Opening songs
OP 1- Be Starters (Eri Kitamura)

Ending songs
ED 1- Kimi ni Gohōshi (Yuka Iguchi, Eri Kitamura, Mariya Ise)

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Episodes:12



Its easy to get turned on by sexy anime girls doing lewd stuff, and "Mayo Chiki" is one of those animes that excels in that extent. More than anything, its one of those normal and typical romance comedy anime that you can find anywhere. But then again,  with so much sexiness in one anime, "Mayo Chiki" is something I find super attractive! Still, as I said before, it's just another typical romance comedy anime before everything else, so other than some sexiness, there's really nothing special here. It isn't as funny as some others in the genre, but it does well enough to keep viewers genuinely interested.



Everyone loves swimsuits

Geh. I know it may just be me, but I don't find any of the songs used in "Mayo Chiki" to be appealing at all. The opening song is "Be Starters" by Eri Kitamura, and well, let's just say it sounds super cheesy. I like her works with Asami Imai in Artery Vein, but meh, this isn't for me. The ending "Kimi ni Gohōshi" by three of the seiyuus, isn't any better in my opinion. It still sounds cutesy and cheesy. A super awesome catchy tune like in "Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai" would have been just perfect, but oh well.



Rating:7.5/10



Its good, but its not good enough to hit the standards of 8 or more in terms of a score in my opinion. Its just one of those typical harems that you just watch and get it done. It has some pretty lovable characters and a not-so-cliche main character, but other than that, they are mostly just stereotypes. Still, stereotypes or not, I love them, and its just so hard not to grow a liking to some of the cast. Also, this is one of the more lewd anime titles, and while its not really R-18 standard like "Queen's blade", "High School DxD" or "Freezing", it goes to quite some extent to show off the bodies of our heroines.



Tis the fate of every main character in harems young one.....

Sakamachi Kinjirou is another high school kid, but he isn't exactly normal. He is a very weird guy with gynophobia, a strange phobia that gives him nose bleeds every time he touches a girl. This causes him to have quite a few problems. One day though, in school, he accidentally opens a door in the school toilet and discovers Konoe Subaru, a popular butler dude, inside. There is a problem though, he finds him wearing panties. After a crazy misunderstanding, he finds out that Subaru, though is a butler, IS in fact a cute girl pretending to be a guy. Now that he knows her secret, he is kept under Subaru and her master, Kanade's surveillance to make sure he doesn't leak out their secret. A new life begins!


"Mayo Chiki" is yet another one for those thick headed harem loving people (like myself). It is full of stuff you'd expect from a harem. Culture festivals, beach episodes, karoke and more. If you enjoy stuff like that in general for an anime, "Mayo Chiki" is actually a good watch. And of course, girls, lots of hot and cute girls.


Peace!

Friday 28 September 2012

Sword Girls

Gamespot Score:n/a

My score:7.3


(+)Pros: - Is a browser game, - Incredibly addictive when you first start up the game, - Card designs are great, - Game mechanics are simple and fun, - Tons of useful side activities via the lab, - Actually has a decently interesting lore behind the characters, - Is a browser game.

(-)Cons: - No effort in the story or lore other than card descriptions or small dungeon conversations, - Combat is rather luck based, - Very difficult to acquire different types of cards without tokens.



Gameplay time: -





"Sword girls" is super moe. I am serious. Ever wanted to play an anime card game where cute girls are on every card? Want to enter a world where girls fight for you against your opponent? Enter the world of "Sword girls"! Yes, I know it is a browser game, but if its something this awesome, its hard to resist. Being an online collectable trading card game, there is little effort you need to enjoy "Sword girls", especially if you're a fan of anime-ish girls. If you like card games, mainly stuff like "Magic:The Gathering", "Duel Masters" or "Yu-gi-oh", you can easily relate to sword girls, and get into it rather easily.



Well color me crazy but there is actually a pretty interesting lore/story going in "Sword girls"'s background. It takes the course of 4 faction types, the Vita, Academy, Crux and Darklore. Each of these factions have a leader, and they all have their own story/background. All leading to the fate of a young girl named Vernika, and how the dispute between the factions happened. It is an interesting tale, but it takes quite some effort to further research or delve into this enthralling tale other than what's already provided in the game.




A glimpse at the deck construction screen.

Lets go through the basics first. The most important part about about a card game, is the way it is played. In this case I'll call it the battle system. The battle system of "Sword girls" is fairly simple and before you know it, you'll catch on quickly. The tutorial starts off slow, but quickly brings you up to speed on how to play the game in the first dungeon. Before you know it, you're already a natural beating up on all your AI opponents. Each side starts with one character unit, with their own LIFE value. If the LIFE value of a character reaches 0, that player loses the game. Simple enough right?  This is similar to games like "Magic:The Gathering" or "Yu-gi-oh".


Other than the character, there are 5 other slots on each player's side of the field to either put down follower or spell cards. You can only have 5 cards on your side of the field at once. Spell cards vanish after use, leaving the slot it was placed at empty. Followers will stay until they are defeated. Followers have a base stat value of 3 numbers. One number represents its attack value, one its defense value and the last one is its stamina. In order for a follower to successfully attack the opposing character, their field must be empty first, thus all enemy followers must be defeated before you can hit them. Another thing is that each card has their own cost, and a field can only have up to 10 cost worth of cards. When a follower gets destroyed, the character that owns that follower takes damage equal to the cost of that monster.


How battles look like.

Of course there are a whole ton of different effects and themes the game has to offer, but I won't go too in depth. Overall the system is fun and you can easily dump dozens of hours in when you first get started. Doing quests will net you all sorts of rewards including tokens, which you use to purchase booster packs for more cards. Combine all these together and you'll have a dangerously addictive start to the game. You'll be playing match after match non-stop to clear dungeons and reap rewards from quests. To top it off, since I freaking love anime, the card designs really appeal to me. Not only are they all beautiful girls, they all have different designs and seem very varied. A job well done here! Freaking love the girls!


There are also a ton of fun side activities via the lab. In the lab, you can do a huge variety of things. Such include card crafting, which requires ingredients. You can also do various other things such as gathering materials, exchanging cards, giving "gifts" to your characters to "evolve" them into another different variation with different effects. There are also stuff like breaking down unwanted cards into materials are sending specific cards to the gym to gain more EXP for that card. These can eat up a lot of play time, since this is where you will be spending most of your time in to actually GET more new cards for your deck.



GIMME ALL THE GIRLS!

There are some gripes I have with "Sword girls". Yes I know its a free game and all but I find getting new cards to be a huge pain after awhile. Sure you get your initial tokens through quests and after that you have to work your ass off to craft cards that you actually want. This takes a long time as materials are usually hard to come by in dungeons. The story is also not really taken further other than dungeon conversations and card descriptions. This is a pity as you have to go to the official site and READ up the story to fascinate yourself in its interesting lore. Finally, one small thing in combat is that your targets are all random when your followers attack. This can be annoying at times, and you WILL lose a game that you were stomping just because of this. Happened to me many times.


Yes, "Sword girls" has its issues, but as with many other online games, it is absolutely free. It is a browser game, YES, A BROWSER GAME. You need no download whatsoever, and starting it up takes less than a few seconds, it is super convenient and you will learn to appreciate it. As a free collectable card game, it does its job well, just expect a slow rate of getting new cards. Or, you can always go for tokens if you really want to support the game. Its addictive as hell at the start, and even after you get pass that phase, it still stands as a solid free to play card game.





Happy gaming!


Wednesday 26 September 2012

Persona 4:Arena Character Impressions



Okay! I have been wanting to do this for awhile. "Persona 4:Arena" is bad ass and a ton of fun. I have already dumped in over 20 hours into this game, including tons of time into arcade mode, getting 100% completion for story mode and some time into score attack and challenge mode. Last but not least I went into some online ranked games for further experience (though that's not saying much, I only have about 50 matches so far).


That being said, I enjoyed my time with Arena. It's not quite time to put it down yet, I have to get some more ranked matches in before I can close this game for good. Also, I'll have to try my very best to get further into score attack (I'm getting thorn apart by Chie, the score attack for this is way harder than the one in Blazblue:CS). I love every character in the game, and thus, every character deserves a spot in this post!


Now, lets get on to it!



Yu Narukami



He's good. He's like, the Ragna of P4A. He is simple to use, he can easily do a good deal of damage, and can be played in many ways. Yu is easily one of the more versatile characters of the cast that can do everything pretty well. He is good at everything, but probably excels at none. His Persona Izanagi is another hard hitting dude that is quite slow at times, but can perform fairly well at both close range and far range.


I'd say he is one of the better characters in the game. It isn't hard to get the hang of him, and before you know it, you will be out of his auto combos, since you can easily pick up other combos that do way more damage with his kit. He has a dive kick, a overhead slash and a very powerful low hitting slide attack (it is however, punishable). Yu is good when every situation calls for it, and there's no reason beginners should leave him alone.


+Good damage output
+Beginner friendly
+Effective auto combo
+Not very Persona dependant

-Excels at nothing
-Slide is very punishable



Yosuke Hanamura





Yosuke is super fast. He's probably THE fastest character in the game, leaving Aigis in orgia mode in 2nd place. He can jump around, perform some dirty mixups and can close gaps on ranged opponents really easily. He is a ton of fun to play, and while he may not be the hardest hitting fella around, his speed is something not to be underestimated by any character of the cast.


Yosuke can leap around in the air like a squirrel, making him hard to hit, and usually Yosuke players will follow up with an attack to mix you up. Blocking against Yosuke can be really tricky, because he is just that fast. With the ability to just appear on the ground and deal damage while he is in the air, he is really good confusing his foes. He isn't very Persona dependent as well, making him a good choice overall. He can deal with ranged spammers easily because of his great speed.


+Super fast
+Prone to zoning
+Great at confusing your foes and performing mixups
+Not very Persona dependent

-Low damage output compared to other characters
-Needs to be at close range to deal damage most of the time
-Needs a lot of practice to be played efficiently



Chie Satonaka




Chie is super scary. I learned this the hard way through score attack. I shudder at just the thought of getting hit by that ridiculous kick. Chie does a lot of damage, and because of this she is very dependent on being at close range all the time. She can get zoned out pretty hard, but if she manages to get in on her opponent the amount of damage she can do is pretty crazy. Plus, she has one of the most noob wrecking auto combos in the game.


Chie is all about getting into your face and kicking you over and over until you drop. Thing is, if you let her do that, you're going to go down really quickly. Her signature kick is obnoxiously painful, and is something you don't want to get hit by. Most Chie players online use it to punish you when you go into the air, and this usually does a TON of damage. I once got kicked by an awakened Chie and it did about 30% of my health as damage. She is absolutely deadly at close range, and her DP is one of the best in the game.


+One of the best DPs in the game
+Great anti air defense
+Really good at close range
+Dat kick
+Not very Persona dependent

-Gets zoned big time









Yukiko Amagi





Yukiko is hot, but I was never a fan of the zoning kind. Yukiko depends on far ranged attacks and zoning, making her quite the turtle. Her melee potential is pretty bad, but she can deal with guys that try to get too close. Her Persona Konohana Sakuya can push melee attacker away from her at close range at just the press of a couple of buttons, and after that she can spam them with flames  and flames and more flames.


If you allow her to, Yukiko can  charge herself up to power up her flames, and make them even more powerful and out of hand. With that much flames and fire pillars covering your screen, it soon becomes very hard to deal with Yukiko. Her DP allows her to heal on the spot if you don't do anything about it, and that gets kind of cheap at times. However, she is super Persona dependent, as all she can do is throw fans if you take down Konohana Sakuya.


+Them flames
+Can charge to make her projectiles even more powerful
+Can keep melee attackers away if played right
+DP heals her

-Low health and defenses make her drop extremely fast
-Quite useless without her Persona



Kanji Tatsumi


Kanji Kanji Kanji.....oh how I loathe thee. Kanji is one of the game's pub stompers. He is a grappler, and his grabs do some insane damage. He has anti air grabs, grabs from the air, and normal ground command grabs from up close. It doesn't matter who you air. Kanji will find you, he will grab you, and he will absolutely DESTROY you.


Using Kanji is great and all, but fighting against him is usually a total nightmare. You will be constantly trying to get away from him and you'll be scared shitless trying to even get into melee range to combo him, since you never know when he will grab you.  This dude can grab you from anywhere if you try to get close, which is just sad for melee characters. You have to be VERY careful against this guy, he is just that scary. Oh and you won't want to try anything against him, his DP is just crazy.


+OP grabs with tons of variations
+Tons of health
+Going near him equals death
+Insanely overpowered DP

-Slow
-Losing his Persona will completely null 2 of his grab types 



Kuma/Teddie



 
Well, let's put it this way, Kuma will and can kill anyone. His unorthodox move-set and kit makes him one of the games most unpredictable and annoying characters to even deal with. His damage isn't too shabby, he has a pretty small hitbox and he has a great deal of health. His ability to dish out good melee damage and deal well with far ranged opponents make him a very strong pick, one of the best in the entire cast.


Teddie is awesome, because of  his size, many attacks will over you when you play as him. Some include Mitsuru's persona whip attack and Chie's signature kick. His mobility isn't the best thing in the world, but he kind of just floats around, and if he hits you, its going to be quite painful, despite his comical looks. He can spawn TVs and jump straight at your face if you are spamming him from afar, or can hit you with a hand puppet attack that is highly unpredictable and cause fear. Not a fun character to fight against.


+Small hitbox with a great amount of health
+Most of his attacks dish out a bunch of damage
+TV transportation is very useful
+Very unpredictable,  especially his circus ball super
+Beginner friendly

-Quirky movement might be hard to get used to 



Naoto Shirogane




Ah, my favorite detective girl Naoto. Naoto is a very difficulty character to master and use efficiently and because of this, I have epic failed when playing as her. Naoto can be best described as a trap and full screen lock down character. She will place traps all around the map like a boss and trigger death marks on you. When the count reaches 0, she can use a super, either hamaon or mudoon, to one shot you.


There are a lot of tricks to playing Naoto, unfortunately, I am no good at any of them. Locking down enemies from afar by spamming traps all over the screen and pinning them in one position with pistol shots is the most effective playstyle I have seen, and I got absolutely destroyed. There are other methods, Naoto is quite effective at melee range as well, since her Persona attacks have some good range to them, and even trigger death marks to a certain extent. In the right hands, she is super hard to deal with.



+Effective lock down potential

+Can stack traps like a boss
+Supers can one shot enemies with 0 death count
+Death count carries over to other rounds

+Low on health and defense

+Traps can be destroyed
+Very hard to play efficiently



Aigis



  

Aigis is another one of those characters that are very hard to use efficiently. You can play her as a typical spammer/keep away type of character, but that's just not utilizing her to her full potential. With Orgia mode, she can do some insane antics with her severely improved mobility and different attacks, more so than what she can do in her regular mode, which is rather limited. If used properly, she can be a complete beast to fight against.


Aigis runs on an ammo system, and she can spam bullets at you like a true keep away master. She also consumes bullets in some of her closed ranged normals and follow ups, so relying on those isn't really the way to go. The real potential in Aigis is in her Orgia mode cancels. In Orgia mode she can do so much that other characters can't, and because of her mobility, it is difficult to really adapt to fighting against her. Also, Athena is probably the only Persona that is mostly used defensively.



+Orgia mode makes her one of the best characters in the game

+Her Persona is really defensive and helps cover very well
+Can play keep away rather well

-Lackluster mobility outside of Orgia mode
-Ammo eventually runs out 
-Very hard to play efficiently



Misturu Kirijo




Mitsuru is just broken. She is not like the case with Kanji and Elizabeth, where they are just pub stompers, she is a legitimately overpowered character. Incredibly strong and long range normals, great combo potential and overly effective Persona abilities, this is one chick you will NOT want to mess with if your opponent is a skillful player. 



There is really not much to say about her. Her normals are insane, her DP just destroys people since she moves slightly forward during its animation and her Persona will just drag you in if you try anything funny. Keep away is not an option against Mitsuru, her Persona can drag you to her in ice state and she can just bash you up while you remain frozen. In many ways, she is a superior Jin from BB. Her stupid rapier stab is almost half screen in range and you'll most likely get hit. Overall she's just so painful to play against. I haven't seen a lot of Mitsurus online, but hell I have lost to every one of them so far.



+Long reaching normals

+Persona can drag people from afar and in the air
+Can deal a ton of damage even when her Persona is down
+Bufudyne is super cheap
+Her auto combo is ridiculously strong

-Very hard to play efficiently





Akihiko Sanada



Akihko is my main, and I'm proud of it. Not only does he look cool in his cheesy clothing, he is a complete rush down character, a play style that I can totally relate to! When it comes to rushing enemies with constant arrays of punches and melee strikes, no one does it better than Akihiko. Also, he's probably the manliest man of them all, because he is probably one of the few characters that don't rely on his Persona that much to win.


Akihiko is straight rush down, so most of the time you'll be running, jumping or just moving around trying to get to your opponent. Most people don't know what you can do, and the moment you get in range, you can just start pummeling their faces in. Of course they will block and shit, but when you start doing the auto combo follow up where Akihiko punches from both directions, you can make your opponent guess and attack low with a sweep or high with your overhead all out attack. Of course he has his weaknesses, but Akihiko is just so much fun to play!



+Super rush down

+Cornered opponents can just prepare to die
+Can do mix ups fairly well
+Does a lot of damage up close
+Beginner friendly

-Gets zoned hard

-Has no projectiles and reliable gap closers
-His normals have terrible range




Labrys



Labrys is one of the more obsolete characters in the game. You don't see her much at all online, and while she can hit fairly hard with that huge axe of hers, she is actually the hardest character to master in the game. It is very hard to play her properly and do anything that is actually damaging outside of her auto combo. I tried to learn Labrys, but she was too hard to play, and I eventually gave up.


Labrys may be able to do a ton of damage with her axe mechanic (it gets stronger as she hits you more), and her charging axe super can totally wipe out half of your health in one hit, but she has quite a few issues. Her mobility is bad, and her normals leave quite a lot to be desired. Her only gap closer, the chain arm, is quite punishable if used wrongly. Her Persona is her saving grace, as it helps hold her enemies in place for her to actually go in and deal some damage. Labrys probably needs the most practice to master properly out of the entire cast.



+Great melee damage

+Persona can lock opponents down for Labrys to go in and do damage
+Chain arm can be used to close gaps
+Charging the axe for a super can do some crazy damage

-Persona dependant

-Chain arm is punishable
-Very hard to play efficiently
-Bad normals



Shadow Labrys



Shadow Labrys may be similar to Labyrs in the way they attack, but their differences lie in their different Persona abilities. Shadow Labrys's persona is a huge bull, and is completely different compared to that of regular Labrys's. Because of this, both Shadow Labyrs and regular Labrys have very different play styles.


Much like Labyrs, her shadow counterpart focuses on using her Persona to make her an effective character. Shadow Labrys's Persona is out in the open all the time and is very vulnerable to being damaged and eventually destroyed, this will greatly hurt Shadow Labyrs as she is weak without her Persona. Her Persona can block, deal out hefty punches, breath flames that can hit enemies in the air and more. Using Shadow Labrys requires a lot of skill and micromanagement, as you have to control the Persona along with Shadow Labrys herself.


+Even greater melee potential than Labrys
+Persona can do a lot of heavy lifting
+Practically indestructible if played by a person with very strong micromanagement skills
+Everything Labrys can do, she can do it too

-Even more Persona dependant than Labrys
-She is way squisher than Labrys
-She will suck bad if you don't micromanage well



Elizabeth




Elizabeth is, without a doubt in my head, the game's biggest pub stomper. There are ways to deal with her, but online, she can basically destroy everybody. Her ability to dish out a ton of damage from any part of the map is incredibly ridiculous and unfair to any new player that doesn't know how to deal with her. Gaining knowledge to counter this dangerous girl is hard, but if you're smart enough, maybe you can deal with her.


Elizabeth can be played in many ways, mostly as a deadly ranged spammer or a mid ranged attacker. Her DP is practically a very cheap command grab that allows her to inflict a status ailment on you, meaning that you have NO CHANCE whatsoever against this girl. But there is one thing that is a fact, and that is if you play passively and look for openings, you can beat Elizabeth. Look for chances to poke Thanatos, because she is absolutely USELESS without her Persona. She might seem indestructible, but without Thanatos, she can do nothing against you. Use that time to beat her down as fast as you can, as she has the lowest health in the game, and if she gets Thanatos back, you're in for hell once again.


+Great projectile spammer
+Can lock you down easily
+Her Persona can do a mid screen command grab
+Can heal herself with Diarahan
+Super cheap DP
+Beginner friendly

-Practically useless without her Persona
-Has the lowest health in the game




There we go! That's every character in the game. Please note that these are purely based on my opinion and hey, you don't have to take my word for it if you don't want to. These are just my thoughts on the cast. "Persona 4:Arena" is awesome and hell, I think I already have had more of my money's worth with this game. 


But of course things aren't over yet! More ranked games to come for me for this game!  Persona forever!!!!!


Peace.







Opening songs
OP 1- My dearest (Supercell)
OP 2- The everlasting Guilty Crown (Egoist)

Ending songs
ED 1- Departures ~Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta~ (Egoist)
ED 2- Kokuhaku (Supercell)

Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Romance

Episodes:22



Sometimes you just watch anime because your good friend recommends it to you. Sometimes you watch them because you saw pictures of how awesome or appealing it looked. Most of the times its the latter, and honestly when someone recommends someone like me, who has watched tons of anime, something to watch, I don't really get my hopes up. But at times where something like "Guilty Crown" comes along, its a whole different story. Having originality and great concepts in one anime really makes it stand out among the rest, plus if you throw in an impressive plot, you have one kick ass anime. "Guilty Crown" delivers amongst those standards, and is one of those animes that are really hard to miss.



We need girls, yes we do.

I haven't really been following Supercell's none Miku related singles ever since Nagi left to pursue her own career (she was great, she should have stayed). "My Dearest" is the first opening song, and for some reason, I find it grating and...totally unappealing. I don't know, it just felt hard to listen to it, maybe its just me. The first ending song is "Departures ~Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta~" by Egoist, a fictional band from the anime. Its a slow song, so you know, "meh".


Now the second opening song, is one of the best anime openings I have heard in a LOOONG time. No kidding, it is just that phenomenal. Even now I find myself headbanging every time the song comes on. "The Everlasting Guilty Crown" is its name, and its by Egoist. SO EPIC, in so many ways, that is all I can say. Give it a listen, you will NOT regret it. Plus, the full version is 5 minutes, EPIC WIN. The ending, bleh, another slow song by Supercell, and its "Kokuhaku".



Rating:8.5/10


"Guilty Crown" is just one of those shows that everyone who watches anime can love. Its not about the fanservice or whatever. It focuses on plot over everything else, along with some character drama that can get people all emotional and sensitive. There is a ton of emotion, character development, and just straight out bad ass content that can only be found in "Guilty Crown", that cannot be found in others. To me, its kind of like an inferior "Code Geass", which is in fact, one of the gods of anime titles. Plus, it isn't afraid to show anything at all, it just goes all out, which is one of the good points of it.



Looks awesome already huh?

Shu is a sad young man with problems. Having no father and a foster mother that works most of the time, he spends his time alone. One day though he finds a girl named Inori in his secret hangout spot. After realizing that Inori is the lead singer to Egoist, one of the most famous song artists AND one that he loves to listen to, he devotes himself to helping her. She is hurt, and after listening to instructions from a weird little robot, he soon saves her and finds out that she belongs to a terrorist group known as the undertakers. He accidentally uses a top secret bio weapon on himself known as the void genome, and is able to extract voids, which are weapons or tools, out of others. With this new power, Shu enters a new meta game...



"Guilty Crown" is a great anime. I won't lie, I would recommend this to anyone who watches anime. This means that if you consider yourself someone who at least watches anime, this is a title that should not be missed. It is bad ass in more ways than one, and because of that, everyone can appreciate its visual flair and overall appeal. Double thumbs up from me!



Peace out.

Friday 21 September 2012

Bayonetta

Gamespot Score:8.0 (Great)

My score:8.0


(+)Pros: - Fun and accessible combat system, - Utterly ridiculous (it's a good thing), - Great boss fights, - Good mix of puzzle elements within the fun combat bits, - Impressive visual flair, - Non combat sections give the game a good change of pace.

 (-)Cons: - Long and frequent load times, - The camera is kinda quirky.


Gameplay time:Under 10 hours



Unless you're the type that absolutely hates 3rd person action games like "Devil may Cry" or "God of war", "Bayonetta" is a title that is sure to crack you up. Its utter ridiculousness gives its players a something to look forward to that little other games can ever accomplish. It has just the right amount of technical fun to be had through its accessible combat system, but other than that, there are many other things that the game does right to make it stand above the others, even if its just a little bit. More than anything else, you'll totally appreciate the impressive visual flair and amazing animations that the game throws you. Enter the world of "Bayonetta"!




The story of "Bayonetta" isn't a really great or memorable one, to me anyway.  You play as Bayonetta,  a witch who just woke up from a long slumber at the bottom of the lake. She remembers nothing, and has no choice to but take jobs from her lead, a dealer from hell, to find about more about herself. Through these jobs from killing angels, she slightly remembers a little of her past, and how she is related to the eyes of the world. On her latest job she is sent to a deserted town, where she meets another of her kind, and through her words she starts to unravel the truth of her missing past, while receiving tons of other unknown and unwanted information from individuals she would never have suspected.



Fight big baby heads as bosses.

Since "Bayonetta" is just another 3rd person action game like "Devil may cry", expect something similar (in fact I think the creator DMC had something to do with Bayonetta..). "Bayonetta" has a very solid combat system, and like DMC, you can perform combos and air juggles of different variations until you are green in the face. Combat feels fluid and you can execute a ton of different combos easily. Bayonetta fights like an empress! She has guns on her feet which let her shoot from afar or, most of the time, go up straight and brawl with enemies in their face! Using her hair to form gigantic hands or feet to crush them! She also has a ton of different weapons, including a katana,  a pair of elemental gauntlets and more!


Because of this, the possibilities open to you are pretty darn insane. You can do crazy combos with each weapon, and of course, you can execute them in ridiculous ways. You can dodge enemy attacks in the nick of time to enter witch time, a mechanic that slows down time for you to sever the enemies' heads, or witch walk to cling to walls. A torture attack is an execution, and they are, as I said, ridiculous. Bayonetta will kick an enemy into an iron maiden, spiking them in. She will spank a demon's ass before beheading them, or perform sexy bondage with a sexy angel woman until she dies of an insane orgasm. JUST RIDICULOUS! Also, big bosses, you can't have an epic action game without those guys. Huge and totally evil looking, they also have take a ton of strategy and planning to take down.


Take down angels in all shapes and sizes.

Of course, even though it is an action game, a game like "Bayonetta" cannot be just full on action all the way, it'll get old and repetitive quickly. Other than the action segments, the game has a good deal of puzzle parts that help mix things up a little bit. Though, these are pretty minor, they do help out in getting secret chests for reports or stones to increase your stats. These are mostly manipulating witch time and witch walk to get around to places you normally cannot. Well these little hints and secrets and net you some extra play time. 


The visual flair in this game is pretty impressive. Like its counterparts DMC and GOW, there are tons of impressive visual effects that'll leave your jaw dropping on the ground. Attacks looks flashy, cut scenes are so full of  overpowered destruction that it seems silly.  You will be watching in amazement at each action based cut scene. The game also does a good job in changing the pace with multiple other segments, like a motorbike segment or a 3rd person space shooter segment. These aren't exactly too annoying per se, but they help take us players away from the constant action, to take a break and relax a little.



A lot of the game is just non stop action.

Now, on to the flaws....While the game doesn't have a lot of flaws, I somehow didn't enjoy it as much as the likes of the 2 franchises I mentioned, "God of War" and "Devil May Cry". First things first, the one thing that annoyed me the most. The LOAD times. While they allow you to practice combos and attacks during the loading screen, its SO LONG and it happens SO FREQUENTLY. The other thing is the camera. The default camera itself is already pretty half assed, and in a game where high execution and precision are required, its kinda needed for the camera to be fluid, to,  you know, FOLLOW THE CONSTANT FLOW OF ACTION?



"Bayonetta" is yet another game in the constantly evolving genre of action games. A second one has been announced, but I'm not exactly hyped for it. "Bayonetta" is a good action game with a ton of ridiculousness in it to make it stand out over the rest. The sheer amount of nonsense in it is just too much to be ignored, and sometimes, being ridiculous is a good, as we can see in this game. If you're a fan of 3rd person action games, it may very well be worth giving "Bayonetta" a spin.



 

Happy gaming.


Opening songs
OP 1- Zannen Kei Rinjinbu (Marina Inoue, Kanae Ito, Misato Fuuken, Yuka Iguchi, Kana Hanzawa, Nozomi Yamamoto)

Ending songs
ED 1- My feelings (Marina Inoue)

Genre: Comedy, Slice of life

Episodes:12



I love me my daily dose of harem, and here's one of those harem animes that I really enjoyed my time with! "Boku wa Tomodachi ga sukunai" or also known as "Haganai", is a great harem based anime that ANY harem loving idiot will come to like. Great girls, great characters, great comedic value, "Haganai" has it all, and its definitely worth your time if you're into girls at all. With tons of well known seiyuu and different types of girls, you practically be spoiled for choice! Unless you completely loath the genre of harem itself, its really hard not to like "Haganai", and you'll know why when you watch it.



They should just be paired up, even though they're both girls.

The opening song is just.....indescribable. It is addictiveness in its true form. "Zannen Kei Rinjinbu" is sang by all the seiyuus of the 5 girls, and it is just too catchy for human ears. I am about to die from going crazy by just spamming this song. Its not awesome in any way, its just too catchy in my opinion! The song itself is like crack, you'll keep going back to it because its too addictive. The ending is your usual "cheesy" song, I'm not really going to go there just because.



Rating:8.0/10


Greatness. I like my harems, but little come so close to reaching my "8" standards. "Haganai" is a great harem with so much greatness in it, you can't help but feel sucked in. The way the anime is being shown is kind of unique, and since there is no real related romance in it at all, it completely crosses out the unnecessary romance stuff. Because of this there is much more room for comedy, which is the main focus of "Haganai". There are tons of parody and references to other existing franchises as well, making it all the more enjoyable when stuff like that gets shown.



So are most of the girls in the anime.

So the star of the show is Kodaka, a normal high school kid that is highly misunderstood. Because of his gold hair color, many students in school think that he is a delinquent, and because of this he is usually avoided and attracts a lot of unwanted attention. He gets into fights with other delinquents, and normal students avoid him. Some life. One day he notices a girl in his class, Yozora, to be talking to a imaginary friend. After a short talk between the 2, they quickly realize that they both have no friends, so Yozora makes a club specifically for those with no friends to join. Immediately, those without friends flock in, and a new club is formed!


"Haganai" is truly an enjoyable experience for harem lovers. If you even have the slightest interest in harems, "Haganai" is for you. If anything at all, it is a great comedic experience as well. Looking for something that's funny without the chore of romantic elements? Look no further, you have found your destination!


Peace!



"Deadman Wonderland", something I just reviewed yesterday. I don't think I need to do much of a description here. "Hatsukoi Limited" is just romance anime at its best. If you want something other than just the standard harems where the main character doesn't choose a girl at the end, "Hatsukoi Limited" is the perfect anime in that sense. "Hayate no gotoku"...I doubt anyone wouldn't know what this one is.


*SPOILERS*


Deadman Wonderland


All right, it was only yesterday, so I won't really go too much into "Deadman Wonderland". It is a violent and gory shonen anime with tons of action of mature content, something that I enjoyed quite a bit. Now let's go on to my favorite character of the anime.



She's psycho, that's like, totally cool.

For some reason whenever I think of "Deadman Wonderland", I think of Minatsuki. Not only is she cute and sexy, she is one sadistic bitch. She is EASILY the most memorable character in the anime, and it feels right, being a crazy psycho bitch and all. Well, I didn't really like most of the "Deadman Wonderland" cast anyway, except for those really strong and badass one. For the record, I totally dig badass chicks, I think Minatsuki is one of them.


Well let's see, Minatsuki's power is the most unique in my opinion, out of all the many different branch of sins. First, it utilizes two ear studs on her, and when she removes those, blood flows out and transforms her hair, turning them into temporary blood whips, which she may use to whip or slash enemies. That's pretty cool ain't it?


Minatsuki is a sadist, crazy, psycho little girl. She's pretty young, and she's Yoh's younger sister. Before her match with Ganta she tricked him, acting all shy and innocent, pretending to be a nice girl. However when the match began she revealed her true colors and went all crazy mode. Even though she lost, she got to reconcile with Ganta and her brother during the end, so its all happy happy. I cannot wait to see her again though, there's probably going to be another season anyway.




Hatsukoi Limited


This one's quite old. Its been awhile since I watched "Hatsukoi Limited", and because of this, my memory of this anime is pretty faint. But still, I do remember it being totally lovey dovey and stuff, with real romance that most other animes fail to show or portray. It focused on tons of side stories featuring different couples, so if I were to remember...



Super, super cute, that you cannot deny!

Yay for Ayumi! There were way too many characters in "Hatsukoi Limited" in my opinion, and since there was no real emphasis on any character at all, it was hard to really remember my favorites. Ayumi was always really cute, and the fact that she had 2 guys in her love life really made her stand out. Plus, that Zaitsu Misao guy has the hots for her, that was funny.


Ayumi was kind of the "main girl", as I think she sees more screen time than any of the other girls in the anime. Good thing too, since I found her to be the cutest, slightly in front of Koyoi, the girl with the brother complex. Ayumi, along with Koyoi, were always pretty funny, since the boys the love are all head over heels over the same girl (the one with the sexy body, can't remember her name), they click very well together.


My favorite moment for Ayumi was during the final parts of the anime, when the 3 guys ran away from home on a journey to find themselves, and when the girls found them, they confessed their love for each other, Ayumi was no different. She confessed to Zaitsu, and that was the part that gained her independence. Her brother stopped being over protective, and she got a little bit of recognition from Zaitsu. Go Ayumi!


Hayate no Gotoku Series


Everyone knows about "Hayate no Gotoku!". Its practically one of the very well known anime out there with a lot of fans and viewers. I got into it back in 2007 (shit, its 5 years already?!), and till now I'm still quite into it. Talking about the life of a young butler having to work at the hand of a little spoiled brat that only knows how to play games and read manga is pretty amusing. Plus, its many funny characters help make it even better!



If only I had an awesome maid....

So. Maria. She was the first girl that I found hot in "Hayate no Gotoku". Not at first of course, it was the first episode where she wasn't wearing her maid costume, I forget. Being the most mature amongst the Sanzenin household (yes I think she is even more mature than Klaus), she is easily the big sister type. Because of this, she mixes well with everyone and eventually became a character that was hard not to like.


One episode in season 2 actually had this popularity contest thing and Maria was 2nd place! Kind of expected actually, with her being so hot, mature and cute at the same time. Seems like the general viewing public likes the big sister types. But because she is so mature, the cast usually mistakes her for some one older, and when she keeps reminding them that she is 17, they go all stunned and she gets mad. That is priceless.


On top of being a beauty Maria is also a genius. Being able to speak 13 languages at the age of 17 and graduating from high school at a stupidly young age....she still went to be Nagi's butler. Kay. It's also quite obvious she has the hots for Hayate, just like most of the girls in the anime. Maria, the sexy maid triumphs as one of my favorite characters of "Hayate no Gotoku!", along with.....



Cheers to everybody's favorite pink haired student council president!

...this chick. Hinagiku is, without a doubt, the most popular character in "Hayate no Gotoku!", even that popularity episode stated it! Hinagiku is like, a perfect girl. She's smart, independent, beautiful, skilled with the sword and mixes well with others. Perfect for any guy, except that Hayate, like most anime protagonists, is too dumb founded to notice that she has the hots for him. Poor poor Hinagiku....


You know why people like Hinagiku? TSUNDERE! Tsundere and the fact that she goes from a totally perfect girl into a squeaky little scared bunny when shes in a very high place. She is scared of heights, and honestly, that's the best part of her. When she goes all scared mode...it kind of makes her look like a super cute and attractive girl, even more so than the already is.


Well Hinagiku is one of the 2 girls (actually, 3 girls), that want to go for Hayate. Her, Nagi and Ayumu, though I'd say Nagi has no chance in hell with him. Ayumu and her are good friends and they have this little love triangle thing going on we usually see in anime.  Even though they know they are love rivals they still act like good friends. Yay for Hinagiku and Ayumu.


Peace out for now!