Anime First Look: "Silver Spoon"

     At first glance, this looked to be one of those anime that I normally skip over. I mean, an anime about farming and agriculture? I watch a lot of different types of anime, but I might have to abstain in this case. However, I soon found out that it was based off the manga written by Hiromu Arakawa, the brilliant mind behind my favorite manga/anime of all time, Fullmetal Alchemist. Because of how much I loved Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and because of how much I respect and enjoy the work of the artist, I decided I should give it a go.

Attack on My Wallet: The Steam Summer Sale

     Well, the Steam Summer Sale is in full swing... and I have no money. As of yet, I haven't bought anything even though there were a few games I really wanted. Perhaps this is a good thing, considering I dropped over $75 on games during the sale last year. However, because I've spent so much money on the Steam sales in the past, I understand the financial depression afterwards, which means I understand all these feels:

     Laugh. Out. Loud.

The Dangers of MMORPGs: Presently and in the Future

     A friend from work recently let me borrow a game called .hack//G.U. Vol. 1 ("Dot Hack G.U."), and also told me about the several anime adaptations, spin-offs, and side-stories all set in the same world from various points of view. Each takes place in "The World", a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), in which problems have arisen because of glitches and/or viruses. It's very similar to Sword Art Online, which I am a huge fan of as well. But I'll stop my explanation of the story there. This is not about the game or the anime, it's about the technology the characters utilize to play the game presented in the show... and why it's potentially dangerous when coupled with the issues we face today.

Lemme just don my 'helmet of death'...

Anime Done Right: "Little Witch Academia"

     If you're a fan of Harry Potter and have been looking for that one anime out there that suits you, you should give this a go:

"There's Beauty in the Bits": The Elegance of Retro Graphics

     I have recently been playing through Chrono Trigger, for the first time in my life, over the past few weeks. While playing, I've reaffirmed a belief that I've held for a long time: The games of the 16-bit era were beautiful works of art. I don't care what Roger Ebert says. Chrono Trigger was released almost twenty years ago (1995), yet it's still one of the best looking games I've played, not to mention one of the best, and only, JRPGs (Japanese RPGs) that I have been able to tolerate. I'll go into further detail on that once I beat the game and do a retro review of it, but for now I want to focus on the beauty of the 16-bit era games.

Great scott! Look at all that detail! (Source)

What is this... Difference Between Geeks and Nerds?

     Someone comes up and asks me, "So you're a nerd, right?", to which I respond, "No, I'm a geek.", to which they respond, "What's the difference?" That... is a good question. Over the past few years, I've struggled with answering this question, and found myself unable to do so in an easily understandable manner. Whilst doing a little research, I found the answer: "The distinction is that geeks are fans of their subjects, and nerds are practitioners of them."

I can't believe I never saw it like that...

'Attack on Titan' Speculation: What's in the Basement?

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!):

"What we can share so far..."

     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!

     That's the question that's on all our minds: What's in that basement? And, if it was so important, why did Eren's dad keep it hidden away? While watching episode ten again yesterday, I had an epiphany; one not even tied to the episode. Be warned, this post will be filled with spoilers (up to the end of episode eleven)... (UPDATED!)

The Xbox One and Negativity

     So, a few days ago Microsoft released the good news that they've reversed the 24 hour DRM requirement and the no loaning/sharing/selling policies. And surprise, surprise: some people are still unhappy.

I don't know what I expected...

The Ignorance of the Non-Gamer Masses

     It's no secret that I really don't like casual gamers. However, there's something that I loathe even more: ignorant non-gamers. Not regular non-gamers, ignorant ones. Ones like those on Fox News (Update: Apparently "Fox 5" is not a part of Fox News, but that doesn't make Fox News any less ignorant):

What is this... Favorite Anime? REVISITED

     Back in October 2011, I wrote about my favorite anime. At the time, I had a somewhat limited watch history and, to be honest, I hadn't quite thought some of them through. I figure it's about time I fix that. This time around I'm going to do it by genre instead of just naming a bunch of the same genre and copping out on the others. Variety is the spice of life, you know?

UPDATED! I've changed a few favorites as new shows have come out over the past few years, and I've added a new genre! Check em' out!