I don't really know what to talk about today.
My car's in to do the new wheel today, so I'll be £200 lighter by the end of the day. Sigh...
It's actually depressed me a bit, cos it just seems to yet another thing that's gone not well. I mean, I could have hit the pothole and simply burst the tyre. Don't get me wrong - that would have been a pain the arse, and expensive, but it would have been a lot simpler and cheaper than what I've ended up with, which is having to buy two new wheels and all the inconvenience that's gone with it.
So I thought I'd just do some mini-reviews of some manga:
Gurren Lagann (manga version)
This is the manga version of an anime I love.
Overall I'd say it works - there's quite a lot of tweaks to the story, which is good, but it retains the core of the story. Also, the artwork is pretty good.
Dogs: Bullets & Carnage
I read the first volume, which was actually a collection of short stories, that's then been continued in this series, and that was really good. The ongoing series is less so, because where the short stories were quite imaginative and interesting, the ongoing series seems to have fallen back on a lot of clichés.
The artworks' nice (if a little confusing in the action sequences), though.
Bokurano
I used to really like a manga called Shadow Star/Narutaru. I say used to because my enjoyment of it was spoiled a little by the poor treatment it got from Dark Horse. Basically, it used to be published in a monthly manga comic called "Super Manga Blast" with then anthology volumes put out subsequently. Well, SMB died a death and I'd assumed that the manga it contained would still be released as volumes. But nope, that was it - no more releases, you don't get to read the rest of the mangas!
Bokurano is by the same guy and it's very much in the same style - a very dark undercurrent underneath what seems like normality. There's actually been an anime version that I sampled but has never been licensed.
Biomega
Biomega is by the guy who did Blame, which is one of my favourite mangas of all time.
Biomega's strength, and, to be honest, it's weakness is that's it's more of the same. Saying that, there is one big difference here - there's more of a tangible story, and if I'm honest I'm not sure if I like it or not yet. An aspect of Blame I really liked was that, although there was clearly a story there, it was kinda lost and in many ways didn't matter. Biomega's story is more familiar, being roughly a zombie apocalypse deal.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
ooh, in't it nice
This week has been veritably lovely weather.
I often tend to say about the British weather that it tends to come with exclamation points. By that I mean that when a new season rolls around the weather will change without much warning.
So up until last week we've I've been freezing my knackers off, but then suddenly this week it's been all gloriously spring sunshine and temperatures in the teens. So it wasn't any kind of gradual build up, but a sudden shift from one type of weather to another.
Of course, there's no guarantee that the weather won't flip and we'll get a sudden cold snap, but I think it's safe to say we're pretty much over the worst of the winter. And thank Jesus H Chrimble for that, to be frank.
I bit the bullet and renewed my insurance yesterday. As mentioned, I decided to protect my no claims, which cost about £41 to do, but as noted, given how my luck's been going, if I do need to make a claim I
I finished Dragonaut. The nosedive into total rubbish that I'd heard mentioned in reviews failed to materialise, although if I'm being totally honest, the end was a little bit of a mess.
The problem, though, seemed to bee very much one of ambition outstripping talent. I was actually struck by quite a few resemblances to Evangelion towards the end, but unlike that series, the writing just wasn't good enough to pull it off.
I think the main thing I'd say was it was a little heavy handed in putting across its message, and the dialogue was rather clunky as a result. Admittedly, I ended up pretty much sticking to the dub version as it was quite well done, so that may be a part of it, but still, glances at the subtitles suggested it wasn't all that different.
The other problem is they were left with a few plot holes you could easily drive truck through, but that's nothing new for anime, I'm afraid. Especially Gonzo anime.
I also finished the first volume of Gantz. I was unsure quite what to expect from Gantz. I'd heard it was rather violent and that was it. While it was pretty violent, that's not something that really concerns me, so overall I liked it and decided to order the remaining volumes.
One thing I would say is I'm not sure about the artwork. I don't think I'd classify it as 'bad' in the same way I would, say, DMC (which I think is meant to be like that, btw), but it's not the greatest. The characters don't always look consistent and some of the faces are off and stuff. It's nothing I can't live with, though.
And I also started Ouran High School Host Club last night. Too early to really give an opinion as I've literally watched 2 episode, but I enjoyed them, so it's looking good.
I often tend to say about the British weather that it tends to come with exclamation points. By that I mean that when a new season rolls around the weather will change without much warning.
So up until last week we've I've been freezing my knackers off, but then suddenly this week it's been all gloriously spring sunshine and temperatures in the teens. So it wasn't any kind of gradual build up, but a sudden shift from one type of weather to another.
Of course, there's no guarantee that the weather won't flip and we'll get a sudden cold snap, but I think it's safe to say we're pretty much over the worst of the winter. And thank Jesus H Chrimble for that, to be frank.
I bit the bullet and renewed my insurance yesterday. As mentioned, I decided to protect my no claims, which cost about £41 to do, but as noted, given how my luck's been going, if I do need to make a claim I
I finished Dragonaut. The nosedive into total rubbish that I'd heard mentioned in reviews failed to materialise, although if I'm being totally honest, the end was a little bit of a mess.
The problem, though, seemed to bee very much one of ambition outstripping talent. I was actually struck by quite a few resemblances to Evangelion towards the end, but unlike that series, the writing just wasn't good enough to pull it off.
I think the main thing I'd say was it was a little heavy handed in putting across its message, and the dialogue was rather clunky as a result. Admittedly, I ended up pretty much sticking to the dub version as it was quite well done, so that may be a part of it, but still, glances at the subtitles suggested it wasn't all that different.
The other problem is they were left with a few plot holes you could easily drive truck through, but that's nothing new for anime, I'm afraid. Especially Gonzo anime.
I also finished the first volume of Gantz. I was unsure quite what to expect from Gantz. I'd heard it was rather violent and that was it. While it was pretty violent, that's not something that really concerns me, so overall I liked it and decided to order the remaining volumes.
One thing I would say is I'm not sure about the artwork. I don't think I'd classify it as 'bad' in the same way I would, say, DMC (which I think is meant to be like that, btw), but it's not the greatest. The characters don't always look consistent and some of the faces are off and stuff. It's nothing I can't live with, though.
And I also started Ouran High School Host Club last night. Too early to really give an opinion as I've literally watched 2 episode, but I enjoyed them, so it's looking good.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
x men origins: wolverine
This weeks movie action was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which I believe has been almost universally panned by critics.
And if I'm honest, I can see why. One of the problems with adapting comics has got to be that comic book storylines can be rather convoluted at times. They can also be more than a little nerdy.
So there's always going to be a conflict - do you stick closely to the source material and please the fans? Or do you tweak, adapt and add so that non-comic nerds can get it too?
Of course the answer is to tread a fine line between the two - keep enough so that the fans are happy, but tweak enough so that non-fans get it too. The real key of course is telling a compelling story. Which is where this really falls down. The story just isn't that compelling.
Another problem they've got here is that this is a prequel to a successful trilogy of movies, so they have to end at a point where the existing films pick right up. But they have the added disadvantage that Wolverine's past actual forms one of the core parts of the existing trilogy's store. In other words, we know the jist of the film already.
It also doesn't help that what is one of the more interesting bits of Wolverine's origin - him being Weapon X - is actually skipped over pretty quickly in the film. He gets Weapon X-ified, but the whole bit of him being Weapon X is chopped out.
Also, for me personally the whole Wolvie/Sabretooth thing is actually not all that interesting, and that forms the main part of this story. So it's a bit like a horse with three legs before its really even got a chance to entertain us.
What then makes it a not very good film is that where it does have a chance to be purely entertaining, it kinda fails. I mean, given the scale of some of the stuff in the X-Men films, the action sequences here are distinctly lacklustre. I mean, it feels like they were working with a rather limited budget, shall we say? It also doesn't help that the thing about Wolvie is that he's a proper killer, and yet the stuff here is rather bloodless, presumably so they could get a good rating.
So it was kind of a let down, really.
For me personally as a comic-nerd there were also a few additional problems. I don't generally mind them buggering about with the comic characters too much, but I have to say what they did with Deadpool went a bit far - they somehow gave him loads of other people's powers, including, adamantium swords that grow out of his hands, a bit like Wolvie's claws.
Which brings up all sorts of issues - how the heck these long swords fit in his arms, for one thing, but also, does that mean he also has an adamantium skeleton? Wolvie had bone claws onto which the adamantium grafted, so how did they give Deadpool the swords?
And Deadpool also had all sorts of other powers too, but there doesn't seem to be a point in the film where they're removed, so does that mean Deadpool is some sort of super mutant? Which is to ignore the fact of how they managed to give him the powers in the first place - it seemed remarkably simple and begs the question why they aren't doing it to loads of mutant and to non-mutants.
Which is kinda the other thing - there seemed to be loads of plot holes, and not just with Deadpool. For example, there's a scene where Wolvie believes someone to be dead and it's later explained they're not. But this is Wolvie - he has super hearing and smell and stuff - there's no real reason he wouldn't detect the person was still alive.
And if I'm honest, I can see why. One of the problems with adapting comics has got to be that comic book storylines can be rather convoluted at times. They can also be more than a little nerdy.
So there's always going to be a conflict - do you stick closely to the source material and please the fans? Or do you tweak, adapt and add so that non-comic nerds can get it too?
Of course the answer is to tread a fine line between the two - keep enough so that the fans are happy, but tweak enough so that non-fans get it too. The real key of course is telling a compelling story. Which is where this really falls down. The story just isn't that compelling.
Another problem they've got here is that this is a prequel to a successful trilogy of movies, so they have to end at a point where the existing films pick right up. But they have the added disadvantage that Wolverine's past actual forms one of the core parts of the existing trilogy's store. In other words, we know the jist of the film already.
It also doesn't help that what is one of the more interesting bits of Wolverine's origin - him being Weapon X - is actually skipped over pretty quickly in the film. He gets Weapon X-ified, but the whole bit of him being Weapon X is chopped out.
Also, for me personally the whole Wolvie/Sabretooth thing is actually not all that interesting, and that forms the main part of this story. So it's a bit like a horse with three legs before its really even got a chance to entertain us.
What then makes it a not very good film is that where it does have a chance to be purely entertaining, it kinda fails. I mean, given the scale of some of the stuff in the X-Men films, the action sequences here are distinctly lacklustre. I mean, it feels like they were working with a rather limited budget, shall we say? It also doesn't help that the thing about Wolvie is that he's a proper killer, and yet the stuff here is rather bloodless, presumably so they could get a good rating.
So it was kind of a let down, really.
For me personally as a comic-nerd there were also a few additional problems. I don't generally mind them buggering about with the comic characters too much, but I have to say what they did with Deadpool went a bit far - they somehow gave him loads of other people's powers, including, adamantium swords that grow out of his hands, a bit like Wolvie's claws.
Which brings up all sorts of issues - how the heck these long swords fit in his arms, for one thing, but also, does that mean he also has an adamantium skeleton? Wolvie had bone claws onto which the adamantium grafted, so how did they give Deadpool the swords?
And Deadpool also had all sorts of other powers too, but there doesn't seem to be a point in the film where they're removed, so does that mean Deadpool is some sort of super mutant? Which is to ignore the fact of how they managed to give him the powers in the first place - it seemed remarkably simple and begs the question why they aren't doing it to loads of mutant and to non-mutants.
Which is kinda the other thing - there seemed to be loads of plot holes, and not just with Deadpool. For example, there's a scene where Wolvie believes someone to be dead and it's later explained they're not. But this is Wolvie - he has super hearing and smell and stuff - there's no real reason he wouldn't detect the person was still alive.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
even more scanning
This last weekend I did some more scanning.
I actually completely scanned two whole issues of megami, which I was fairly pleased with. Now the reality is that this isn't a rate that means I'm really catching up - the latest Newtype, Animedia and Animage turned up on Friday, giving a net increase of 1 magazine, but it does mean I've not given up, and that really id the most important thing.
From memory, I've 4 more issues of megami currently unscanned and it's my sincere hope that I'll be able to do some more of them this next weekend. I'm not going to promise myself or anything, because you never know what might happen, but the main point is that last weekend there were additional distractions.
For example, it was one of my cleaning weekends and of course I had to pick up my glasses and buy some petrol, but mainly it was the Bahrain Grand Prix. Any Grand Prix weekend adds a minimum of 3 hours to my viewing schedule - the race is normal about 1.5 hours and qualifying about 1, but spread over about 1.5 hours. Normally, however I also like to watch a good chunk of the punditry, although not all of it.
Anyway, the point is, next weekend is free of most of those types of things, so in theory I should be able to at least get a couple more megamis done like last weekend. Who knows I may even do more, but again, no promises.
Anyway, while I scanned I did watch a bit more anime, although I also had the F1 punditry on for a good chunk of it. I've therefore not watched as much as I might have done, but here's the mini reviews:
Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana)
I really liked what I watched of this, although it's a bit odd that it appears to be another Yuri (lesbian) themed show. I guess Yuri must be the flavour of the month or something, because there have been a lot of shows featuring it recently.
The take here is quite a gentle one, and it works very well. It's also basically a slice of life show set in high school, so I guess it doesn't win any marks for originality, but it seems well executed and intelligent, so you can't really ask for more.
GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class
I enjoyed this, overall, but it felt a bit like I'd seen it before. I don't actually know, as I've never read the manga, but it had a strong feeling of being an adaptation of a four-panel comic. By that, I mean that the episode was almost divided up into a series of vignettes.
I was also unsure what the target audience was - the art design bit in the title isn't just a framing thing, it kinda teaches you about art techniques and stuff. I was therefore puzzled if that meant it was mean to be aimed at a younger audience, or if that was just the style the manga-ka liked.
I can't say it didn't work, but also it felt too similar to the likes of Sunshine Sketch and Azumanga Daioh, but it looses out to them a bit for me because there wasn't really much in the way of character development.
I also watched a bit more of Dragonaut (6 whole eps at the weekend and then 4 more last night in fact) and I continue to find it reasonably entertaining. Unless it takes a real nosedive towards the end I'm really not sure why so many reviews have crapped all over it. I mean, it's not the greatest thing ever and there are a few clunking episodes (one I dubbed "the power of love" was particularly heavy-handed in terms of spelling out 'the message', but then hey - at least there is a message) but it doesn't seem to match up with the pannings its gotten.
On the manga front I've mainly been catching up with my re-reading. I've discussed it before I'm sure, but I like to read stuff twice, but I also like to read things in chunks. What that means is that I don't immediately re-read a volume, but instead wait until I've a small stack of the same series to re-read and then I tackle them all together.
It means that while I might not get to update my MAL with stuff, I am still consistently plugging away at reading manga.
The only new manga I have read is the first volume of the adaptation of Gurren Lagann and a little bit of the first volume of Gantz. It's too early to really be sure if I like them, but the signs are pretty good.
I actually completely scanned two whole issues of megami, which I was fairly pleased with. Now the reality is that this isn't a rate that means I'm really catching up - the latest Newtype, Animedia and Animage turned up on Friday, giving a net increase of 1 magazine, but it does mean I've not given up, and that really id the most important thing.
From memory, I've 4 more issues of megami currently unscanned and it's my sincere hope that I'll be able to do some more of them this next weekend. I'm not going to promise myself or anything, because you never know what might happen, but the main point is that last weekend there were additional distractions.
For example, it was one of my cleaning weekends and of course I had to pick up my glasses and buy some petrol, but mainly it was the Bahrain Grand Prix. Any Grand Prix weekend adds a minimum of 3 hours to my viewing schedule - the race is normal about 1.5 hours and qualifying about 1, but spread over about 1.5 hours. Normally, however I also like to watch a good chunk of the punditry, although not all of it.
Anyway, the point is, next weekend is free of most of those types of things, so in theory I should be able to at least get a couple more megamis done like last weekend. Who knows I may even do more, but again, no promises.
Anyway, while I scanned I did watch a bit more anime, although I also had the F1 punditry on for a good chunk of it. I've therefore not watched as much as I might have done, but here's the mini reviews:
Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana)
I really liked what I watched of this, although it's a bit odd that it appears to be another Yuri (lesbian) themed show. I guess Yuri must be the flavour of the month or something, because there have been a lot of shows featuring it recently.
The take here is quite a gentle one, and it works very well. It's also basically a slice of life show set in high school, so I guess it doesn't win any marks for originality, but it seems well executed and intelligent, so you can't really ask for more.
GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class
I enjoyed this, overall, but it felt a bit like I'd seen it before. I don't actually know, as I've never read the manga, but it had a strong feeling of being an adaptation of a four-panel comic. By that, I mean that the episode was almost divided up into a series of vignettes.
I was also unsure what the target audience was - the art design bit in the title isn't just a framing thing, it kinda teaches you about art techniques and stuff. I was therefore puzzled if that meant it was mean to be aimed at a younger audience, or if that was just the style the manga-ka liked.
I can't say it didn't work, but also it felt too similar to the likes of Sunshine Sketch and Azumanga Daioh, but it looses out to them a bit for me because there wasn't really much in the way of character development.
I also watched a bit more of Dragonaut (6 whole eps at the weekend and then 4 more last night in fact) and I continue to find it reasonably entertaining. Unless it takes a real nosedive towards the end I'm really not sure why so many reviews have crapped all over it. I mean, it's not the greatest thing ever and there are a few clunking episodes (one I dubbed "the power of love" was particularly heavy-handed in terms of spelling out 'the message', but then hey - at least there is a message) but it doesn't seem to match up with the pannings its gotten.
On the manga front I've mainly been catching up with my re-reading. I've discussed it before I'm sure, but I like to read stuff twice, but I also like to read things in chunks. What that means is that I don't immediately re-read a volume, but instead wait until I've a small stack of the same series to re-read and then I tackle them all together.
It means that while I might not get to update my MAL with stuff, I am still consistently plugging away at reading manga.
The only new manga I have read is the first volume of the adaptation of Gurren Lagann and a little bit of the first volume of Gantz. It's too early to really be sure if I like them, but the signs are pretty good.
Monday, 15 March 2010
ouch!
Well, the weekend was horribly expensive, as expected.
And not quite in all the ways I was expecting.
For example, the MOT and Service cost me more than expected, because they'd replaced my wipers. Now really they're mean to phone me if they want to do stuff like that, but they didn't, and it meant the total charge was around £65 (wipers are one of those things that cost way more than you'd think).
But also I got some horrible news. You remember the pothole I hit and that has been the bane of my existence (and bank account) for months? Well it turns out the wheel wobble I was getting was because the back wheel was also dented.
That means that hitting one pot hole has damaged 2 of my alloy wheels, which cost £185 each, and a tyre, which costs about £120. With labour, that's more than £500 for hitting 1 pothole.
It also means I've got to go back next Friday and get the wheel replaced (and the tyre changed over and rebalanced and that).
I also did the Nissan Roadside assistance, which was actually cheaper than I was expecting at £65 for the year and paid my Road Tax, which was £150; however after the depressing news at even more expense I didn't do my insurance as well. I'm thinking about protecting my no-claims, which costs about £50, but will also mean if I have an accident (and the way my luck's been going it seems likely) it'll save me money in the long term.
And speaking of my luck, I picked up my glasses on Saturday. And I've come to the conclusion that the right lens isn't the correct prescription. At distance and when reading subtitles on a DVD it's definitely slightly blurry. It's not enough to mean I can't see, but it's not right.
Which means I'll have the hassle of getting it fixed. I mean, why can't I just have something that goes really well and is better than expected?
If I believed in such things as karma, it means I must have been very naughty in a previous life.
And not quite in all the ways I was expecting.
For example, the MOT and Service cost me more than expected, because they'd replaced my wipers. Now really they're mean to phone me if they want to do stuff like that, but they didn't, and it meant the total charge was around £65 (wipers are one of those things that cost way more than you'd think).
But also I got some horrible news. You remember the pothole I hit and that has been the bane of my existence (and bank account) for months? Well it turns out the wheel wobble I was getting was because the back wheel was also dented.
That means that hitting one pot hole has damaged 2 of my alloy wheels, which cost £185 each, and a tyre, which costs about £120. With labour, that's more than £500 for hitting 1 pothole.
It also means I've got to go back next Friday and get the wheel replaced (and the tyre changed over and rebalanced and that).
I also did the Nissan Roadside assistance, which was actually cheaper than I was expecting at £65 for the year and paid my Road Tax, which was £150; however after the depressing news at even more expense I didn't do my insurance as well. I'm thinking about protecting my no-claims, which costs about £50, but will also mean if I have an accident (and the way my luck's been going it seems likely) it'll save me money in the long term.
And speaking of my luck, I picked up my glasses on Saturday. And I've come to the conclusion that the right lens isn't the correct prescription. At distance and when reading subtitles on a DVD it's definitely slightly blurry. It's not enough to mean I can't see, but it's not right.
Which means I'll have the hassle of getting it fixed. I mean, why can't I just have something that goes really well and is better than expected?
If I believed in such things as karma, it means I must have been very naughty in a previous life.
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