the first time Ribbons showed any real fear.

But now Saji and Tieria find out. Revive also finds out and throws a hissy fit while Hilling just keeps on bitching to him and not paying attention. Setsuna figures it out after Saji tells him he seems different and he remembers the dream where Neil told him to change because he could not. All along I assumed the "change: would just be that he'd learn not to fight and instead he should sing the Marina song and make the world a happy place, but this gives me new hope. Because if that IS what Neil was getting at, then yea, enough said. We may get away with NOT having a stupid moral at the end of the story. <3

Tieria gets snarky to Sumeragi and she gets pissed at him. They need to have a bitchfight.

Lyle realizes that he is not fighting for Kataron or for CB, but for himself out of his own will. So he's pulling a Neil there. He tries to shoot Setsuna, can't, gets teary-eyed, and mentions his brother. Brings you back to when Neil tried to shoot Setsuna and couldn't either last season. Still don't know about why exactly he mentioned Neil though. Yea, he's definitely taking his brother's path, but could he not shoot BECAUSE of him? Or did he just realize that he's becoming Neil? Or is he finally realizing that his brother DIED, and it didn't seem real to him until Anew died as well?

Soma's death possibility keeps going higher and higher. She was offered the chance to fly the Ptole because Lasse was out of commission and she spazzed, thinking it was some ploy to keep her off the battlefield. Alle said again that he had sworn to Sergei to protect her and that if she kept on acting as she was, she'd end up dead and she gets even more pissed. He calls her Soma, grabs her arm, and she goes ballistic. He looks horrified. THE END. No resolution. Death is mentioned and she really burned her last bridge with Allelujah here. So not good signs.

Hong Long dies and we find out that although he was cool, evidently he was a huge pansy. WLM dies and right up to the end she is a total bitch. Nena dies and it's impossible not to feel bad for her because she wants to avenge her brothers so badly. I really liked her this season. OH WELLLL. Ribbons raeped her Haro, so it was all over for her.

Lol, Graham. Just...lol. And lol to Setsuna for not figuring out Mr Bushido was Graham until now. Graham joins the naked ranks, BUT ALLELUJAH STILL DOES NOT. Setsuna reveals the secrets of the world to Graham while they are floating nekkie in sparkles. Hell yea. And Graham says that he follows the bushido code of honor. SO INSANEEE.

Louise goes crazy. Seriously crazy. After she kills Nena she starts laughing, saying she finally did it, finally defeated a Gundam. Then she starts asking where her parents are and aren't they proud of her and why aren't they answering. She really starts crying here and says that this was why... and then screams. I think she realized then that yes, she avenged her parents, but no, there were no rewards for it, and she essentially ruined her life over this vengeance. The whole thing was really friggin heartbreaking. I cried even more when I knew what she was saying. And now I'm wondering if she has sort of gone past the point of no return, as Setsuna seems to think.

It looks like the final battle between Setsuna and Graham might be next episode, which really surprises me. I wasn't expecting that until 25 as the last thing in the series.

All in all, this was a friggin amazing episode, though. Seriously, this episode pretty much redeemed any minor sloppiness that has been in the last few. We finally know what the hell the point of the GN particles are and why the Innovators are the bad guys. And SHIT THIS SHOW IS SO AWESOME.

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:33:07 GMT

I WAS ABLE TO STREAM THIS EPISODE.

And it was the shit. End-of-season bloodbath is beginning early (I figured they'd wait a few more episodes after the last one). Nekkie scene was hardcore lol.

Louise, I am so proud of you. <3

More after subs come out.

NOOOOOOOOOO. Depressing episode.

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:38:41 GMT

LOOOOOOVVVED this episode. And I fucking love Lyle. His manly screams of anguish. <3

I cried. But first, what the hell was up with the opening theme, ggBSS? IT ANNOYED ME. TransGraham was funny but this was lame.

Not going to say too much here.

I am loling hardcore at all those people who are pissed that Anew died, because 2 episodes ago they were all going "SLUTTTTTT DIE DIE DIE." Need something to complain about much?

And why does everyone hate Lyle now? I love him. He finally got some massive character development.
Mah post about him in the comm...AWAITING FLAMESSSS.

Yea. Loved the episode. Lots of character development and emotion, and there were also a few trolling moments which just made me laugh my ass off. Like Revive and Haro. And Ribbons giving Louise that dirty look oh God.

Crappy animation here and there, but the battles made up for it. And the music. Yum. <3 The Regene song played again, and that other awesime track that's only played once so far (one of the battle tracks that began right after it, around 7:16. FUCCCKKKKK SOMEONE GIMME THIS SOUNDTRACK.

Soma saved Alle's butt a couple of times. Lame on his part, but at least it shows that she still cares about him. Tieria being pissed off at Sumeragi was epic.

Next episode preview shows WLM and HL still being alive, what the hell. Also mentions Setsuna crossing to the other side. And it shows Soma about to smack the shit out of Allelujah.

Laaame post, but I can't think of much to say right now. I'm getting really depressed about there being 5 episodes left. And I haven't been able to live stream them because Freshverse fucking died and I have a Mac, so the only other site doesn't work for me.

Praying they make some movies for this, even if they suck. I feel like my reason for existence is over in 5 weeks. Yea, fucking lame, but that's how my life is.

I do also have some hope for the new FMA starting the week after Gundam ends. No way in hell can it replace it, but it will give me something to look forward to, seeing as Gundam 00 has been the only half-decent anime to come out in about 2 years now (no, I loved Persona TS, too, but everything else I gave up on).

HALLELUJAH HAS A SEXY VOICE.

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:01:07 GMT

HALLELUJAH.

HALLELUJAH IS BACKKKK. Just for a second though wtf. I'm getting really annoyed with this. But damn he has one helluva sexy voice. The way he screamed Allelujah's name....~~so unbelievably dirty. I felt like I was watching porn.~~

Lots of stuff happened, and we all know what happened. Explosions and Saji-angst and kidnapped Innovators and Anew being a bitch and Nena going psychotic and YESSSSSSS STUFF.

I actually found the most interesting thing to be about Setsuna, who was supposed to have died already from the degeneration beam he got smacked with. Ribbons says something about it happening and freaks out, and he grows even more obsessed with getting 00 for himself (he and Graham should start a club). SETSUNA AND 00 ARE FUSING TOGETHER, CLEARLY. But yea. Very curious about that.

Really fucking sick of Saji and Louise. It's the same thing over and over. She already KNEW he was with CB, so why does this stupid thing have to happen again? They're taking up too much screentime and they're not even interesting. Let's see, what happened....oh yea, Saji cried again, Louise screamed again (and cried in her room again), Saji cried some more, Saji gets pissed at Setsuna about everything, Saji can't fight, blah blah blah. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU. We have 6 episodes left. Resolve your friggin teenage angst romance and get out of the way for the good stuff.

Anew is going to try to go back to Lockon because they need to have angst in their relationship. Then she will die, and Lockon will join the rejected-by-girlfriend club with Saji and Allelujah.

PS I don't really think it was Allelujah who stopped Soma from killing Andrei. He was already in retreat when Alle grabbed her, and she could have easily shaken him off had Saji not started screaming hysterically, which clearly made everyone go wtf.

Still wondering where Hilling's boobs disappeared to. Oh, Innovators. <3

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:22:00 GMT

FUCK YOU FRESHVERSE. FUCK YOU KEYHOLE.

I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL FUCKING SEASON FOR THIS EPISODE AND YOU HAVE TO RUIN IT FOR ME.

Freshverse ain't streaming it and Keyhole doesn't work in Macs.

I have to wait for the raws. BUT I am working 8-5 tomorrow. AND THEY MAY NOT BE OUT BY THE TIME I LEAVE. And when I get home I have a friggin 10-page paper to write, as well as a 5-page one. So they're gonna disrupt my Gundam delight.

I haven't been this pissed off in ages. YEARS PROBABLY.

I'm sitting here reading the comments at Gundam-Live and wondering WTF IS GOING ON.

HALLELUJAH, YOU KNOW YOU'RE COMING BACK NEXT EPISODE.

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:39:05 GMT

LOTS TO SAY ABOUT THIS EPISODE. And I'm very against-the-grain for a lot of it.

Momento Mori 2 going splodey was abrupt. Then again, it would have been weird for them to just say it had exploded at some point, so they kind of had to show it.

Kati's gone, which is no surprise. She's like Sergei, but unlike him, she's the type to make a turnaround instead of backing into the shadows. She can only accept things for so far, and EVERY time she's been in this season, she's been pissed off about the A-LAWS. I'm assuming she took Patrick with her. She's probably going to join up with Sumeragi or do something to screw up the A-LAWS.

Soma came back. What a surprise. Allelujah's been in denial about it and only after Lyle bitches him out does he accept it. He called her Soma for the first time this episode. Although he tells Lyle that he had sworn to Sergei that he would protect her and keep her from fighting. So that might explain things. I'm wondering when this happened, though. But damn is she slapping him around.

I cried at the Sergei/Soma flashback. Even though it was about five seconds. And Unlimited Sky played again during a scene that had nothing to do with them, so I'm wondering if this is more just the season-2 theme.

Lyle and Anew. I'm still a little wtf! about the bedroom scene, but not because of them "moving too fast". I just wasn't expecting that in 00. Then again, they were clothed, so I guess it was kind of ambiguous. They clearly have no problem with nudity in this show, so if they wanted it that clear that they were having sex, they would have had at least Lyle shirtless or something. Sooo I'm just going to say they were just cuddling or whatever, mainly because 00 becomes less cool if there's sex in it. I'm kind of mad about that.

HOWEVER, I do really like them actually. We finally hear about the Lyle/Neil relationship and learn more about Lyle. That and his talk with Allelujah showed another side to him as well. He's very human, probably the most human character in the whole series (definitely of the Meisters), and I found their relationship to be very natural and played-out well. It doesn't seem rushed or anything. I don't have any problems with her either. I wish she was more developed as a character though. And I thought his confession was kind of cute. But it also screams DOOOOOOM, like "I'm going to die, so let me say this."

Lot of relationship stuff going on. Which kind of annoys me because I just find that shit boring, but they're doing a good job at avoiding shojo BS. Seeing as they're all between 20 and 28 now, it would almost be unnatural for them to have had at least one love interest. Haha though I think Marina got shafted for Gundam in Setsuna's heart. Allelujah's finally beginning to understand Soma and realizing that Marie as he knew her is gone and has been gone for a long time. Lyle is struggling to have a normal relationship with a girl that he's having difficulty trusting. Saji's trying to find the resolve to fight for Louise, who he knows that he may have to kill (and she's in the same situation). So yea, some of them may be in dramatic situations, but it's never melodramatic and it doesn't override the plot. I find it annoying at times, especially when it dominates a character (ie Saji, Allelujah), and the bedroom scene still made me uncomfortable, but...yea. I guess it makes sense, considering how realistic they're trying to keep the series. =| I just don't like all the adult themes that are suddenly appearing.

OMG OMG OMG REGENE GOT SO FRICKING HOT WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN. And the music that started when WLM saw him with the code. That was awwweeeeessoommmeeee. And maybe WLM will finally do something, seeing as she's spent 43 episodes doing friggin nothing.

Andrei hugs Louise because she was five seconds away from crying. I don't think he's trying to take advantage of her, honestly. He's had a thing for her for over four months now and this is about all that's happened. SHE'S important to him, but I suspect he understands that there is something else going on with her. So much as I dislike him, I don't hate him for this as well.

Setsuna's not doing good. He smiled when he said his wound was fine. He never smiles. Which likely means he's dying.

That ending where they're all saying who/what they are fighting for? Setsuna's so damn cute. Little booo that Tieria didn't say Lockon, but that really wouldn't make sense in context and considering what Veda is to him. I found it interesting that Andrei mentioned his mother at that point, even though he already avenged her death. And Soma mentioned Sergei (while Allelujah mentioned Marie, who is officially dead now). Their relationship is breaking apart. Even if he's trying to understand her, it's pretty much gone. Even if she doesn't die, I seriously doubt it can ever be repaired.

Marina didn't get shot. No way do I believe that. Klaus or Shirin took the bullet for her. Because this episode we finally saw some evidence that they cared about each other, and in Gundam, this means that one is gonna die now.

Supposedly there aren't going to be too many deaths this season but I'm really not seeing that. Pretty much EVERY character has DOOOOOM over them now. Setsuna, Lyle, Soma, Saji, Shirin and/or Klaus, Regene, Tieria, Andrei....

I never thought they might kill off another Lockon. HIGH unlikely, but the possibility is there now. Because he has a reason to fight. And in helping Allelujah, he behaved more like Neil, which doesn't bode well.

MUST. HAVE. NEXT. EPISODE.

17. In the Midst of Scattered Light.

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:26:59 GMT

OH MY GOD.

Though I must say, that whole episode was big fucking amazing explosion. Guessing that's what the title was referring to.

We all knew it was coming, but Sergei finally got killed off (by fucking Andrei). Still bawled my eyes out. Not half as bad as Lockon, but...it was still pretty bad. I hate Andrei so much. Yea, we got character development for him, but he really is a lunatic. The second he showed up in episode 1 I suspected he'd be the one to kill Sergei, but DAMN WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!?

Marie was fighting and LO AND BEHOLD, Allelujah didn't have a problem with that, so all those people who claimed that he was a dominating ass just got proved wrong. What did I keep saying? Oh yea, exactly that. At any rate, I imagine that this whole situation will pretty much kill any relationship they had. Now that Sergei's gone, she might close off again, or she might hold it against CB because she wasn't there in time to protect him (unlikely, but it's possible). She might just go all Soma.

Though I have to wonder where she got the flightsuit. And Louise attacked her, which makes me kind of hate her now.

Someone mentioned that the background/window-screens in Ribbons' hangout were changed to one of the poles, but I don't know if that's right... I think this is the first time since the new ending that they've shown the windows, and the final ending has Seravee in the Arctic (unless those are the Southern Lights over him, which is possible). Impending doom.

Regene is totally going to eat Ribbons sooner or later.

Next episode takes place FOUR MONTHS LATER. And it looks like Setsuna got hurt AGAIN. Andrei and Louise wtf.

Guessing at the last major battles for people:
Setsuna -> Graham
Lockon -> Ali*
Allelujah -> Andrei*
Tieria -> Ribbons, Regene
Saji -> Louise

The two * I'm wavering on. I really don't think that Ali will be Setsuna's final enemy for various reasons, and Tieria's got enough to deal with (though it would be most satisfying and just if he was the one to kill him), so I'm guessing it will be Lockon. He wrote his brother's death off as absurd, but it was clear how shaken he was by meeting the man who killed him. That and Ali is tied up in a lot of Anti-Kataron business, which gives Lyle another reason to go after him.

Andrei could get killed off by either Allelujah or Soma. Though Soma would be more appropriate, I'm leaning towards Alle, probably even Halle. And not just because he's the only hero without a major enemy. XD I suspect that if Soma doesn't emerge again, Marie will pretty much be very similar to her and grow distant from Alle. She'll go on some hell-bent vengeance and get herself in trouble and Allelujah will have to help her. OR what I find to be more likely is that she'll get killed and Hallelujah will return, go ballistic, and kill Andrei. Because I still hold that Allelujah and Marie have had too much happy-time and therefore something bad must happen by Gundam standards. And her not being in the opening sequence of the song and Allelujah reaching forward and crying out is a little telling.

Though judging my comments I've seen, this episode has put faith back in a lot of people's minds over season two, which is a good thing. It was a damn good episode.