Okay so first off, let me just apologize for not posting anything for over a week. Work took up alot of my time and I fell ill during the weekend, that's why.
Anyway, most of you already know about this by now but the very last livestream related to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS got announced days ago, set for December 15 2015 at 2pm PST (For those in Singapore, that's 6am on December 16). This is a rather late but quick announcement blog post but I am going to be posting live updates during the livestream. Well, this depends on how long this livestream's gonna last. My work's like at 8am SST so hopefully, I should be able to watch the livestream and watch in full.
Anyway, the livestream is available on Nintendo's Twitch channel and Nintendo Direct's official website so do check them out there. As for where my updates are gonna be at, they'll be over at both Suzaku ProjectWork's Twitter and Facebook pages so give them a follow and like respectively. As for how I'm gonna be doing this on my own, not to worry. I'll be primarily updating on Twitter but as my Twitter page is linked with my Facebook fanpage, all tweets will be automatically updated there. Oh and about the round-up blog post, that's gonna take a while as I have stuff to get done for the rest of the day, so expect it by the day after.
Anyway guys, I'll see you guys then. Shu Serian, signing off.
Okay guys just came back from work at the time of this posting but hey,
had to report on this. The latest trailer for The King Of Fighters XIV
that was shown at The PlayStation Experience 2015 is now up online and
pretty much confirms A-LOT of things. First up, the game has been
confirmed to have 50 playable characters, all split into 16 teams. THIS
pleases me. The KOF series has been mainly known for its format where
character where split into different teams, with the exception of the
KOF Maximum Impact games, which were your atypical fighting game fare.
So this I like.
Another thing to note is that there's a Party
Battle mode alongside the obligatory offline and online modes, where 4
players can duke it out at the same time, each controlling a team. Yes,
Party Battle pretty much allows 16 characters in one
fight. And yes, there seems to be a new story in this game. To be
honest, I was scared as while I was fine with the non-canon games in the
series, what excited me were the different story arcs in the game's
continuity. So I'm glad that this is coming back.
Oh and yes,
more playable characters confirmed. The pic above is one of the
newly-confirmed playable characters, Kula Diamond. If the rumors are
true, expect to see K' and Maxima show up in this game too. Others
include Ralf Jones, Billy Kane, King, and Angel.
Anyway, enough talk. Trailer's below so go check it out and let me know what you guys think. Shu Serian, signing off.
Man I'm on a roll today on blog posts here, now aren't I? Anyway, a random user who I have no idea from where has leaked out the first quarter catalogue for the upcoming 40th Anniversary Super Sentai series set to air next year, the animal-themed (again -_-iii) Doubutsu Sentai JuuOhger. And boy do we have some BIG info.
Okay so get this: For the first time ever, we'll be starting out with 6 members in the main team as opposed to the usual 3 or 5. The members are JuuOhEagle (Red), JuuOhShark (Blue. Note that she's female but not light blue like most female Blue Rangers), JuuOhLion (Yellow), JuuOhTiger (White. The only other female on the team), JuuOhElephant (Green) and JuuOhGorilla (Black).
Another thing to note: The gimmick. The JuuOhger's gimmick are the JuuOh Cubes, which allow them to henshin and summon weapons and mecha. Their henshin device is known as the JuuOhChanger and their sidearm weapon is the JuuOhBlaster. Plus, JuuOhEagle has the EagRiser as a personal weapon.
Now, Mecha. CubeEagle, CubeShark and CubeLion (Red, Blue and Yellow's mecha) combine into the team's main mecha, JuuOhKing, while CubeTiger, CubeElephant and CubeGorilla (White, Green and Black's mecha) combine into JuuOhWild. And yes, there are auxiliary mecha, with CubeGiraffe set to debut.
Anyway, this is all we know for now. What do you guys think? For me, I'm actually a little more interested in this as for both Super Sentai and, subsequently, Power Rangers (possibly), this'll be the first team to start out with 6 members in the core team. Unique, if I might add.
But enough of my opinions. Sound off below what you guys think. As for me, I'll see you guys in the next blog post.
Okay so the pic above is somewhat a placeholder for until I can come up with a proper logo pic for these type of posts (Don't ask. I'll have people nagging at me for make a wordy blog post without visuals.).
So anyway, no news this time but this is something I'm probably gonna be doing quite often, which I unceremoniously call "My Music Interest". But what is My Music Interest? It's basically a series of blog posts that I'll be doing either when I'm free, once a week or once a month. As for what it's about, it's where I share the songs I'm hooked up on lately, be it full songs or just short versions. Just something I thought I'd share just for my readers to learn a little more about me.
So anyway, let's get on with the first, shall we?
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PLASMIC FIRE by KOTOKO x ALTIMA
Okay so one of my all-time favorite bands is ALTIMA and on occasion, I do listen to KOTOKO. Both bands are a pretty big part of my otaku fandom. So hearing them perform this song pleases ALOT. And yes, this song is called PLASMIC FIRE and is the opening theme for the upcoming anime, Accel World: Infinite Burst.
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1983 -Schwarzesmarken- by fripSide
Okay so here's a question: What do ALTIMA and fripSide have in common? 2 things:-
1. Both have Satoshi Yaginuma a.k.a Sat as member/composer. 3. Both are 2 of my favorite bands.
So anyway, the video above is the opening intro for the visual novel adaption of Muv-Luv: Schwarzesmarken and featuring the opening theme, 1983 -Schwarzesmarken- by fripSide. And yes, I absolutely love it. BTW, Schwarzesmarken is getting an anime adaption too. _________________________________
Can't Stop!! by Sanae Katagiri (Voiced by Azumi Waki)
So let's talk THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls. Yes, I am a fan. Anyway, no videos this time as there's a download for the single online and also because I want people to actually hear the song for themselves.
Anyway, what do I think of this song? Energetic. I'm constantly playing this song on loop most of the time. Though, atleast in my own opinion, this is one of those songs that is meant to be performed live. As for whether this song suits Sanae, quite befitting. The character's always been depicted as someone "genki" and given her background as an ex-police officer, absolutely befitting. _________________________________
Himitsu no Toilette by Shiki Ichinose (Voiced by Kotomi Aihara)
Oh look everyone, another iDOLM@STER song. Yeah this one's the solo single for Shiki Ichinose. This one's not as energetic as Can't Stop!! but it's not a slow song either. Rather, I find it relaxing. I usually listen to this song when I need to relax for abit, which happens alot lately.
As for whether this song suits Shiki or not, no idea. I never really saw her as a cute type of idol, which was how they were marketing her as, but given the song and her voice, I can see now why. Though, I still think she's better off as a Passion idol (Go read up on Cinderella Girls. They categorize the idols under Cute, Cool, and Passion, all based on background and personality).
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So yeah here's a sample of some of the songs I've been hooked up on lately. Leave a comment below on your favorite songs, music genre or singers/bands. You can also leave some suggestions too on what I should check out on. I'm mostly into J-Pop, J-Rock, Synthpop, Electronic Rock, Digital Hardcore, though I do listen to other genres from time to time.
Okay. A ton of you guys have already seen this and know this, but hey, Imma still blog about it. Samurai Jack, which originally aired from 2001 to 2004 before getting re-runs here and there, is returning with a totally brand-new season and has been confirmed to air on Adult Swim's Toonami block in the US in 2016, which isn't all that far. Most of you guys already know the plot but the story's simple: a nameless samurai from ancient Japan goes on a mission to slay the powerful demon Aku, but gets sent to a cyberpunk future ruled by Aku. Adopting the name "Jack", this samurai continues his quest to battle Aku while trying to find a way back to his time period.
Anyway, I'm excited. REALLY excited. I grew up watching this show and loved every minute of it. So this pleases me. Unfortunately though, I don't live in the US and a ton of shows on Toonami Asia are re-runs and mostly kids' action shows. Yeah kinda sucks. Which is why I'm hoping that Toonami Asia can do something and have this new Samurai Jack series air on Toonami Asia.
Anyway, a short trailer's below so go check it out and leave a comment.
Okay okay I know I know. I've been busy with real-life shit like work and stuff. Also, the pic above is just a fan art as there's no official art right now, but the subject is related.
Anyway, ratings over at Classificacao Indicativa in Brazil and Australian Classification in, well, Australia reveal something pretty big: A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 AND Xbox One. The game's called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan and is being developed by Platinum Games and published by Activision. You guys have seen them collab before in Transformers: Devastation and I also previous blogged about Platinum Games' other upcoming work, NieR:Automata.
Anyway, it's no secret that I've been a MASSIVE fan of TMNT ever since I was a kid. Watched all the cartoons and movies and still love it to this day. I remember when I was little, I would pester my parents to buy me a TMNT action figure, especially of Raphael (because Red was my favorite color), every time I spotted an action figure.
So anyway, what do you guys think? Leave your comments below and I'll see you in the next blog post.
Okay so Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is an upcoming Action-RPG for both PC and, now, the PlayStation 4 being made by Singapore-based Witching Hour Studios. Here's a brief description of the game from the developers, directly from their press kit:-
Unravel the conspiracies enshrouding the city of Ombre in Masquerada, an
isometric action RPG set in a lush 2.5D Venetian fantasy world of masks
and magic. Players will follow Inspettore, Cicero Gavar as he returns
from exile to solve a kidnapping that will shake the foundations of the
legacy-obsessed city to its core.
Frenetic combat is taken to a new level of control, as players are
capable of tactically pausing the action on the battlefield and issuing
orders to their party of three. There are five controllable party
members throughout the game, each with their own meaningful storylines
to discover in a colourful yet gloomy city where the Masquerada, the
holders of masks, lord over those who do not.
These masks represent the only way to use magic in this world, making
the Masquerada a force to be reckoned with across Citte della Ombre and
the countries that surround it. They are conduits of power, providing
their wielders access to skills unique to the mask’s class and element.
More masks can be collected throughout the game, each of which provide a
different, unique power capable of changing the tide of battle.
The five playable characters each have their own classes, of which
there are three distinct types: the Sicario (rogue), the Pavisierre
(tank) and the Dirge (bard). Cicero is a Maestro, a hybrid class, and
draws from the skills of all three main classes. Each class will have
access to 8 to 10 different abilities, all of which possess their own
skill trees.
Players will be able to dominate the battlefield by taking advantage
of synergies between each character’s skills, while skill modifiers
allow for even more varied applications. For example, with Zephyr –
Cicero’s teleportation spell – players can choose an offense-oriented
modification that blasts out hot air when Cicero re-appears.
Alternatively, a defensive modification could blast cold air to freeze
enemies at Cicero’s original location, buying him time to recover or
cast other spells.
Positioning on the battlefield has additional importance in
Masquerada. All player characters, NPCs and enemies have armour (whether
physical or magical) that must be dealt with before being able to hurt
them. With flank attacks, armour can only mitigate half the damage dealt
to a target, and attacks to the rear cause full damage to a target. As
such, planning to position one’s magic attacks becomes vital.
In a city so rampant with magic, religion has little cause to exist.
As such, people do not believe in an afterlife. Consequently, people are
highly concerned about how they will be remembered after death. Ombrian
society, as ruled by the Masquerada, has addressed this by having
people commemorated in songs about their deeds, hopes and dreams.
However, only the Masquerada themselves are eligible to be remembered in
song, deepening the rift between the haves and have-nots, and driving
home the bleak reality that those without masks cease to exist beyond
death.
Now, this obviously is a new IP and probably from the get-go, probably won't get much notoriety. But there's a few key things to note, one of which being that this is probably THE first video game from Singapore that isn't a generic smartphone game or an educational game but a purely entertaining game for gamers. So this is a pretty huge deal.
Now, the other thing: The MDA a.k.a Media Development Authority a.k.a the Government organization in charge of regulation of media content in Singapore a.k.a the dictators of Singapore's media industry. They had actually tried to censor this game. Why? Because of one particular character who is gay and also because of their anti-LGBTQ laws. Despite this though, the developers are still pushing forward to include this gay character in the game.
Anyway, my opinion? I'm a hardcore gamer and I absolutely love Action-RPGs. Plus, this game appeals to me a ton. And yes, I fucking hate the MDA for nitpicking on one character. I don't totally hate them but I do hate them for asinine reasons like this.
Anyway, I'll see you guys at the next blog post. Shu Serian, signing off.
Okay so I haven't made any blog posts in over a week, huh? Well, it's
actually because I'm currently working on an anime review and video game
review.
Anyway, SNK Playmore has just released a new trailer for
The King Of Fighters XIV, along with a press release, confirming that a
playable demo of the game will be showing up at the PlayStation
Experience and that Andy Bogard, a staple playable character in most of
the KOF games AND Fatal Fury games, has been confirmed as a playable
character, alongside the likes of series protagonist Kyo Kusanagi, Kyo's
main rival Iori Yagami, Leona Heidern and Chang Koehan.
Anyway,
trailer is below so go check it out and leave a comment what you guys
think. And yes, they still haven't updated the graphics. I get it. So
keep it tasteful, 'kay?
Okay
guys so just today, a new multimedia project got revealed known as Luck
& Logic. The project is a joint collaboration between Bandai
Visual, TCG juggernaut Bushiroad, animation studio Doga Kobo (famous for
Plastic Memories, Himouto! Umaru-chan and Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA),
visual novel and project developer Nitro+, animation studio Yuuhodou and
record label Lantis and spans various forms of media, primarily an
anime and TCG.
Additionally, the setting, story, cast and staff for the anime got announced too. First up, the setting and story:-
The story sets in a world where a concept known as "Logic"
governs all aspects of life, including emotions, talent, memories, and
even gods. In L.C. 922, people faced a sudden crisis. In Tetra Heaven,
the land of legend, a hundred years of war had come to a
close. The gods who lost the war searched for a new place to live, and
found it in Septpia, the human world, which they proceeded to attack.
The Logicalists attached to ALCA, a special police agency whose duty it
was to protect cities from assaults by foreigners (angels), were
compelled to act in defense of cities, whether they wished to or not.
And depending on their ability, Logicalists could initiate trance with
goddesses from the other world, and stand a fighting chance on the
battlefield. A civilian named Yoshichika Tsurugi, who lacked "Logic" and
lived
happily with his family, was caught up in an attack, and took shelter
along with many people. He meets a beautiful goddess named Athena. In
her hands, she had the "Logic" that Yoshichika lacked. Now both
Yoshichika and Athena head to their destiny
And now, the main cast:-
Kensho Ono as protagonist Yoshichika Tsurugi
Sumire Uesaka as Yoshichika's Trance partner, Athena
Risa Taneda as Tamaki Yurine
Nao Touyama as Tamaki's Trance partner, Venus
Sora Tokui as Chloe Maxwell
Chiaki Omigawa as Chloe's Trance partner, Valkyrie
Inori Minase as Mana Asuha
Fumiko Orikasa as Mana's Trance partner, Artemis
Risa Mizuno as Veronica Ananko
Izumi Kitta as Veronica's Trance partner, Nemesis
Aimi as Yukari Nanahoshi
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Orga Brakechild
Next up, additional cast:-
Hozumi Gouda as Jarno Arino
Ai Kayano as Hieri
Kana Ueda as Pieri
Ryuu Nakatani as Quetzalcoatl
Suzuko Mimori as Logigraph
Kousuke Toriumi as Lucifer
Oh and lastly, the main staff:-
Original Story: Septpia
Original Idea/Series Composition: Yuuya Takahashi
Director: Koichi Chigira
Assistant Director: Takashi Naoya
Original Character Design/Concept Design: Mari Shimazaki
Character Design: Rei Aoi
Sub Character Design: Katsuhiro Kumatani
Creature Design: Kenji Ando
Mechanic Design: Yuuji Tani, Makoto Kobayashi
Concept Design Assistant:Ayako Sata
Chief Animation Director: Yuzo Hirata
Art Director: Hirotsugu Kakoi
Color Design: Kei Ishiguro
Director of Photography: Takafumi Kuwano
3D Director: Eiji Inomoto
Editor: Fumi Koeda
Setting Cooperation: Norimitsu Kaihou
Music: Tatsuya Kato
Music Production:Lantis
Sound Director: Hozumi Gouda
Anime Production: Doga Kobo
Production: Project Luck & Logic
Oh and that's not all. Kensho Ono's new single, STORY, will be the
opening theme for the anime while Emi Nitta's new single, Meiyaku no
Kanata, will be the ending theme. Also, a CM for the TCG is now up:-
Anyway,
Starter Decks L&L-SD01 Brave Logic and L&L-SD02 Rinne Logic and
Booster Set L&L-BT01 Growth & Genesis are all set for a January
28 2016 release while the anime is set for a January 9 2015 premiere.
So anyway guys, anyone excited? Who's gonna be
playing this new TCG or watching the anime? I know I will. Looks like a
ton of fun.
Okay so I guess I probably need to post something up here, especially since I haven't posted a thing for some days since Nintendo Direct. Anyway, earlier on Tuesday, more info got revealed for the next JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime adaption, Diamond is Unbreakable. Specifically, staff, cast AND premiere date among those things. First up, the cast:-
Yuuki Ono (Zenkichi Hitoyoshi in Medaka Box, Taiga Kagami in Kuroko no Basuke, Isami Aldini in Shokugeki no Souma) as Josuke "JoJo" Higashikata
Yuuki Kaji (Haruyuki Arita in Accel World, Amata Sora in Aquarion Evol, Eren Jaeger in Attack on Titan) as Kouichi Hirose
Wataru Takagi (Genta Kojima in Detective Conan, Obito Uchiha in Naruto, Garrod Ran in After War Gundam X) as Okuyasu Nijimura
Takahiro Sakurai (Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass, Tentomon in Digimon Adventure, Haseo in .hack//G.U.) as Rohan Kishibe
Daisuke Ono (Joutarou "JoJo" Kuujou in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, Shintarou Midorima in Kuroko no Basuke) as Joutarou "JoJo" Kuujou
Next up, the staff:-
Director: Naokatsu Tsuda (Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Series Director: Toshiyuki Kato (Storyboarder and Episode Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Chief Director: Yuuta Takamura (Episode Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Series Composer: Yasuko Kobayashi (Series Composer for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Character Designer: Terumi Nishii (Character Designer for Mawaru Penguindrum, Servant x Service and A Town Where You Live)
Stand Designer/Action Animation Director: Kenta Mimuro (Action Animation Director for the second cour of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Sub-Character Designer: Shun'ichi Ishimoto (Animator Direction Cooperator and Assistant Animation Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Prop Designer: Yukitoshi Houtani (Prop Designer for the second cour of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Art Setting: Kaoru Aoki (Art Setting for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) and Junko Nagasawa (Art Setting for Yu-Shibu)
Color Key: Yuko Sato (Color Key for Aquarian Age and Yumeiro Pâtissière)
Art Director: Shunichiro Yoshihara (Art Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Director of Photography: Kazuhiro Yamada (Director of Photography for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Editor: Kiyoshi Kirose (Editor for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami (Sound Director for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Music Composer: Yuugo Kanno (Music Composer for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Animation Production: David Production (Animation Production for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Lastly, it's been confirmed that the anime will be premiering some time in April 2016.
So anyway, what do you guys think? Excited? I know I am. Leave a comment below and do let me know if you wanna see more anime coverage. I don't get many viewers but I checked the statistics for the blog and most of you seem to like my blog posts on video games and Tokusatsu so I'll mostly be sticking to that, but I do hope to branch out more to other things like anime so do let me know what you guys wanna see. Thanks.
Okay guys so as I had promised, here's a round-up of key highlights during the November 2015 Nintendo Direct (that was streamed on November 12 in the US and UK and November 13 in Japan and Singapore), atleast those which I and others think. And boy oh boy we have ALOT to talk about here.
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So first up, The Legend of Zelda. It was rumored and many speculated and suspected, including myself, but it's now been officially confirmed: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD has been announced for the Wii U. The game will have updated graphics and new features, more of which will be revealed in a later date. As for what was reveal, right below.
Anyway, Twilight Princess HD is Amiibo-compatible, being released alongside a Wolf Link Amiibo in a bundle on March 4 2016. Ofcourse, other compatible amiibo figures include Toon Link, Zelda, Link, Sheik and Ganondorf.
As for the new Zelda game for the Wii U, 2 things have been confirmed. Obviously, the game is set to be released some time in 2016. The other bit is that the Wolf Link Amiibo is also compatible with this new iteration.
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Yes, we are back to something Zelda-related. This piece of news is for Hyrule Warriors Legends for the 3DS. Anyway, anyone remember that female Link concept named "Linkle"? Yes, she's officially a playable character in Hyrule Warriors Legends, shown as a dual-wielding crossbow gun user which her very own variation of Link's Spin Attack, the Spin Kick. Oh and Hyrule Warriors Legends has been confirmed for a March 25 2016 release date.
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And this was probably THE biggest surprise of them all, and there's little to be said about it: Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII has been announced for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Additionally, you can play as Cloud in his original look and his Advent Children look.
What's probably surprising too is obviously shown in the pic above: A Super Smash Bros. Special Broadcast livestream is set for December 2015. As for when, unconfirmed but expect a ton of new info.
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So yeah that's about it. Here's the round-up for some of THE biggest highlights of this new Nintendo Direct. As for me, if I have the time to watch it, I will be watching the Smash Broadcast and yes, I will post live updates on it. Though, I might probably do it on Twitter instead. But only probably.
So anyway, until then, I shall see you guys soon. Shu Serian, signing off.
Okay okay sorry for the LONG delay as I am an Hindu Tamil and I had to prep up for Deepavali. BUT ANYWAY, BIG NEWS! A new Nintendo Direct livestream has just been announced yesterday for November 12 in the US and UK (and yes, it's viewable internationally). The new Direct's gonna be the very first one since the passing of the previous president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, and will be talking about a bunch of brand-new Wii U and 3DS games. As for where you can view the livestream, it's available on Nintendo's official Twitch channel and Nintendo Direct's official website.
As for me, I have been doing live updates on my personal page on livestreams and especially Nintendo Direct since long before I set up this blog. I will in fact be carrying this over to Suzaku ProjectWorks. So yes, I will be posting live updates on Suzaku ProjectWorks' Facebook page as the livestream goes on and I will do a round-up of all the information revealed in the Direct, give or take a few days.
So anyway guys, the livestream's gonna start on November 12 at 2pm PST and 11pm CET (For Singapore, that'll be 6am on November 13). I will see you guys then.
Okay okay I know. It's been a while since I posted anything. But we're getting back on track here, 'kay. Oh and the title might be a little misleading but I can assure you, it sort of makes some sense.
ANYWAY, Let's talk about Captain America: Civil War. So this movie is the beginning of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, supposedly the last Captain American solo movie and probably the last time we'll ever since Human Tor-I mean Chris Evans wield the shield as Captain America.
But here's where things get interesting: Due to the source material for the storyline and Marvel's current marketing strategies, there's a likelihood that we may get a new Captain America out of this. Specifically, 2 contenders: Winter Soldier and Falcon. This blog post is basically a discussion/debate/theory/i-have-no-idea-what-this-is kind of blog post, one that will ask this question: Who will be Captain America? So let's get going, shall we?:-
Winter Soldier
So for those not in the know, the movie's adapted from a rather iconic and pivotal storyline that rocked the Marvel Universe for a good long while, Civil War. I won't go into great detail on the plot as the movie's synopsis is more or less the same as the comics, but basically, this comic book event saw the supposed death, at the time, of Steve Roger. After a short while, this leads to Bucky Barnes a.k.a Winter Soldier to take up the iconic mantle of his old partner as Captain America. Given the nature of the storyline and also that Sebastian Stan, the man behind Bucky a.k.a Winter Soldier, is signed on to play him for 5-6 more films, there's a likely chance that we may get to see him take on this mantle as an act of redemption of sorts.
Falcon
Okay so for those not in the know of this either, it's basically common knowledge by now that Marvel occasionally uses this marketing strategy of reinventing characters between both the movies, TV shows and comics to to have similarities to appeal to newer comic fans and movie/TV show fans-turned-comic fans, all without changing continuity in the comics. 4 prime examples of this is the introduction of the MCU-original character, Phil Coulson, into the comics, introducing comic Nick Fury's half-black son, Nicky Fury Jr., just so as to have a black Nick Fury in the mainstream comics too, retconning comic Daisy Johnson a.k.a Quake as an Inhuman and giving her the "affectionate" nickname of Skye simple because the same character was originally called Skye in Agents of SHIELD and was an Inhuman, and introducing the Carol Danvers incarnation of Captain Marvel in the movies due to Carol being the current Captain Marvel in the comics.
So anyway, at the moment, Steve isn't Cap in the comics. It's Sam Wilson himself. How? Well, Steve was drained of the Super-Soldier serum, subsequently aging into his proper age. As a result of this, Sam Wilson has been entrusted to take up the iconic Red, White and Blue and is now the current Captain America, atleast while Marvel intends to have this status quo. This brings me to my point: If I am right that Marvel will use this kind of marketing strategy yet again, we may likely see Anthony Mackie's Falcon as Captain America after this.
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So to the right is comic Bucky Barnes as Captain America and to the left is comic Sam Wilson as Captain America. Either of their MCU equivalents may or may not be wielding the shield. Time will tell.
Okay so I guess I skipped a day, huh? No matter, let's get back into the swing of things. Anyway, the 2nd official trailer for the upcoming PlayStation 4 game The King Of Fighters XIV, which was previously showcased at the Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Press Conference, is now online on SNK Playmore's YouTube channel. And this one reveals Leona Heidern, who last appeared in KOF XIII as a member of the Ikari Warriors Team, and Chang Koehan, who last appeared as a playable character in KOF 2003, KOF '98: Ultimate Match and KOF 2002: Ultimate Match and as an NPC in KOF XIII, as playable characters. Previously, series flagship characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami were confirmed as playable characters.
Anyway, the trailer is in the link below so go check it out and leave a
comment. And yes, I am aware of the horrid graphics. Even I hate it too.
But atleast we're getting a new KOF game after God knows how long. So
keep it civil, 'kay? Anyway, check it out below:-
Okay so for those not in the know, coming soon is a PS4 action-RPG game being developed by Platinum Games and published by Square Enix called NieR:Automata. The game itself is the second entry in the NieR series, which itself is part of the larger Drakengard series. But don't worry, NieR:Automata is completely standalone and fully accessible to new players.
Anyway, both Famitsu.com and Dengeki Online recently sat down with director Taro Yoko and producer Yosuke Saito to do a Q-and-A, where new and extra details were revealed. Here's a translated excerpt from that interview:-
Q: How many protagonists are there?
Saito: “By ‘actual protagonists’ then two characters.”
Yoko: “I kind of feel like there are three.”
Q: What is 2B’s gender?
Saito: “a girl… type?”
Yoko: “It’s a secret.”
Q: Why did you guys make her a female?
Yoko: “Because I like girls.”
“Akihiko Yoshida asked for ‘a costume that’d be easy to cosplay’.”
Q: Are there androids of other genders?
Yoko: “The genders are a secret, but there are ‘girl/boy-types.”
Q: What’s the meaning behind “YoRHa?” Yoko: “Nothing in particular. Its kanji is ‘寄葉’but it’s nothing of deep significance.”
The androids are the ones fighting in order to recapture Earth, but the humans don’t participate in the actual fighting itself.
There are plenty of weapons that we’ve yet to see. Q: About how many? Yoko: “Quite a lot.”
The “Pods” will help with ranged attacks while the player can focus
on close-ranged attacks. Again, you’ll be able to use it to glide and
also for getting your way across the maps. The Pod can speak, but it
isn’t much of a chatterbox, so think of it as more of navigational
system for cars. It does not have any emotions.
There are ideas for Pod customizations, but they’re not sure how it’ll end up.
There are possibilities of DLC costumes for 2B.
2B’s skirt will begin to break after she takes a certain amount of damage. Beneath the skirt she wears a white leotard.
The base of the Living Machines are the same but they’ll come in
varieties of parts, colors, texture, and ones that ride on different
obstacles.
The giant Living Machine shown in the trailer isn’t a boss, but a
‘kind of strong small-fry.” That one was relatively on the smaller side,
but you’ll see some gigantic Living Machines.
Q: There was something like a warthog, but will we get to ride it?
Yoko: “I’ve told the folks at PlatinumGames that I’d like for people to be able to ride them.”
There’s also a living creature that is similar to a deer, and there’s a chance that you’ll be able to ride it, too.
The game takes place in the same world in a different era, but
story-wise they’re not connected much. They wanted to prevent having
things that only those who played the first game would be able to enjoy.
If anything, there will be characters or events that will bring a smile
to those who are familiar with them.
Yoko: “PlatinumGames’ action might seem a little high-end, but
they’re working on adjusting it so that just about anyone can enjoy it
and feel that they can play it.”
Saito: “When looking at Yoko-san’s plot, it has some very happy
ending-like content. On the contrary, the story is so good to the point
where you’d like to ask him ‘is it okay for it to be this much of a
happy ending?’ I really hope you look forward to that.”
Yoko: “The development is going favorably, but there’s so much to it
that we don’t know what will happen.” Saito: “We’re entrusting the
young development team’s passionate ‘we can do this!’ attitude, so us
older folks are excited. And also praying for nothing to go wrong. Yoko:
“Although if it does go wrong somewhere, I think it’d still be NieR-like in its own way. It wouldn’t be bad to have a NieR that will makew you go ‘Huh!” It ends here!?’”
The next update of information will be sometime around this spring.
They’re hoping to be able to make some announcements in Japan next time.
So anyway, anyone excited? I know I am. Been a BIG fan of action-RPGs and Platinum Games' games are some of my favorites too. Plus, I've been a long-time fan of the NieR and Drakengard series'. So yeah I'm so stoked.
Anyway, sound off below you thoughts and I'll see you guys in the next article/blog post.
Okay so let's talk about one of my favorite things right now:
Transformers. I grew up with Transformers. Picked up the Unicron Trilogy
(Armada, Energon and Cybertron), watched the original (G1) and the
entirety of the Beast Era (Beast Wars and Beast Machine). And yes,
watched the goddamned live-action movies and even the newer shows too.
But for today, for those not in the know but are interested in learning
abit on Transformers, let's talk about the different franchises.
Specifically, let's talk about the current franchises Hasbro's using for
marketing purposes.
In total, there are 3 running
co-currently. Granted, we've got the IDW comics as another continuity,
but we're gonna be talking about the ones being used for the mainstream
media like movies, TV shows and, yes, web series. So let's begin, shall
we?
Movie Universe
So we all know this one. The live-action films done by Michael Bay. Starting from the first movie up until Age of Extinction, it's been widely hated due to the atypical tropes from Bay himself. I didn't totally hate all of them except the last one. Age of Extinction was extremely difficult to understand, the one saving grace for me was Drift's portrayal, though that might've been me being bias due to my everlasting fanboying over Drift. But anyway, Hasbro announced plannings to make a cinematic universe out of these movies so yeah that's that. Not alot to say except watch the movies..........if you dare and can.
Aligned Continuity
Okay the logo may not look like it's got relevance, but the related TV show is part of this continuity. Anyway, Aligned Continuity. Basically, Hasbro created a book of sorts called the Binder of Revelation, a super-secret book accessible only to content producers hired by Hasbro and Hasbro themselves containing a story bible built using information from Hasbro's in-house story team, fans and anyone in-between. The backstory is that Cybertron had a civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons and eventually after Cybertron's fall, they fled to Earth where they would eventually have multiple large-scale battles. The various video games, comics and TV shows under this continuity depict these events. For the Cybertron backstory, War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron and the novels like Exodus and Exiles are depictions of this backstory. Likewise, the TV series Prime and the new Robots in Disguise TV series (NuRID) are the most recent stories in this continuity, NuRID setting after Prime. Also, Rescue Bots is a spinoff setting during Prime too.
Anyway, target audience-wise, it's varied though these days, the TV shows are geared towards the main audience, that being kids, while Rescue Bots targets much younger kids like pre-schoolers. The video games and novels are aimed at an older audience though.
Prime Wars Trilogy
This is the latest continuity that has been established. Well actually, it's more of a marketing campaign than a continuity. IDW Publishing's continuity has elements of Prime Wars Trilogy in their storytelling but otherwise, the main medium, as it appears, is mainly the Transformers: Generations toyline and Machinima's web series.
Anyway, what is known is that 2 entries have been confirmed, Combiner Wars (the first part) and the upcoming Titans Returns. Another thing to note is that each part focuses on some kind of gimmick. In Combiner Wars, the focus goes onto combiners (DUH!) while for Titans Return, focuses on the cityformers and especially on Titan Masters, miniature Transformers that become heads for larger ones, like G1's Headmasters. Web series-wise, only Combiner Wars has been confirmed, though given that Machinima has some involvement, we're likely to see Titans Return as a web series too along with the third entry.
Oh and for those wondering about the target audience, it's been confirmed that the Prime Wars Trilogy is specifically targeted towards teens and adults, well atleast the web series is.
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So anyway, you guys are now caught up with what's happening. It's a little convoluted and I may have gotten a few things wrong here so let me know if I gotten anything wrong. Oh and the Machinima web series isn't even out yet so there's that to look forward to.
Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next blog post.
- Shu
Source: Wikipedia for logos, TFW2005 for Prime Wars Trilogy logo and info (http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/10/08/nycc-2015-hasbro-transformers-panel-updates-302802), The Hollywood Reporter for info (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-forming-epic-storyline-toys-830399 , http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/comic-con-transformers-animated-series-807464)
Okay so I was looking into what I can blog about for today as I had decided to atleast put up one blog post a day. And then this topic came into mind: Kamen Rider Drive. Kamen Rider Drive's one of my favorite Kamen Rider TV series. In fact, my second-favorite. Why? Because of the middle portion of the series.
Let me be clear: I do not hate Kamen Rider Drive. It's got a cool motif, great character progression, great story. But the middle portion, atleast in my own opinion, sucked. But let's just go through what exactly sucked about it, shall we?
The image above. On the right is Kamen Rider Drive Type Formula and on the left is Mashin Chaser a.k.a Chase's second suit. Make no mistake, it's relevant here. Well to be specific, it's about the existence of Type Formula and Chase's character progression.
First up, Type Formula, and let me be blunt about it: It was a total waste of time. They had a bullshit story about the need for Type Formula as it's the only usable Type under Super Heavy Acceleration, but I don't buy it and I shall explain why.
See this? On the right is Kamen Rider Drive Type Dead Heat and Kamen Rider Drive Type Tridoron. Both these forms are power-ups but have unique circumstances that play into character progression. Dead Heat makes him more powerful. But there's a catch: Using the form for too long and the user loses control of himself and the form physically wears the user down. So it's like a double-edged sword: Be careful when using it and use it only when needed.
As for Type Tridoron, there's a backstory. There was an episode where Shinnosuke (Kamen Rider Drive) was thought to have been killed when the A.I. of his belt, Belt-san, synchronized his mind with Shinnosuke, putting him in suspended animation. Because of this, the one way to revive the both of them was with Shift Tridoron and their car Tridoron, essentially creating Type Tridoron, where Tridoron becomes the suit and Shinnosuke and Belt-san have the ability to take control of Shinnosuke's body while in this form. Oh and did I mention that Type Tridoron can operate under Super Heavy Acceleration? Yeah he can.
So see my point here? Type Formula was a waste of time and a cheap cash-in to sell toys at the expense of the plot.
Anyway, next issue: Chase's mid-series character progression. So the character was the prototype for the Roidmudes (read: Monsters), Proto-Zero, and was originally a good guy as Kamen Rider Proto-Drive too before getting reprogrammed by the Roidmudes and becoming Mashin Chaser. The early to mid-early parts of the story depicted Chase progressively recovering his memories and slowly discovering his true identity. From how he was written, he was meant to later become a good guy again, which he does and becomes Kamen Rider Chaser.
But then, it happened: Just when he was about to regain all of his memories, he get reprogrammed yet again, like it was all too easy. And he stays this way for the middle portion of the story. Oh and how did he regain all of his memories and become a good guy again? By getting defeated by Kamen Rider Drive Type Formula. It wasn't any kind of flaw in his reprogramming that allowed him to regain his memories at the last moment. No, somebody had to defeat him and the impact of the finisher reverted his programming to how it originally was (kind of).
So you see how bad the middle portion of the series was? But overall, it wasn't all that bad. If you wanna watch it, I recommend it, but only if you can survive the middle portion of the story.
So anyway, I'll see you guys in the next blog post.
- Shu
Credits: Kamen Rider Wiki for images (http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_Wiki)
Yes, I am a Tokusatsu fan and a Power Rangers fan. Don't judge me. It's still counted as a geeky thing so FUCK YOU.
ANYWAY, BIG news. Collider has just exclusively announced that starting in 2017, Power Rangers will be bringing Power Rangers primarily to Netflix with an adaption of one of my favorite Tokusatsu right now, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. The new series will be called "Power Rangers: Shuriken" and like Power Rangers: Ninja Storm and (to some level) the third season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and (probably) the spinoff miniseries Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, they will boast a ninja motif once more, this time with an extra emphasis on shurikens. Another thing to note is that this is the first Power Rangers series to have both a Pink and White Ranger as primary members and the second series to have both Blue and Yellow as male (the first one was Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers). Oh and did I mention that you can expect a Gold cowboy-themed Ranger joining them later on? Yeah that happens and so does his hamburger-themed morpher. Yeah Sentai is crazy.
Anyway, what do you guys think? Sound off below in the comments.
Okay so because I figured that this blog needs more content and also because some of my possible future readers might be left out on what the hell I'm talk about, here's a little something I call "Geeky Introductions", where I basically blog about any anime I recommend, be it ones that I'm currently watch or are very recent or some old-ass anime for back then. For this entry, I'll be introducing a currently-running anime that I'm watching and that many fans should probably know about by now. As said on the title of this post, it's Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. Don't worry, it's completely accessible for newcomers so you don't have to watch ALL the shows before.
So anyway, the story sets in PD323 in the Post-Disaster timeline. More than 300 years before the story, there was a great war known as the Calamity War, which saw combat between Earth and Mars. In the present, Earth has successfully terraformed and colonized Mar. However, despite the technological advancements, Mars' various nations still seek to gain independence from Earth.
Enter Mikazuki Augus and Orga Itsuka. Both are a pair of orphans and child soldiers working for Chryse Guard Security (CGS), stationed at the Martian colony of Chryse. Hired to protect Kudelia Aina Bernstein, a leading figurehead in the movement to gain independence from Earth, CGS runs afowl of the paramilitary organization Gjallarhorn, who have been hired to assassinate Kudelia. When things look bleak, the adult members and higher-ups of CGS decide to secretly and use the orphans and human slave members as cannon fodder for their escape. In this instance, Orga decides to stage a coup against the adults and wage war against Gjallarhorn by having Mikazuki pilot the Gundam Barbatos, a powerful and highly-advanced mobile suit dating back from the Calamity War.
Anyway, episodes are being uploaded on Daisuki.net and GundamInfo (the official YouTube channel for Gundam), along with Hulu in the US and Crunchyroll so do go check them out on the following links. I highly recommend this anime, for not only the Gundam fans but also mecha anime fans AND regular anime fans too. Worth a watch.
Okay kidding. But this requires some background. Basically, the blog advertising community I'm signed up with, Nuffnang, is organizing the Nuffnang Blogger Conference. This is a big deal as attendees get a chance to learn from top-tier bloggers and various experts and professionals about various tricks of the trade in the blogging industry while serving as a networking platform to meet up with fellow bloggers. Sadly to my own knowledge (not sure if this is true or not), the events seems to be VERY very exclusive.
However, there is a way for bloggers to be able to attend. Nuffnang's running a contest where bloggers just simply need to write a blog post on why they should be selected to attend this conference, with the title of the blog post being "I want to be part of #NUFFNANGBLOGCON at Hotel Jen Tanglin" (and now you know why the title), and submit it to them by 11:59pm on November 4 2015. From there, they'll select 5 winner to get a 2 day and 1 night stay at the venue, Hotel Jen Tanglin (atleast from what I can gather).
Anyway, why should I be selected to attend this prestigious event? Well, it's precisely because I'm an absolute newbie in this industry with few viewers, zero comments (at the moment), little to no knowledge on how to make it in the blogging industry and has the passion and commitment to make this work. The purpose of this conference is for already-thriving bloggers to upgrade their trick in the trade and refresh on their techniques while expanding upon their networks, but it's also for newer bloggers like myself to actually get, at the bare minimum, a decent start in the industry and properly learn these techniques while also forging A network of our own. So for existing bloggers, it's an extra useful tool, but for newbies like me, it's probably THE most important thing we need right now. For me personally, it would mean the world if I even had a chance to attend this conference.
So anyway, this is my reason why I should be select. If I don't, it's fine. I'm not gonna be ending this blog at all. It's a lifelong passion of mine to do this and that ain't gonna change. Period.
So with that being said, Regards, Shu Serian Suzaku ProjectWorks.
Okay so I guess it's probably time for me to perhaps make a blog post about this, no? Anyway, hi, I'm Shu Serian and welcome to Suzaku ProjectWorks, a blog that's both personal as well as a media enterprise startup.
So first up, about myself. My name is Shu Serian, though this is only a public alias that I prefer to go under. My real name is Ashok Kumar and yes, I'm Tamil Indian. Though to be specific, very few people know this but while I'm not mixed race, I'm not a full Indian. No, I'm also of French Caucasian descent, one of my ancestors being one of many French settlers who traveled to India during the 17th Century and married one of the local girls there. BTW, I can't speak French and none of my family members can either (DUH! We have a french ancestor but that's that, merely sharing DNA and not tradition). I also suck at my own Mother Tongue too, though I know VERY very basic Tamil.
Anyway, why the alias "Shu Serian"? Well, "Serian" is a corrupted form of my father's name "Nanmarasezhian" and uncles' names "Vendrosezhian" (not sure if this is how my uncle's name is pronounced. I'll have to check with my Dad later) and "Barathasezhian", though alot of people have an issue with pronouncing my Dad's name and by Hindu tradition, my Dad's name is my surname. And yes, I am a Hindu.
As for the name "Shu", the kanji I use for "Shu" is the first kanji used in "Suzaku" a.k.a the Vermillion Bird of the South. The compass direction of "south", on a map, is depicted as the cardinal direction "down" and the Vermillion Bird is often depicted as a phoenix, which, according to most mythologies, are often said to reborn whenever they die (sort of). This is a spiritual reminder to me that no matter how many times I may fall, I shall rise back up.
This brings me to what Suzaku ProjectWorks is. Suzaku ProjectWorks is what I call a media enterprise, though to be specific, it's an umbrella for various activities, be it both professional and personal. The common threads that links all my activities are 2 themes: media and projects. All things I do under Suzaku ProjectWorks (like this blog for example) are some form of media and I view each work as a project of sorts. Hence, "ProjectWorks".
So anyway, what are my interests? If you guys haven't guessed yet, I'm a massive Japanophile. I love all things related to Japan, including anime and manga and, yes, cosplay. But note that I don't solely like Japanese culture only. I am a massive geek so expect a ton of rambling on video games, movies, TV shows and comics (especially Marvel Comics. Sorry but DC's so convoluted now, I could hardly catch up with it. Marvel just seems so much easier to access to).
So let's get on to what you all can expect from this blog. Basically, a ton of things. At present, I'll be showcasing my photography works (Yes, I am a photographer too). This blog's also a news portal of sorts so expect articles on the latest TV shows, anime, manga, movie, video games and comics too and a bunch of other geeky things. And yes, this also includes (hopefully) interviews and reviews and stuff like that. I read up on all these things so most of my blog posts are sure to be all about these things. But aside from all this, maybe even a bit of my own personal life too.
As for future plans, I may start uploading song covers (Yes, I can sing. Well, I'm not tone-deaf atleast and I'm not the best singer out there but I fucking love singing). I also intend to do videography so expect some footage too and filmmaking (Fun fact: I'm a certified filmmaker) so possibly expect exclusive info right here on this blog too.
Anyway, I think I've rambled on for far too long. I'll just end this blog post with a small announcement on what you all can expect in the next few weeks: A review of the Closed Beta release of the North American version of Blade & Soul. Yes, I did manage to get into the CB test for that game.
So ANYWAY, please go to my social links, follow this blog, give my social links a follow and like. Much appreciated.
