2013: The Year In Review

     As a year comes to a close, I like to look back over the year and reflect on what happened. In years past, I would have struggled to remember what I was doing in February, but now I can simply bring up my blog archive and see what I was doing then. It makes reflecting easy... or at least easier.

What is this... "Fanboyism"?

     Over the past few weeks, the internet has been abuzz (read: "out of its mind") about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special. Every time I get on Facebook, my news feed has at least one Doctor Who post, sometimes as many as five or six. These range from "Check out this video" to "ZOMGOOGLES A NEW DOCTOR WHO VIDEO! I'M SO EXCITED! AASDFASDGASDFJASKBFASKLCJN!" Today, we're going to talk about the latter...

So... uncool...

What is this... "Hardcore Gamer"?

     While doing some research for an upcoming post, I stumbled upon the urban dictionary definition of what a "Hardcore Gamer" is. At first, I was amused. I'd be the first to say that anything from Urban Dictionary shouldn't be taken seriously, but I actually found myself agreeing with the definition. At least, that is, at first...

*Stereotypical Hardcore Gamer*

What is this... 'Cour'?

     When I watch an anime, I usually don't have anyone to talk to about it. Only a few of my friends watch anime, and they don't watch nearly as much as I do. While watching Attack on Titan over the past few months, I've had the unexpected pleasure of having someone else I know watch it as well. It's been exciting to be able to talk to someone about it, and I've bugged her about "getting caught up" so I can let my inner otaku out and gush about the twists in the story. However, she's not even close to being an "otaku", and so some of the things that are normal in anime strike her as odd. One of these things is the way anime seasons are set up. So, I've decided to lay it out plainly, both for her and anyone else that might be wondering...

So just sit back and pay attention...

'Attack on Titan' Ep. 25: Something's Odd About Those Walls...

     Wow. I just checked the stats for post views and this one has over 29,000 37,000 views! Thanks for all the feedback and discussion! Perhaps it's time to do another summary post...

WAIT A MINUTE!

     The greatest part of speculative discussion is that someone might point out something that I missed, allowing me to either improve or altogether abandon my own theories. However, these Attack on Titan posts have been edited and updated numerous times. They were in desperate need of abridgment, so I've summarized the theories here (WARNING: SPOILERS!):

Click Here! >> "What we can share so far..." << Click Here!

     That said, feel free to read the following post. However, most of these theories have been disputed, so be sure to read the summary post!

     Truth be told, I put this off as long as I could. Episode 25 is the last episode of Attack on Titan, and I really didn't want it to end. I hope this is just the last episode of 'this season', and not 'THE' last episode. Of course, with a cliffhanger like the one they threw out at the end of the episode, I don't know how they can just leave it at that... (Major Spoilers: Up to Episode 25!)

This is the battle we've been waiting for, and it did not disappoint...

On Miyazaki's Retirement...

     Miyazaki has apparently quit before, but from what I've read it's for real this time. He's had health problems and such, so I really can't blame him. What I would like to point out is that he's retiring while he still has the love and adoration of his fanbase. While not everyone liked his latest movie, he didn't quite hit rock bottom... unlike certain other directors I can think of. Although I could praise the brilliance of the works he has created, I don't think anything I say could top this:

     *Manly tears...* Thanks, Siny, for such a beautiful video. Makes me want to go watch a Miyazaki-thon...

'Attack on Titan' Ep. 21: Learning Lessons From Titans...

     After watching episode 20 last week, I found myself in a particularly odd place: do I watch the new episode and enjoy my weekly adrenaline rush dosage, or do I put it off and enjoy that supreme feeling of suspense that I love so much? I put it off for as long as I could but eventually caved. Although, had I known it was going to be so brutal and destroy my emotions I might have put it off a little longer... (Spoiler Warning: up to episode 21.)

'Attack on Titan' Ep. 20: A Fit of Rage Unlike Any Other...

     Never in my entire life have I felt such varied and simultaneous emotions as I did at the end of episode twenty of Attack on Titan. As I've said before, those "To be continued..." screens are absolute killers. I was literally on the edge of my seat, hands over my mouth, waiting as the "camera" panned around the mysterious hooded figure, when...

BAM! DENIED!

     I threw off my headphones (an $80+ piece of equipment, mind you) in a fit of rage as I slapped my hands over my face and groaned loudly. I slammed my fists on the armrests of my chair, stood up and jumped up and down, and ran to the bathroom and screamed inaudibly (you know, tried to go super saiyan without all the yelling). Then something amazing happened: I threw my hands over my mouth again and began giggling like an adolescent school girl. I thought to myself, "THIS SHOW IS SO AWESOME I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT RIGHT NOW!" Happiness washed over me. I literally lost it. I couldn't even use the bathroom. And you know what? I ain't even mad... (Spoilers: Up to Ep. 20!)

Violence in Video Games: I Just... I'm Done...

     So apparently this happened:

Read the Kotaku article here...

     And there is but one thing I can say for it: *giant resounding sigh*

SONY: Advertising Done Right

     Most of the time, watching a video game commercial is groan inducing. They're often uninteresting, vulgar for no reason, or make me angry about the state of gaming. Some companies just don't know how to advertise, whether it be for a game or a console. Sony is not one of those companies. I'm not talking about specific game commercials, I'm talking about their incredible PS3 ads, like this one:



     And this one:



     Then there's this gem:


     Although that last one doesn't really matter anymore, it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. To see a major company come out with a tasteful and official "smack" to their competition is amazing. With the first two, I felt something I hadn't really felt with other video game commercial: pride. I was proud to be a gamer. It made me feel excited. It made me want to play video games. The point is, Sony knows how to make a commercial.