Warning: this is basically a useless post; I just vent my thoughts on Queen's Blade at the moment.
So, a new series has been added to the Queen's Blade saga called "Queen's Blade Grimoire". And, that got me thinking: the Queen's Blade IP has lasted quite a while, covered many mediums, and doesn't look to slowdown anytime soon. So what has made QB such a successful franchise? Is it the fanservice/ecchi element? I don't think so; while it is definitely part of the series' popularity, a series can't survive on ecchi alone. Rather, I think what has made the series last is my favorite aspect of the series: the characters. Each character in the QB series is designed by a different artist, with a few exceptions like F.S and Eiwa who have designed several characters. Because of this the characters all have very distinct looks, and combine this with distinct personalities and stories for each character, and you've got a melting pot for some great character interaction. And that's where the series shines the most: the way the characters interact is superb and makes for some interesting, fun, and dramatic interactions. So, in many ways, QB's popularity works in a similar fashion to fighting games and how they become popular.
Another interesting aspect of the QB series is how it encompasses many different mediums, beginning as a combat book game alongside stories written on the main website, then an anime, then several manga series, and then videogames; and that's just the first series. But, I won't ramble much on what QB is; rather I'll just get to why I love the series (in all its forms) so much, despite being someone who usually hates fanservicey/ecchi anime/manga.
It's the characters. I love character-focused stories. From slice-of-lifes to grand personal oddyseys; I love when a stories main drive and entertainment comes from a large cast of characters, and QB's cast is one of the best I've ever come across, thanks heavily in part to all of the artists who created the characters and writers who write the stories that bring all of these characters together. The fact that the entire cast consists of women is also a big reason why I enjoy QB so much, more specifically, it's why I enjoy the character interaction so much. For you see, in mediums of entertainment, when men and women are put into the same group it is almost mandatory that romance has to occur, and often times it is full of angst and takes away from what it good about character interaction and just sours the entire experience (see The Legend of Korra). Queen's Blade has none of that. All of the character interaction in QB is golden; characters have clashing ideals, form rivalries, are sworn enemies, love each other, and fight each other. Much of the anticipation that comes from an upcoming event in the story comes from the simple fact that x is going to meet y. With such a diverse cast, the simple act of two QB character simply meeting constitutes excitement, and I love that about the series.
In all honesty, I wish the series didn't have such ecchi content to it, because then perhaps more people would watch/read it, but, then again, the fanservice probably brings in as many people as it does scare off, so I suppose it's a double-edged sword. Honestly, I don't have much of a problem with the ecchi factor, as I find it to be well executed most of the time, as it is mainly used as a way of showing physical damage on a character during battle, and the more clothes that are ripped, the more damage has been put upon a character, and if blood is actually slipped, then that brings about an even more extreme situation. I find this type of execution to battles welcome, as it allows the characters to all use weapons and fight without restraint while still keeping the show from getting very violent, thus keeping it enjoyable to watch in a Saturday morning cartoon kinda way. And that's a big reason why I love QB: it's light-hearted. The stories of some characters can get pretty dark, but it never goes too far, nor does it become so light-hearted that serious situations cannot be taken seriously. The most obvious situation to point out being the death of Shizuka, which is one of the most well handled deaths of a main character I've ever seen in anime, manga, or any other medium. Whether it was a good idea to kill off Shizuka or not is something I still think about, but the way it was executed and why it occurred were very well written and executed visually; as it is a very sad moment, and for an ecchi show to create such a moment truly convinced me that QB was not an ecchi anime, rather it was an adventure anime that happened to have ecchi in it. And I think that's how the people behind QB see it as well, because the QB series continues to expand its world setting, develop its characters, and have a pretty great plot to flow alongside the characters.
In the end, I think QB is a series that deserves respect alongside the judging glances it gets. And, you know, it actually gets both. There are many out there like myself who enjoy QB for its plot and characters, while there are those who enjoy it just for the fanservice, and I'm fine with that. I look forward to Queen's Blade's future and the characters and stories to come.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thought Venting
OK, so here's a post where I'm going to bring up a wide variety of topics that I was going to make into full posts, but couldn't develop them further enough.
- NiGHTS into Dreams is one of the best ideas in gaming history. The art design is spectacular, especially in how it blends real-world settings with dream-like worlds in order to convey the story further; plus, NiGHTS design is one of the best character designs out there. The story set-up is also great in how it brings up realistic problems that kids might deal with at around the age of 12, whether it be a recital or just having a parent who works a lot; I love how relatable it all becomes from start to finish. And then there's the soundtrack; absolutely superb, one of the best ever. The compositions for the NiGHTs games are fantastic and work alongside the art design to create a truly amazing setting. Then, there's the game design: for a game that revolves around dreams, creating a sense of flight utilizing the then-revolutionary control stick, was a superb idea. The only problem with this series was it's gameplay, which just wasn't very deep or fun. Thre probably isn't much that can be done to save this series outside of a full redesign of the gameplay, but I truly respect this series for having creators that really put a lot of heart into it's presentation and "feeling".
- I don't hate FFX and Panty and Stocking (anime) anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I still don't like either of them, but over the last couple weeks I've come to be a lot more recessive when it comes to opinions, both mine and others. Basically, people like what they like, and creators will always make what they like, so basically everything that is made, be it videogame, anime, manga, movie, etc., there will always be people who like it. As such, my opinion doesn't really mean anything except for it's use in casual conversation. Thus, what's the point in hating something? So someone here's my opinion and decides to hate it themselves? What's the point in spreading hate? Nothing, that's what. So, yeah, I'm back not hating anything; there's plenty I don't like, but, hey, who cares? Don't worry, be happy.
- Is yuri slowly becoming more acceptable in anime? Lately, I've been seeing a lot more yuri subtext in anime, and not just niche anime, but big ones like Moretsu Pirates and Rinne no Lagrange; Pirates even had a canon yuri couple, and two on-screen kisses. Plus, with the popularity of YuruYuri and the now famous "unofficial" yuri couples of various anime like Mio/Ritsu in K-On, or Konata/Kagami in Lucky Star; will it not be long before we have more canon yuri relationships in anime? Only time will tell, but we all know which side I'm voting for.
- Final Fantasy VII is not over-rated. Over-time, FFVII has become less of a videogame famous for popularizing the JRPG in the West, and more of THE game to discuss when it the subject of over-rated videogames is brought up. Honestly, I find it strange to discuss a game that released 15 years ago in such a conversation. I mean, you won't hear anyone bring up the original Super Mario Bros. or A Link to the Past in such conversations, so why FFVII? Anyway, FFVII is a superb game, and, imo, should be considered a classic and no longer have its quality put on trial, mainly due to the game's age.
And, on the same subject, when it comes to discussion of older games, I hope that people aren't talking about such games without actually playing them. It's easy to find FFIV-IX in many places these days. If you really want to discuss such games, why not play them? You may be surprised how well they hold up. Just as I was when I played FFIX for the first time two years ago and it instantly became one of my favorite games ever.
- Can we start analyzing games more fully? Too many times I've seen critical reviews that applaud a game for its graphics or production values while practically ignoring its faults in gameplay and/or execution. The worst example of this occuring, imo, is with Bioshock; where the game truly did deserve the applause it received for its atmosphere, but it definitely didn't deserve as much for it's gameplay and story.
- Okami is still my favorite game of all time. But, Metroid: Other M is really getting more points with me over-time. Actually, I'm becoming more fond of several games more as they age; noteworthy ones being Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Grimgrimoire, Odin Sphere (yes, I've only come to love Vanillaware games more), FFIX, and SoulCaliber V. Though, I'm pretty sure the reason is because of how disappointed I've been with videogames the past two years.
- PlatinumGames is beginning to disappoint me. Bayonetta and Vanquish were two games that I flooded with praise when they first came out, but, imo, they haven't aged too well, especially Bayonetta. Now, don't get me wrong, I do greatly enjoy both games, but they really haven't held up as well as Viewtiful Joe and Okami have. Mainly due to VJ and Okami feeling like very full experiences, while Bayonetta and Vanquish were games that needed sequels to feel full. At the end of the day, I find the creative team now known as Platinum to have been better when they were Clover Studios; I don;t know what changed over the years, but I hope they go back to their more charming days. Hopefully, Project P-100 will reignite that Colver fire from those bygone days of old.
That's it for this one. I'll probably do more of these as time goes on, as I have a lot of ideas and opinions floating around.
- NiGHTS into Dreams is one of the best ideas in gaming history. The art design is spectacular, especially in how it blends real-world settings with dream-like worlds in order to convey the story further; plus, NiGHTS design is one of the best character designs out there. The story set-up is also great in how it brings up realistic problems that kids might deal with at around the age of 12, whether it be a recital or just having a parent who works a lot; I love how relatable it all becomes from start to finish. And then there's the soundtrack; absolutely superb, one of the best ever. The compositions for the NiGHTs games are fantastic and work alongside the art design to create a truly amazing setting. Then, there's the game design: for a game that revolves around dreams, creating a sense of flight utilizing the then-revolutionary control stick, was a superb idea. The only problem with this series was it's gameplay, which just wasn't very deep or fun. Thre probably isn't much that can be done to save this series outside of a full redesign of the gameplay, but I truly respect this series for having creators that really put a lot of heart into it's presentation and "feeling".
- I don't hate FFX and Panty and Stocking (anime) anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I still don't like either of them, but over the last couple weeks I've come to be a lot more recessive when it comes to opinions, both mine and others. Basically, people like what they like, and creators will always make what they like, so basically everything that is made, be it videogame, anime, manga, movie, etc., there will always be people who like it. As such, my opinion doesn't really mean anything except for it's use in casual conversation. Thus, what's the point in hating something? So someone here's my opinion and decides to hate it themselves? What's the point in spreading hate? Nothing, that's what. So, yeah, I'm back not hating anything; there's plenty I don't like, but, hey, who cares? Don't worry, be happy.
- Is yuri slowly becoming more acceptable in anime? Lately, I've been seeing a lot more yuri subtext in anime, and not just niche anime, but big ones like Moretsu Pirates and Rinne no Lagrange; Pirates even had a canon yuri couple, and two on-screen kisses. Plus, with the popularity of YuruYuri and the now famous "unofficial" yuri couples of various anime like Mio/Ritsu in K-On, or Konata/Kagami in Lucky Star; will it not be long before we have more canon yuri relationships in anime? Only time will tell, but we all know which side I'm voting for.
- Final Fantasy VII is not over-rated. Over-time, FFVII has become less of a videogame famous for popularizing the JRPG in the West, and more of THE game to discuss when it the subject of over-rated videogames is brought up. Honestly, I find it strange to discuss a game that released 15 years ago in such a conversation. I mean, you won't hear anyone bring up the original Super Mario Bros. or A Link to the Past in such conversations, so why FFVII? Anyway, FFVII is a superb game, and, imo, should be considered a classic and no longer have its quality put on trial, mainly due to the game's age.
And, on the same subject, when it comes to discussion of older games, I hope that people aren't talking about such games without actually playing them. It's easy to find FFIV-IX in many places these days. If you really want to discuss such games, why not play them? You may be surprised how well they hold up. Just as I was when I played FFIX for the first time two years ago and it instantly became one of my favorite games ever.
- Can we start analyzing games more fully? Too many times I've seen critical reviews that applaud a game for its graphics or production values while practically ignoring its faults in gameplay and/or execution. The worst example of this occuring, imo, is with Bioshock; where the game truly did deserve the applause it received for its atmosphere, but it definitely didn't deserve as much for it's gameplay and story.
- Okami is still my favorite game of all time. But, Metroid: Other M is really getting more points with me over-time. Actually, I'm becoming more fond of several games more as they age; noteworthy ones being Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Grimgrimoire, Odin Sphere (yes, I've only come to love Vanillaware games more), FFIX, and SoulCaliber V. Though, I'm pretty sure the reason is because of how disappointed I've been with videogames the past two years.
- PlatinumGames is beginning to disappoint me. Bayonetta and Vanquish were two games that I flooded with praise when they first came out, but, imo, they haven't aged too well, especially Bayonetta. Now, don't get me wrong, I do greatly enjoy both games, but they really haven't held up as well as Viewtiful Joe and Okami have. Mainly due to VJ and Okami feeling like very full experiences, while Bayonetta and Vanquish were games that needed sequels to feel full. At the end of the day, I find the creative team now known as Platinum to have been better when they were Clover Studios; I don;t know what changed over the years, but I hope they go back to their more charming days. Hopefully, Project P-100 will reignite that Colver fire from those bygone days of old.
That's it for this one. I'll probably do more of these as time goes on, as I have a lot of ideas and opinions floating around.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Why I don't talk about sexism in games/manga/anime
I'm going to get this out of the way right now: no, I don't think that sexism in gaming is a topic that shouldn't be talked about, nor do I think the people who criticize such elements in videogames/manga/anime are in the wrong. That said, this post is about why I don't write about such things in this blog, even when it seems like something relevant to what I'm writing about. Now, this isn't a subject that I completely ignore. I do talk about it from time to time in forums and with my friends, but only when it it brought up; rarely, am I the one to bring up this topic, and the reasoning as to why is what this blog post is about.
Now then, the reason why I don't discuss sexism in gaming comes down to only two points:
1) I don't get it.
What do I mean by that? Well, simply put: I don't get what counts as sexist and what doesn't most of the time. Now, of course, there's the obvious stuff where women are objectified and disrespected, but it seems that sometimes the line blurs between what is OK and what isn't. For example, why is it that a character like Samus is ridiculed for her portrayal in Metroid: Other M, but Juliet Starling's character portrayal in Lollipop Chainsaw is just fine? Why is it that Nami and Robin in One Piece are criticized for their clothing in One Piece, but the female characters in Fairy Tail aren't? Why is it that I am a pervert for watching Queen's Blade, but suddenly I'm cool for watching Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt?
I'm not looking for an answer for these questions, because I know that answer: that's just how it is. There's no fighting against the vocal majority. Some things are established as fine and good before they're even released, while others are ridiculed far after they see release. Why? Well, my guess is that the reasoning behind if something is OK or not comes not from the people who do know what they're talking about and should be determining if it's OK or not, but rather, the vocal majority that lies within the sea of fandom known as the internet. If a fanbase is larger than another, it doesn't mater what the smaller fanbase says, the larger fanbase's opinion is what the majority of people will see and hear, and thus it will soon become fact. It's in this sea of chaos that is thousands (if not millions) of people's opinions that I just find myself not understanding the logic of this chaos. Why is it that Panty & Stocking, an anime that literally made me sick to my stomach, is a cool and awesome anime to watch? I don't know. And that's the answer I find myself coming to when faced with the many other questions that delve into subjects like portrayal of female characters and sexism. I don't get why some things are OK and others aren't. And, you know, I'm fine with that. I have my own values and opinions on the subject of sexism, and I stand by them. I feel that as long as I stand by my own opinions, I'm doing fine. I'm not going to change my values just so I can try to understand something that confuses me; after all, in doing that I'd feel like I'm betraying myself in a way, and, furthermore, I basically just don't care much. I mean, yes, I respect women very much, but as I said in my fanservice discussion post a while back, we have to understand that these are creations of fantasy and there are limits to how much fantasy can be limited and criticized. This leads to my second point ...
2) It doesn't matter.
Now, don't get me wrong, discussion on the subject of sexism and portrayal of women in games has made great strides in how women are portrayed in the entertainment medium, but what needs to be understood is that there are limits as to how much can change. Just because female characters are getting more respect in the media most people see, doesn't mean there won't always be manga like ToLoveRu and Air Gear that but T&A center stage in their portrayal of female characters. "Bad Fanservice", as I called it in my previous post, is something that will always be present in all forms of social media. Sex sells; it always has and it always will. Now, I'm not saying we should tolerate everything bad with a female characters portrayal, but we have to understand that there will always be smut in the world.
These two points come together and basically form how I take in such subjects of sexism in gaming. For example, when everyone complained about Samus' portrayal in Metroid: Other M, I thought about it for a while, but ultimately came to the conclusion that I just didn't get what everyone was talking about, and whether that was due to ignorance on my part for not seeing something that was there, or ignorance on other's part for not fully understanding the story was something I just couldn't pinpoint in the sea of chaos that is the internet and a vast amount of people's opinions. But, in the end, it didn't matter, because the majority group had spoken (on the internet at least) and the game was labeled as a poor representation of Samus and her character. Do I disagree? Of course. Does anyone really care? No. And for that reason, I don't really care. I know it's the coward's way out, but that's just how I feel about the subject. I have my own views and I stand by them, but I don't plan on dealing with the madness that is the internet in order to voice such opinions. That may seem hypocritical to say because I'm writing this in a blog on the internet, but, in all honesty, I don't really expect anyone to take my views to heart, as I'm doing this to basically vent my thoughts, not to make a statement.
Now, I'm not saying that people should just sit back and let the entertainment medium do as they like when it comes to the portrayal of women. I'm just saying that I have no place criticize such matter because I am simply too ignorant on the subject itself, too far flung from the sea of chaos that is the internet, and simply too set in my own views on the subject that I really have no place to criticize the subjects of sexism and portrayals of female characters. Thus why I don't discuss the subject. I'm not ignoring it, but I don't believe me discussing the subject will do much good.
Bottom Line: people can like what they like and hate what they hate, and that includes me. I like Samus' portrayal as a female protagonist with weaknesses and strengths in Metroid: Other M, and I hate Panty & Stocking for being a perverted mess of teenage boy fantasies with female characters who are simply sex-crazed sluts. I don't get why people don't like Samus' character portrayal, nor do I understand why the anime Panty & Stocking has such a large fanbase, but, in the end, it doesn't matter, because anime like P&S will always exist, and fanboys will always hate change in videogames. These things will never change. I may disagree, but such opinions on the internet just don't fly; so, I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Sure, there's a world out there where if I try my damnedest, I might get some people to understand my opinion, but, for a normal guy like me, that's just too much work. I'll leave that people like femalefrequency @ Youtube.
In the end, all I gotta say is: don't worry, be happy.
Now then, the reason why I don't discuss sexism in gaming comes down to only two points:
1) I don't get it.
What do I mean by that? Well, simply put: I don't get what counts as sexist and what doesn't most of the time. Now, of course, there's the obvious stuff where women are objectified and disrespected, but it seems that sometimes the line blurs between what is OK and what isn't. For example, why is it that a character like Samus is ridiculed for her portrayal in Metroid: Other M, but Juliet Starling's character portrayal in Lollipop Chainsaw is just fine? Why is it that Nami and Robin in One Piece are criticized for their clothing in One Piece, but the female characters in Fairy Tail aren't? Why is it that I am a pervert for watching Queen's Blade, but suddenly I'm cool for watching Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt?
I'm not looking for an answer for these questions, because I know that answer: that's just how it is. There's no fighting against the vocal majority. Some things are established as fine and good before they're even released, while others are ridiculed far after they see release. Why? Well, my guess is that the reasoning behind if something is OK or not comes not from the people who do know what they're talking about and should be determining if it's OK or not, but rather, the vocal majority that lies within the sea of fandom known as the internet. If a fanbase is larger than another, it doesn't mater what the smaller fanbase says, the larger fanbase's opinion is what the majority of people will see and hear, and thus it will soon become fact. It's in this sea of chaos that is thousands (if not millions) of people's opinions that I just find myself not understanding the logic of this chaos. Why is it that Panty & Stocking, an anime that literally made me sick to my stomach, is a cool and awesome anime to watch? I don't know. And that's the answer I find myself coming to when faced with the many other questions that delve into subjects like portrayal of female characters and sexism. I don't get why some things are OK and others aren't. And, you know, I'm fine with that. I have my own values and opinions on the subject of sexism, and I stand by them. I feel that as long as I stand by my own opinions, I'm doing fine. I'm not going to change my values just so I can try to understand something that confuses me; after all, in doing that I'd feel like I'm betraying myself in a way, and, furthermore, I basically just don't care much. I mean, yes, I respect women very much, but as I said in my fanservice discussion post a while back, we have to understand that these are creations of fantasy and there are limits to how much fantasy can be limited and criticized. This leads to my second point ...
2) It doesn't matter.
Now, don't get me wrong, discussion on the subject of sexism and portrayal of women in games has made great strides in how women are portrayed in the entertainment medium, but what needs to be understood is that there are limits as to how much can change. Just because female characters are getting more respect in the media most people see, doesn't mean there won't always be manga like ToLoveRu and Air Gear that but T&A center stage in their portrayal of female characters. "Bad Fanservice", as I called it in my previous post, is something that will always be present in all forms of social media. Sex sells; it always has and it always will. Now, I'm not saying we should tolerate everything bad with a female characters portrayal, but we have to understand that there will always be smut in the world.
These two points come together and basically form how I take in such subjects of sexism in gaming. For example, when everyone complained about Samus' portrayal in Metroid: Other M, I thought about it for a while, but ultimately came to the conclusion that I just didn't get what everyone was talking about, and whether that was due to ignorance on my part for not seeing something that was there, or ignorance on other's part for not fully understanding the story was something I just couldn't pinpoint in the sea of chaos that is the internet and a vast amount of people's opinions. But, in the end, it didn't matter, because the majority group had spoken (on the internet at least) and the game was labeled as a poor representation of Samus and her character. Do I disagree? Of course. Does anyone really care? No. And for that reason, I don't really care. I know it's the coward's way out, but that's just how I feel about the subject. I have my own views and I stand by them, but I don't plan on dealing with the madness that is the internet in order to voice such opinions. That may seem hypocritical to say because I'm writing this in a blog on the internet, but, in all honesty, I don't really expect anyone to take my views to heart, as I'm doing this to basically vent my thoughts, not to make a statement.
Now, I'm not saying that people should just sit back and let the entertainment medium do as they like when it comes to the portrayal of women. I'm just saying that I have no place criticize such matter because I am simply too ignorant on the subject itself, too far flung from the sea of chaos that is the internet, and simply too set in my own views on the subject that I really have no place to criticize the subjects of sexism and portrayals of female characters. Thus why I don't discuss the subject. I'm not ignoring it, but I don't believe me discussing the subject will do much good.
Bottom Line: people can like what they like and hate what they hate, and that includes me. I like Samus' portrayal as a female protagonist with weaknesses and strengths in Metroid: Other M, and I hate Panty & Stocking for being a perverted mess of teenage boy fantasies with female characters who are simply sex-crazed sluts. I don't get why people don't like Samus' character portrayal, nor do I understand why the anime Panty & Stocking has such a large fanbase, but, in the end, it doesn't matter, because anime like P&S will always exist, and fanboys will always hate change in videogames. These things will never change. I may disagree, but such opinions on the internet just don't fly; so, I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Sure, there's a world out there where if I try my damnedest, I might get some people to understand my opinion, but, for a normal guy like me, that's just too much work. I'll leave that people like femalefrequency @ Youtube.
In the end, all I gotta say is: don't worry, be happy.
Vanillaware and Immediate Satisfaction
It's no secret that I love Vanillaware-developed games. And over time, I have only come to love and appreciate them more and more; not just for story and graphics, but gameplay design as well. However, I have come to wonder why I love these games so much; after all, they aren't the best games in terms of gameplay, and their content can be really small in comparison to other titles, but, hey, for games made by only around a dozen people, I think they can be forgiven for that. But, after reflecting upon my time with their games, I figured out why I enjoy Vanillaware's games so much: immediate satisfaction.
In many games I've played, even those I have come to enjoy the most, there is often the problem of "long-term satisfaction", where the player must go through a lot of, let's call it "work", to get to what they really want. This "work" is stuff like traversing across a large overworld in an RPG having to deal with many random battles in order to get to a dungeon (the actual goal), or having to fight many weak enemies in order to get to a boss fight or story section. Many mission-style games have this type of "long-term" satisfaction where a player has to compelte many monotonous and boring missions before getting to take on a more interesting and challenging mission. These "work" sections of a game are often padding or "fluff" for games that would have a very short length without them. The end result is "long-term" satisfaction where the player has to perform chore-like sections of gameplay in order to get to the sections of gameplay/story that they really want.
Now, this style of gameplay isn't always bad; for example, traversing an overworld can be fun if it is beautiful or filled with many interesting things to do, such as the overworlds of A Link to the Past or Okami. Or a game can allow for exploration that will lead to benefits for the player, such as in Metroid games. However, if possible, I prefer my game experiences to be very focused affairs, where nothing is kept from me or left dangling in front of me as a tease; rather what I want is given to me right away and the game just keeps on delivering throughout the entire experience. Of course, a game isn't going to give you the best weapons/upgrades at the beginning, nor is the story going to be at its best right away, but I don't expect a game to begin boring and then get interesting later; rather a game should begin interesting and only improve upon those humble beginnings.
Case in point: Vanillaware games. Vanillaware games are a superb example of "immediate" satisfaction games, for they provide everything for the player immediately throughout the entire game experience. While Grand Knights History can be seen as an exception to this rule, it's multiplayer-focused game design slightly exempts it from criticism as a "long-term" satisfaction game, which, again, isn't a bad thing, but in GKH's case, the "long-term" works alongside the "immediate", but that's another discussion entirely. So here, I will focus on Vanillaware's other games which show great examples of "immediate" satisfaction game design. This is due to there being nothing superfluous or unnecessary in the game design of Vanillaware's games. Everything is presented for the player in an easy-to-learn fashion, and yet Vanillaware's games still have a lot of depth. The end result is game design that is very satisfying but doesn't require a ton of grunt work to fully obtain.
The best way to go about this is by using examples. In Odin Sphere, for example, there is a unique leveling up system that splits the players health and attack power into two separate meters, and the way to level up these two categories is to either eat food to level up a character's health or absorb psyphers to level up one's attack power; and it all revolves around the use of pysphers, which are dropped by fallen enemies. Obtaining food and leveling up one's weapon is done by rationing how one uses the psyphers dropped by enemies, and while this may seem complicated on paper, once set up in the game, it couldn't be simpler, as it simply revolves around utilizing the assets set directly in front of the player. The player never has to worry about saving psyphers for later because there will be more enemies to defeat, nor does the player have to worry about saving items for a later time because there will be many more later. The game design of Odin Sphere was built around using what was given to the player immediately, rather than the player worrying if a particular item would be needed an hour later, or if it was the right time to level up one's weapon. Granted, there is some strategy in choosing which meter to upgrade and saving food for the Pooka Kitchen to make more complicated dishes, but it was never done with the mind-set of having to save an item for something far later in the game. This game design of "living in the moment" is what Vanillaware games truly do best.
Grimgrimoire showed "immediate" satisfaction in how it wasted no time in getting the player into the story and never really hand-holding the player; even the tutorials are directly integrated into the story itself. Grimgrimoire also held nothing back in terms of how deep the gameplay got, but the player was never forced into using complex strategies for winning; rather, everything was given to the player, but only a certain amount was asked for. This makes for a game design that doesn't require any grinding or superfluous amounts of practice; rather it was simply a game design that said: if you play well you will reap the rewards by a high ranking and beating the opponent faster, if you play poorly, you can still succeed but it will be a bumpy ride for you. What I'm getting at is that Grimgrimoire's game design provides everything for the player but doesn't ask too much of the player in return, thus resulting in a fairly unfrustrating game.
Muramasa was a game with long treks across a world map, but it never felt dull or repetitive; this is because, like Odin Sphere and Grimgrimoire, it's game design gave the player everything right away. In Muramasa, all manner of attacks and combos were possible right in the beginning; of course they grew overtime as the player got more swords and special attacks, but the player was still given a lot right at the beginning. As a result, the long treks across the world map, and the battles that took place there, never felt repetitive or like "work", because they could all be played out differently thanks to the player being given all their assets in the beginning. In many other action-RPGs I've played, the game design was always a grind, because the player was only given a few attacks to work with in the beginning of the game, and while that increased overtime, it was done in such a slow pace that all the new attacks the player was given overtime would become repetitive themselves. Muramasa doesn't suffer from such "grinds" and instead is a smooth and satisfying stroll.
What this "immediate" satisfaction provides is a very satisfying game design thanks to a lack of superfluous game design ideas, such as unnecessary stat parameters, annoying side-quests, or long grinds in gameplay just to be good enough to reach a satisfying part in the gameplay. Games should never feel like a chore, and Vanillaware games never do, they are always direct and simple in design, yet often hold much depth beneath the surface, and it's that game design quality that keeps me always coming back to their games and enjoying them every time.
As a disclaimer, not all games that execute "immediate" satisfaction well are great games, just as not all games that have "long-term" satisfaction are bad games. For example, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions and Transformers: War for Cybertron execute "immediate" satisfaction very well, but aren't truly amazing games due to weak gameplay, and games like Dragon Quest VIII and Chrono Cross may have "long-term" satisfaction execution, but they're still two of the best games ever.
In many games I've played, even those I have come to enjoy the most, there is often the problem of "long-term satisfaction", where the player must go through a lot of, let's call it "work", to get to what they really want. This "work" is stuff like traversing across a large overworld in an RPG having to deal with many random battles in order to get to a dungeon (the actual goal), or having to fight many weak enemies in order to get to a boss fight or story section. Many mission-style games have this type of "long-term" satisfaction where a player has to compelte many monotonous and boring missions before getting to take on a more interesting and challenging mission. These "work" sections of a game are often padding or "fluff" for games that would have a very short length without them. The end result is "long-term" satisfaction where the player has to perform chore-like sections of gameplay in order to get to the sections of gameplay/story that they really want.
Now, this style of gameplay isn't always bad; for example, traversing an overworld can be fun if it is beautiful or filled with many interesting things to do, such as the overworlds of A Link to the Past or Okami. Or a game can allow for exploration that will lead to benefits for the player, such as in Metroid games. However, if possible, I prefer my game experiences to be very focused affairs, where nothing is kept from me or left dangling in front of me as a tease; rather what I want is given to me right away and the game just keeps on delivering throughout the entire experience. Of course, a game isn't going to give you the best weapons/upgrades at the beginning, nor is the story going to be at its best right away, but I don't expect a game to begin boring and then get interesting later; rather a game should begin interesting and only improve upon those humble beginnings.
Case in point: Vanillaware games. Vanillaware games are a superb example of "immediate" satisfaction games, for they provide everything for the player immediately throughout the entire game experience. While Grand Knights History can be seen as an exception to this rule, it's multiplayer-focused game design slightly exempts it from criticism as a "long-term" satisfaction game, which, again, isn't a bad thing, but in GKH's case, the "long-term" works alongside the "immediate", but that's another discussion entirely. So here, I will focus on Vanillaware's other games which show great examples of "immediate" satisfaction game design. This is due to there being nothing superfluous or unnecessary in the game design of Vanillaware's games. Everything is presented for the player in an easy-to-learn fashion, and yet Vanillaware's games still have a lot of depth. The end result is game design that is very satisfying but doesn't require a ton of grunt work to fully obtain.
The best way to go about this is by using examples. In Odin Sphere, for example, there is a unique leveling up system that splits the players health and attack power into two separate meters, and the way to level up these two categories is to either eat food to level up a character's health or absorb psyphers to level up one's attack power; and it all revolves around the use of pysphers, which are dropped by fallen enemies. Obtaining food and leveling up one's weapon is done by rationing how one uses the psyphers dropped by enemies, and while this may seem complicated on paper, once set up in the game, it couldn't be simpler, as it simply revolves around utilizing the assets set directly in front of the player. The player never has to worry about saving psyphers for later because there will be more enemies to defeat, nor does the player have to worry about saving items for a later time because there will be many more later. The game design of Odin Sphere was built around using what was given to the player immediately, rather than the player worrying if a particular item would be needed an hour later, or if it was the right time to level up one's weapon. Granted, there is some strategy in choosing which meter to upgrade and saving food for the Pooka Kitchen to make more complicated dishes, but it was never done with the mind-set of having to save an item for something far later in the game. This game design of "living in the moment" is what Vanillaware games truly do best.
Grimgrimoire showed "immediate" satisfaction in how it wasted no time in getting the player into the story and never really hand-holding the player; even the tutorials are directly integrated into the story itself. Grimgrimoire also held nothing back in terms of how deep the gameplay got, but the player was never forced into using complex strategies for winning; rather, everything was given to the player, but only a certain amount was asked for. This makes for a game design that doesn't require any grinding or superfluous amounts of practice; rather it was simply a game design that said: if you play well you will reap the rewards by a high ranking and beating the opponent faster, if you play poorly, you can still succeed but it will be a bumpy ride for you. What I'm getting at is that Grimgrimoire's game design provides everything for the player but doesn't ask too much of the player in return, thus resulting in a fairly unfrustrating game.
Muramasa was a game with long treks across a world map, but it never felt dull or repetitive; this is because, like Odin Sphere and Grimgrimoire, it's game design gave the player everything right away. In Muramasa, all manner of attacks and combos were possible right in the beginning; of course they grew overtime as the player got more swords and special attacks, but the player was still given a lot right at the beginning. As a result, the long treks across the world map, and the battles that took place there, never felt repetitive or like "work", because they could all be played out differently thanks to the player being given all their assets in the beginning. In many other action-RPGs I've played, the game design was always a grind, because the player was only given a few attacks to work with in the beginning of the game, and while that increased overtime, it was done in such a slow pace that all the new attacks the player was given overtime would become repetitive themselves. Muramasa doesn't suffer from such "grinds" and instead is a smooth and satisfying stroll.
What this "immediate" satisfaction provides is a very satisfying game design thanks to a lack of superfluous game design ideas, such as unnecessary stat parameters, annoying side-quests, or long grinds in gameplay just to be good enough to reach a satisfying part in the gameplay. Games should never feel like a chore, and Vanillaware games never do, they are always direct and simple in design, yet often hold much depth beneath the surface, and it's that game design quality that keeps me always coming back to their games and enjoying them every time.
As a disclaimer, not all games that execute "immediate" satisfaction well are great games, just as not all games that have "long-term" satisfaction are bad games. For example, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions and Transformers: War for Cybertron execute "immediate" satisfaction very well, but aren't truly amazing games due to weak gameplay, and games like Dragon Quest VIII and Chrono Cross may have "long-term" satisfaction execution, but they're still two of the best games ever.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Rant: The Legend of Korra (End of Season 1)
NOTE: This post contains spoilers for the whole season of The Legend of Korra.
I'm going to say this right now: I did not enjoy this season at all, and this post is going to be all criticisms and complaints. I'll give the show two credits, it's beautiful art direction seen throughout the season, and some good voice acting from the cast.
OK. So, the first season of Korra is all wrapped up and it was terrible. The final two episodes were just the icing on the cake, heh. This post will be about my criticisms and complaints about the entire season, not just the last two episodes. The best way to go about this is by criticizing the source of everything bad in this series (by which I mean The Legend of Korra, not The Last Airbender): the characters.
But first, I want to move attention to the biggest flaw in this series for me: throughout The Legend of Korra, there was never a sign that benders were evil. All we get are the ruffians in the first episode and a sentence where Mako says his parents were killed by a fire bender; other than that, nothing. How is the audience supposed to sympathize with Amon, or for that matter, actually understand where is passion for equality even comes from? A conflict needs an established source, and the equalist conflict, the conflict that is the driving force behind the entire story of The Legend of Korra, has no discernible or impactful source. It's simply: "we gotta stop that bad guy! Why? Because he's a bad guy!". This is just poor writing. OK, with that point out of the way, onto the characters...
Korra - talk about the destruction of a potentially great character. Basically, all of my fears from the first two episodes came true. While it was obvious the writers would pair Korra up with one of the brothers, I feared the resulting romance would result in the destruction of Korra's character into a cliched and poorly executed mess of a character; and that's exactly what happened. Korra's air bending training via playing in the pro-bending tournaments, as well as her development into a less hot-headed person; all thrown out the window for angsty teenage romance. Korra's character was reduced to the lowest common denominator (espeically as a female protagonist) by becoming a girl who acted simply by impulses, whether it be in her juvenile crush on Mako, or her stupid decisions concerning her battles; Korra was not written as a character, but simply a plot device; something many other characters were also reduced to. Furthermore, Korra severly lacked presence in the overall story; I would guess that Mako had more screentime and dialogue than Korra did. Oh, and moping about the loss of bending at the end did nothing for her character, nor did the return of her bending as a result of said moping. Weak!
Asami - a character obviously created solely for the love triangle sub-plot. No, you know what? The romance wasn't a sub-plot. This whole freakin' series was an angsty teenage romance story the whole way through; the "main plot" was there, but it always felt like it was put into the background of the romance plotline. Asami is proof this, as she had no point other than being an obstacle for Korra to overcome to get Mako. Her whole conflict with her father was unnecessary, as it had very poor development and a poor resoltution. Asami could have been a very interesting character; like Korra, she had potential, but it was ultimately wasted on that nemesis of potentially good plotlines: romance.
Mako - tch, what can you say about Mako. Well, because the whole pro-bending thing was dumped after two episodes, I'd say he was created just to be Korra's love interest; and he was executed terribly. He came off as a complete jerk throughout the middle of the season. He was with Asami, but did nothing but kiss her; he rarely interacted with Asami at all unless it was arguing over Korra. He was useless in combat, did nothing for strategy, and was basically present simply to be pretty and be the heart-throb of the series; just an angsty, angry, good-looking bad boy, the kinda guy every girl wants; right Korra and Asami? (Ugh, this series did nothing for female characters).
Bolin - I thought he'd develop into a clever and funny guy, like Sokka. But instead, he was only used for jokes. That's it. There's really nothing more to say.
Tenzin - the one good character in the show. He was mature, strong, caring, and pretty funny. His animations also brought out a lot of his character; similar to Sokka in TLA. Tenzin is the one who really moved the plot along and was actually more of a main character than Korra in the "main plot". Overall, no complaints about Tenzin; his children on the other hand...
Jinora - what is with children in this world being so interested in romance? She's 12 years-old and all she does is talk about boys and relationships; that's it. That's her only character trait. C'mon writers, girls and women can have other interests!
Ikki - basically nothing to say here, but at least she wasn't all boy crazy like her older sister. Heh, maybe the series should've been about Ikki.
Meelo - the one for the kids to laugh at. That's basically it. Tch, so many characters in this series are such tools created by the writers.
Pema - the writers have said before that their fans of Gainax anime, and it shows here; after all, what Gainax anime wouldn't be complete without the manipulating, assertive, succubus female character. Remember little girls: if your man is in the arms of another woman, you get him to be yours by any means necessary; screw everyone else's feelings but yours. Tch, the female characters these writers create...
Lin Beifong - a promising character who was pretty close to being pretty good, but ended up failing due to poor execution. She is basically beaten throughout the series, over and over. Never learning from her mistakes, or applying herself. Why? Maybe the writers didn't want her to upstage Korra? Or maybe their just bad writers? Basically, despite a few cool moments, Lin never comes across as a strong character, despite being an adult alongside Tenzin and the daughter of Toph "Kickin' Your Ass" Beifong.
Amon - he had a good start, but when Tarrlok stole his spotlight, everything just went downhill from there. Amon continued to lose his fearful presence as the "revolution" has less and less emphasis put on it, mainly thanks to all the angsty teenage romance. His resolution was also terrible, as it reduced him to a weakling with Daddy issues.
Tarrlok - the writers must think that we're idiots, because it couldn't have been more obvious Tarrlok was a villain from the first time we see him. His execution in the story wasn't terrible, but it was short-lived and he felt more like a long plot device to get to the climax of the season with Amon.
OK. Let's get into the the final two episodes (the finale); which had me laughing out loud at what I was seeing, especially the last 10 minutes.
First, there was the backstory. My first problem here was the absurdness of Yakone altering his face; how does such technology exist in this world setting when they're just now making airplanes? Then, you have the woman who becomes Yakone's wife. Are the women in this world just so desperate that they'll fall for any man who walks their way?!? This guy is a freakin' gangster whose probably killed many people, and a woman falls for him? It's not like he was trying to start over and repent for his misdeads; why should we assume his character was any better than when he was a gangster? Was he really so nice a guy she'd marry him? I find that really hard to believe; so I'll say she was only in the story to have Amon and Tarrlok; after all, what are women good for other than making babies? Am I right? (I'm kidding ladies). Oh well, the whole backstory was a very forced scene anyway that was done to simply make us feel bad for these terrible people. This backstory wouldn't have been so bad if it was near the beginning of the series when we just met Tarrlok, but its way too late to try and make us feel sympathy for these people who've already established themselves as evil. But, let's say the backstory did get to you, and you actually felt bad for Amon and Tarrlok; well, too bad, because they die anyway. How stupid was that!?! What's the point of going out of your way to make us feel sympathy for the two villains of the series, just to have them die anyway, and by their own hand, no less. Terrible writing!
So Amon and Tarrlok's resolution was weak; how about our main characters? Well, even worse!
Now, I thought Korra losing her bending was a great thing. This way, we could see her strength come from somewhere else; maybe she would use her wits or apply her bending skills to physical martial arts, or ..... or she can just pull a Goku on us and use her strength of will to air bend. Now, I would've been fine with this, if the writers actually took the time to explain exactly how Amon was removing people's bending using blood bending, but they never do. So Amon can only take away bending that people know how to do, but there's nothing stopping them from learning other forms of bending? That's ridiculous! Shouldn't it be all or nothing? I don't know, because it was NEVER EXPLAINED!!!
But, it doesn't matter any way, because the writers pulled a deus ex machina and gave Korra her bending back because, you know, she's the avatar, and plot-armor and all that. Oh, and Korra and Mako love each other now, because you know, when (attractive) teenagers spend time with each other, they have to fall in love! But, how does Asami feel about all this? Who the hell cares! Screw her feelings! Makorra is where it's at!!! (sarcasm)
Really, the last ten minutes of the finale just had me laughing the whole time. The writers showed absolutely NO creativity. Instead, they just made everything go right back to normal. Were there any lessons learned? NO! Were there any casualties? NO! Was there a moral for the audience? NO! But, you know what, I bet Mako's getting lucky tonight, and that's all that matters. Oh, and Korra learned air bending, hoo-freakin'-ray! And all it took was finding a man you were willing to save. Way to go Korra!
Honestly, I didn't want to hate this series. Despite having some problems with Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was still an enjoyable series with some good characters, great animation, and some great writing. The Legend of Korra has none of that. The creators tried to make Korra one cohesive story going from episode to episode, instead of creating stories that stand on their own like in TLA, and I think that's where Korra fell apart; there's just a complete lack of focus. And why did the writers focus so much on the romance? It's not as if romance can't be written well (though it's not as if it was done particularly well in TLA either, but still better than Korra's), and it's not like a romance story with these characters couldn't have been good, but if you're going to try and create a setting in conflict and create a story around said conflict, don't constantly detract from it with angtsy teenage romance. Write a romance story instead. Focus, dammit, focus!
Really, everything wrong with this series comes right down to the writing.
Alright, that's it for this rant. Sorry for anyone who read this and enjoyed The Legend of Korra. This is just my opinion, you're absolutely free to refute everything I said here and enjoy the series; however, I stand by everything I said in this post.
I'm going to say this right now: I did not enjoy this season at all, and this post is going to be all criticisms and complaints. I'll give the show two credits, it's beautiful art direction seen throughout the season, and some good voice acting from the cast.
OK. So, the first season of Korra is all wrapped up and it was terrible. The final two episodes were just the icing on the cake, heh. This post will be about my criticisms and complaints about the entire season, not just the last two episodes. The best way to go about this is by criticizing the source of everything bad in this series (by which I mean The Legend of Korra, not The Last Airbender): the characters.
But first, I want to move attention to the biggest flaw in this series for me: throughout The Legend of Korra, there was never a sign that benders were evil. All we get are the ruffians in the first episode and a sentence where Mako says his parents were killed by a fire bender; other than that, nothing. How is the audience supposed to sympathize with Amon, or for that matter, actually understand where is passion for equality even comes from? A conflict needs an established source, and the equalist conflict, the conflict that is the driving force behind the entire story of The Legend of Korra, has no discernible or impactful source. It's simply: "we gotta stop that bad guy! Why? Because he's a bad guy!". This is just poor writing. OK, with that point out of the way, onto the characters...
Korra - talk about the destruction of a potentially great character. Basically, all of my fears from the first two episodes came true. While it was obvious the writers would pair Korra up with one of the brothers, I feared the resulting romance would result in the destruction of Korra's character into a cliched and poorly executed mess of a character; and that's exactly what happened. Korra's air bending training via playing in the pro-bending tournaments, as well as her development into a less hot-headed person; all thrown out the window for angsty teenage romance. Korra's character was reduced to the lowest common denominator (espeically as a female protagonist) by becoming a girl who acted simply by impulses, whether it be in her juvenile crush on Mako, or her stupid decisions concerning her battles; Korra was not written as a character, but simply a plot device; something many other characters were also reduced to. Furthermore, Korra severly lacked presence in the overall story; I would guess that Mako had more screentime and dialogue than Korra did. Oh, and moping about the loss of bending at the end did nothing for her character, nor did the return of her bending as a result of said moping. Weak!
Asami - a character obviously created solely for the love triangle sub-plot. No, you know what? The romance wasn't a sub-plot. This whole freakin' series was an angsty teenage romance story the whole way through; the "main plot" was there, but it always felt like it was put into the background of the romance plotline. Asami is proof this, as she had no point other than being an obstacle for Korra to overcome to get Mako. Her whole conflict with her father was unnecessary, as it had very poor development and a poor resoltution. Asami could have been a very interesting character; like Korra, she had potential, but it was ultimately wasted on that nemesis of potentially good plotlines: romance.
Mako - tch, what can you say about Mako. Well, because the whole pro-bending thing was dumped after two episodes, I'd say he was created just to be Korra's love interest; and he was executed terribly. He came off as a complete jerk throughout the middle of the season. He was with Asami, but did nothing but kiss her; he rarely interacted with Asami at all unless it was arguing over Korra. He was useless in combat, did nothing for strategy, and was basically present simply to be pretty and be the heart-throb of the series; just an angsty, angry, good-looking bad boy, the kinda guy every girl wants; right Korra and Asami? (Ugh, this series did nothing for female characters).
Bolin - I thought he'd develop into a clever and funny guy, like Sokka. But instead, he was only used for jokes. That's it. There's really nothing more to say.
Tenzin - the one good character in the show. He was mature, strong, caring, and pretty funny. His animations also brought out a lot of his character; similar to Sokka in TLA. Tenzin is the one who really moved the plot along and was actually more of a main character than Korra in the "main plot". Overall, no complaints about Tenzin; his children on the other hand...
Jinora - what is with children in this world being so interested in romance? She's 12 years-old and all she does is talk about boys and relationships; that's it. That's her only character trait. C'mon writers, girls and women can have other interests!
Ikki - basically nothing to say here, but at least she wasn't all boy crazy like her older sister. Heh, maybe the series should've been about Ikki.
Meelo - the one for the kids to laugh at. That's basically it. Tch, so many characters in this series are such tools created by the writers.
Pema - the writers have said before that their fans of Gainax anime, and it shows here; after all, what Gainax anime wouldn't be complete without the manipulating, assertive, succubus female character. Remember little girls: if your man is in the arms of another woman, you get him to be yours by any means necessary; screw everyone else's feelings but yours. Tch, the female characters these writers create...
Lin Beifong - a promising character who was pretty close to being pretty good, but ended up failing due to poor execution. She is basically beaten throughout the series, over and over. Never learning from her mistakes, or applying herself. Why? Maybe the writers didn't want her to upstage Korra? Or maybe their just bad writers? Basically, despite a few cool moments, Lin never comes across as a strong character, despite being an adult alongside Tenzin and the daughter of Toph "Kickin' Your Ass" Beifong.
Amon - he had a good start, but when Tarrlok stole his spotlight, everything just went downhill from there. Amon continued to lose his fearful presence as the "revolution" has less and less emphasis put on it, mainly thanks to all the angsty teenage romance. His resolution was also terrible, as it reduced him to a weakling with Daddy issues.
Tarrlok - the writers must think that we're idiots, because it couldn't have been more obvious Tarrlok was a villain from the first time we see him. His execution in the story wasn't terrible, but it was short-lived and he felt more like a long plot device to get to the climax of the season with Amon.
OK. Let's get into the the final two episodes (the finale); which had me laughing out loud at what I was seeing, especially the last 10 minutes.
First, there was the backstory. My first problem here was the absurdness of Yakone altering his face; how does such technology exist in this world setting when they're just now making airplanes? Then, you have the woman who becomes Yakone's wife. Are the women in this world just so desperate that they'll fall for any man who walks their way?!? This guy is a freakin' gangster whose probably killed many people, and a woman falls for him? It's not like he was trying to start over and repent for his misdeads; why should we assume his character was any better than when he was a gangster? Was he really so nice a guy she'd marry him? I find that really hard to believe; so I'll say she was only in the story to have Amon and Tarrlok; after all, what are women good for other than making babies? Am I right? (I'm kidding ladies). Oh well, the whole backstory was a very forced scene anyway that was done to simply make us feel bad for these terrible people. This backstory wouldn't have been so bad if it was near the beginning of the series when we just met Tarrlok, but its way too late to try and make us feel sympathy for these people who've already established themselves as evil. But, let's say the backstory did get to you, and you actually felt bad for Amon and Tarrlok; well, too bad, because they die anyway. How stupid was that!?! What's the point of going out of your way to make us feel sympathy for the two villains of the series, just to have them die anyway, and by their own hand, no less. Terrible writing!
So Amon and Tarrlok's resolution was weak; how about our main characters? Well, even worse!
Now, I thought Korra losing her bending was a great thing. This way, we could see her strength come from somewhere else; maybe she would use her wits or apply her bending skills to physical martial arts, or ..... or she can just pull a Goku on us and use her strength of will to air bend. Now, I would've been fine with this, if the writers actually took the time to explain exactly how Amon was removing people's bending using blood bending, but they never do. So Amon can only take away bending that people know how to do, but there's nothing stopping them from learning other forms of bending? That's ridiculous! Shouldn't it be all or nothing? I don't know, because it was NEVER EXPLAINED!!!
But, it doesn't matter any way, because the writers pulled a deus ex machina and gave Korra her bending back because, you know, she's the avatar, and plot-armor and all that. Oh, and Korra and Mako love each other now, because you know, when (attractive) teenagers spend time with each other, they have to fall in love! But, how does Asami feel about all this? Who the hell cares! Screw her feelings! Makorra is where it's at!!! (sarcasm)
Really, the last ten minutes of the finale just had me laughing the whole time. The writers showed absolutely NO creativity. Instead, they just made everything go right back to normal. Were there any lessons learned? NO! Were there any casualties? NO! Was there a moral for the audience? NO! But, you know what, I bet Mako's getting lucky tonight, and that's all that matters. Oh, and Korra learned air bending, hoo-freakin'-ray! And all it took was finding a man you were willing to save. Way to go Korra!
Honestly, I didn't want to hate this series. Despite having some problems with Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was still an enjoyable series with some good characters, great animation, and some great writing. The Legend of Korra has none of that. The creators tried to make Korra one cohesive story going from episode to episode, instead of creating stories that stand on their own like in TLA, and I think that's where Korra fell apart; there's just a complete lack of focus. And why did the writers focus so much on the romance? It's not as if romance can't be written well (though it's not as if it was done particularly well in TLA either, but still better than Korra's), and it's not like a romance story with these characters couldn't have been good, but if you're going to try and create a setting in conflict and create a story around said conflict, don't constantly detract from it with angtsy teenage romance. Write a romance story instead. Focus, dammit, focus!
Really, everything wrong with this series comes right down to the writing.
Alright, that's it for this rant. Sorry for anyone who read this and enjoyed The Legend of Korra. This is just my opinion, you're absolutely free to refute everything I said here and enjoy the series; however, I stand by everything I said in this post.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Thoughts on Hayate X Blade
In my opinion, Hayate X Blade is the most under-appreciated manga ever. This doesn't mean a whole lot coming from someone like me who doesn't read that much manga, but I still stand by it.
There is so much to love in HxB that it surprises me how few people know about it. It's filled with superb characters (of which there are well over a dozen), great sword fights, and it's very, very funny. And all of it is supported by mangaka Shizuru Hayashiya's superb writing and art.
While the manga provides some great fights, and some interesting drama and characterization, it's the comedy that really makes it shine. HxB is funny consistently. Every chapter is a riot, even those involving fights, and its always well times, well written, and always within the lines of the characters' personalities.
Actually, I lied, it's not the comedy that makes HxB shine, it's the characters. Every character in HxB is fantastic and bursting with personality and unique characteristics. It would take too long to go through them all, but Hitsugi is one of the greatest characters in manga.
Honestly, I don't know what else I can say about this series. It's absolutely superb, and is my second favorite manga series after One Piece. It's practically perfect in every way. The action is well drawn and greatly executed, and makes fight scenes in other, more popular, Shonen series pale in comparison. The characters are all unique and very likable. It has some great drama and characterization; all of which allows the characters to grow over time, even within the manga's young life it has right now; in fact, HxB manages to develop their characters more in just a few chapters than most other manga do in their whole series. And it's all complemented by superbly written and executed comedy that ranged from witty word-play to pure slapstick (in fact, it's mostly slapstick).
I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it's all just so great. I highly recommend giving it a try if you are interested in a character focused comedy-drama-action manga filled with great characters and comedy.
If I had any problems with HxB, it would be that some characters are introduced and have some great scenes, but we won't see them again for quite some time. They always return later, but sometimes it can get frustrating when your favorite character doesn't show up for a while. Also, HxB is very character-focused with it's story, comedy, and drama; as such, there isn't much world building, and as such, HxB isn't what one would call "epic" in scale, but because these characters are so endearing, there are definitely moments that scratch that "epic" itch.
There is so much to love in HxB that it surprises me how few people know about it. It's filled with superb characters (of which there are well over a dozen), great sword fights, and it's very, very funny. And all of it is supported by mangaka Shizuru Hayashiya's superb writing and art.
While the manga provides some great fights, and some interesting drama and characterization, it's the comedy that really makes it shine. HxB is funny consistently. Every chapter is a riot, even those involving fights, and its always well times, well written, and always within the lines of the characters' personalities.
Actually, I lied, it's not the comedy that makes HxB shine, it's the characters. Every character in HxB is fantastic and bursting with personality and unique characteristics. It would take too long to go through them all, but Hitsugi is one of the greatest characters in manga.
Honestly, I don't know what else I can say about this series. It's absolutely superb, and is my second favorite manga series after One Piece. It's practically perfect in every way. The action is well drawn and greatly executed, and makes fight scenes in other, more popular, Shonen series pale in comparison. The characters are all unique and very likable. It has some great drama and characterization; all of which allows the characters to grow over time, even within the manga's young life it has right now; in fact, HxB manages to develop their characters more in just a few chapters than most other manga do in their whole series. And it's all complemented by superbly written and executed comedy that ranged from witty word-play to pure slapstick (in fact, it's mostly slapstick).
I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it's all just so great. I highly recommend giving it a try if you are interested in a character focused comedy-drama-action manga filled with great characters and comedy.
If I had any problems with HxB, it would be that some characters are introduced and have some great scenes, but we won't see them again for quite some time. They always return later, but sometimes it can get frustrating when your favorite character doesn't show up for a while. Also, HxB is very character-focused with it's story, comedy, and drama; as such, there isn't much world building, and as such, HxB isn't what one would call "epic" in scale, but because these characters are so endearing, there are definitely moments that scratch that "epic" itch.
Rant: Women in Manga/Anime/Comics
The credentials for a good female character are no different than those of a good male character. Why? Because aside from actions involving the unique genitals of each sex, women and men can do the exact same things. There aren't feelings only women can feel, nor are there any physical actions men can do that women cannot. As such, there shouldn't be some huge checklist of traits that a female character should have. While it may seem sexist to say this: a good female character more than likely could be turned into a male and there should be no major differences in how we view the character as a good one, and that same can be applied to male characters. Women can fight, they can bleed, they can be hot-blooded, they can get angry, and they can kick ass, and yet creators everywhere feel they have to take all of these precautions when creating female characters, when they should just focus on making a good character who simply happens to be female. Just look at Hayate X Blade with it's huge all-female cast composed of very unique and very diverse characters.
Now, that's not to say that unique female characteristics do not exist and can be implemented well into a character. A superb example of this is Izumi Curtis in the manga Fullmetal Alchemist who was a strong and loving person in her own right, but had unique character traits due to her maternal characters. Much of her character was developed through the execution of her as a mother who had been through tough hardships as a mother. These types of characteristics are something unique to her character as a female, because as a female, she is the one who gave birth to her child, and must personally deal with the fact that she will not be able to give birth again. However, she finds happiness in the Elric brothers, and how she became a motherly figure to them, and how she saw them as her sons. This is a perfect example of how to make a great character who must be female. A man in Izumi's positions would not be able to have the same character traits, due to the maternal characteristics of her as a woman.
Now, to move onto the poor executions of female characters, which basically come down to the simple action of a creator having a female character for the sole purpose of showing off T&A or simply having them present as something for men to have sex with. I find the worst example to be the latter, so I'll begin with that. If you look at a series like Queen's Blade, where there are solely female characters, sure, there is a lot of T&A, but its never for the enjoyment of some other character, rather its simply there for fanservice purposes. But when you get into series that present men and women, many times the situation comes up where the women are simply objects for the men to ogle and harass, or even have sex with. I see this as just exploitation of the female character, even when they are prevelant chracters in their respective manga/anime/comic. Just look at every Gainax anime, where the women are simply present as a means to an end for the male character(s) of each series to look more manly by seeing these female characters naked, touching their breasts, or being aroused by them. In other series, we see instances of male characters having sex with (often nameless) female characters simply for the sake of making them look more manly; an example of this being the character of Agon in the manga Eyeshield 21, who would have sex with and consistently date many nameless female characters throughout the series for the sake of just making him look more manly. Why do this!?!? Having sex with a lot of women does not make a man "manly". Being strong, responsible, and a good leader is what makes a man "manly", not how many women you've had sex with. It's a shame, because this whole "manly" image created from having a lot of sex is in practically every sitcom, drama, and soap opera on TV (at least here in the United States), and I'm guessing it's no different throughout the world considering this type of execution of "manly" characters is prevalent throughout all entertainment media aimed at older teens and above. This is what happens when men dominate creative media, and yet I've seen many women's creations have similar executions of character, even on the female side, where women have pride over how many women they've had sex with. So, I guess this is just something I just don't understand; both in why creators consistently create these types of characters as well as why so many people enjoy these types of characters.
Like I've said so many times before: sex is for porn; keep it there.
The next situations arises from just using women for T&A in general. Look, in manga/anime/comics, where men are the often the main source of readers and men are the majority of the creators, I can see why there is T&A; however, there are right and wrong ways to go about this. Quite simply, don't use women as objects that are simply made to be gawked at. Make them good characters who simply happen to be sexy; just look at One Piece, which has many attractive female characters, but I guarantee you that if you ask any fan of the manga to say what they think about them, the first thing they say will not be that "she has big breasts" or "she's sexy". But when you get into manga/anime like Fairy Tail (or any of Mishima's works for that matter), you just get female characters who are simply present to be "sexy for the camera" and harassed by the male characters so that not only more sex appeal can arise from the female characters (the female character's respect and characterization be damned) and for the male characters to look cool and "manly". If you need further examples of the exploitation of the female body in the form of a female character see any harem manga/anime or American comic. In fact, American comics may be even more guilty of using female characters simply for their "sexy bits" than even manga/anime. At least manga/anime are often clear from the very beginning that "this is going to be an ecchi series; so don't show the kids!", but when looking at American comics, it's often something thrown into the comic because it's on some checklist every comic artist has. I was really surprised at how many female characters in comics were, for lack of a better term, sluts.
This all just annoys me. I've got nothing against fanservice, but it can get to the point where I just get pissed off really quick. I had to stop reading Fairy Tail for the reasons above. Things definitely aren't getting any better, but at least there are still a lot of manga that still keep it classy or keep their fanservice on low levels and just let the fan-artists and doujin creators do their work.
I know that I may have looked over certain things throughout this post simply because this was just a rant I felt like writing after learning about the contents of the newest Fairy Tail chapter, but I still think I made a point in all this. I really just want to point out that a good female character doesn't have to be sexy, nor does it mean a good female character can't be sexy. A great character is developed out of their actions, and if you make your female character a slut, there's no good that's going to come out of that (see Gainax's Panty and Stocking anime), nor does having a man have sex with a lot of female characters doesn't make him "manly" nor does it do anything good for the image of females in your creative work. Develop a character out of their actions, make us love the character out of what they do and who they are; if that character happens to be female, that's fine, if she happens to ooze with sex appeal, that's fine too, just treat her with respect. That's all I ask.
Now, that's not to say that unique female characteristics do not exist and can be implemented well into a character. A superb example of this is Izumi Curtis in the manga Fullmetal Alchemist who was a strong and loving person in her own right, but had unique character traits due to her maternal characters. Much of her character was developed through the execution of her as a mother who had been through tough hardships as a mother. These types of characteristics are something unique to her character as a female, because as a female, she is the one who gave birth to her child, and must personally deal with the fact that she will not be able to give birth again. However, she finds happiness in the Elric brothers, and how she became a motherly figure to them, and how she saw them as her sons. This is a perfect example of how to make a great character who must be female. A man in Izumi's positions would not be able to have the same character traits, due to the maternal characteristics of her as a woman.
Now, to move onto the poor executions of female characters, which basically come down to the simple action of a creator having a female character for the sole purpose of showing off T&A or simply having them present as something for men to have sex with. I find the worst example to be the latter, so I'll begin with that. If you look at a series like Queen's Blade, where there are solely female characters, sure, there is a lot of T&A, but its never for the enjoyment of some other character, rather its simply there for fanservice purposes. But when you get into series that present men and women, many times the situation comes up where the women are simply objects for the men to ogle and harass, or even have sex with. I see this as just exploitation of the female character, even when they are prevelant chracters in their respective manga/anime/comic. Just look at every Gainax anime, where the women are simply present as a means to an end for the male character(s) of each series to look more manly by seeing these female characters naked, touching their breasts, or being aroused by them. In other series, we see instances of male characters having sex with (often nameless) female characters simply for the sake of making them look more manly; an example of this being the character of Agon in the manga Eyeshield 21, who would have sex with and consistently date many nameless female characters throughout the series for the sake of just making him look more manly. Why do this!?!? Having sex with a lot of women does not make a man "manly". Being strong, responsible, and a good leader is what makes a man "manly", not how many women you've had sex with. It's a shame, because this whole "manly" image created from having a lot of sex is in practically every sitcom, drama, and soap opera on TV (at least here in the United States), and I'm guessing it's no different throughout the world considering this type of execution of "manly" characters is prevalent throughout all entertainment media aimed at older teens and above. This is what happens when men dominate creative media, and yet I've seen many women's creations have similar executions of character, even on the female side, where women have pride over how many women they've had sex with. So, I guess this is just something I just don't understand; both in why creators consistently create these types of characters as well as why so many people enjoy these types of characters.
Like I've said so many times before: sex is for porn; keep it there.
The next situations arises from just using women for T&A in general. Look, in manga/anime/comics, where men are the often the main source of readers and men are the majority of the creators, I can see why there is T&A; however, there are right and wrong ways to go about this. Quite simply, don't use women as objects that are simply made to be gawked at. Make them good characters who simply happen to be sexy; just look at One Piece, which has many attractive female characters, but I guarantee you that if you ask any fan of the manga to say what they think about them, the first thing they say will not be that "she has big breasts" or "she's sexy". But when you get into manga/anime like Fairy Tail (or any of Mishima's works for that matter), you just get female characters who are simply present to be "sexy for the camera" and harassed by the male characters so that not only more sex appeal can arise from the female characters (the female character's respect and characterization be damned) and for the male characters to look cool and "manly". If you need further examples of the exploitation of the female body in the form of a female character see any harem manga/anime or American comic. In fact, American comics may be even more guilty of using female characters simply for their "sexy bits" than even manga/anime. At least manga/anime are often clear from the very beginning that "this is going to be an ecchi series; so don't show the kids!", but when looking at American comics, it's often something thrown into the comic because it's on some checklist every comic artist has. I was really surprised at how many female characters in comics were, for lack of a better term, sluts.
This all just annoys me. I've got nothing against fanservice, but it can get to the point where I just get pissed off really quick. I had to stop reading Fairy Tail for the reasons above. Things definitely aren't getting any better, but at least there are still a lot of manga that still keep it classy or keep their fanservice on low levels and just let the fan-artists and doujin creators do their work.
I know that I may have looked over certain things throughout this post simply because this was just a rant I felt like writing after learning about the contents of the newest Fairy Tail chapter, but I still think I made a point in all this. I really just want to point out that a good female character doesn't have to be sexy, nor does it mean a good female character can't be sexy. A great character is developed out of their actions, and if you make your female character a slut, there's no good that's going to come out of that (see Gainax's Panty and Stocking anime), nor does having a man have sex with a lot of female characters doesn't make him "manly" nor does it do anything good for the image of females in your creative work. Develop a character out of their actions, make us love the character out of what they do and who they are; if that character happens to be female, that's fine, if she happens to ooze with sex appeal, that's fine too, just treat her with respect. That's all I ask.
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