Why Black and White 2 Will Be the Death of Pokemon

If your an avid Pokemon fan like me, then you know that there are currently 649 Pokemon in existence as of Generation V. We have reached the games cleverly named Black and White and that we are due for the sister game. News of new Generation V games hit the new recently, with a scheduled release in Japan of June 2012, however, this news was not what most fans expected: Two games called Pokemon Black and White 2. That's right, a direct sequel to long-loved series that many grew up on. While this maybe ground-breaking for the Pokemon world, I think, however, that this will be the death of Pokemon.

My first complaint is that we are not getting a sister game to the long loved series. In every generation, we have had the two main games, starting with Pokemon Red and Blue versions, and the sister game was Yellow, then we progress to Gold and Silver, accompanied by Crystal, and so forth and so forth. In generation V, we were hoping for the sister game that put a different spin on the story line, and by the titles Black and White 2, we are implying that these will sequels, not sisters games, like the Pokemon Grey we were hoping for. For most people, the sequels to Pokemon Black and White would destroy a long standing tradition in the Pokemon games.

According to pre-release info that this would be a totally new and different story line, which does not make sense for the game to be called Black and White 2. There will be new protagonist designs, and, unlike Black and White, it looks like you'll be able to find Pokemon from previous generations. Now, when I think sequels, I would think that it would have at least some common themes from the game before it, effectively making it a sequel, not an add-on. From what it looks like from the trailer, there isn't even the same gym leaders from the original Black and White; it's totally new. I think that if they were going to pull this stunt, I think I'd rather take the sister game to Black and White, and perhaps cross my fingers for the sixth generation.

On the subject for the sixth generation, I do not see it happening at this point. There are 649 Pokemon in the Pokemon universe, spanning five generations, and to be quite honest, the design concepts for the fifth generation were not that good. If they are making a Pokemon based off an ice-cream cone, then they have clearly run out of ideas for Pokemon. I think that the Pokemon industry is slowing down, and the reason that they are pushing the Black and White 2 to be in the fifth generation is because I honestly cannot see the sixth generation coming. I think Nintendo would have to develop a new hand held system that can actually sell well, and not just a spin-off from previous existing systems. (I'm looking at you 3-DS) The previous two generations have been released on the DS, but I think that trend might end soon, and they need a new platform to launch games on. Another reason why I can't see a Sixth Generation game is because let's face it: they have pretty much run out of colors and minerals to name their games after.

The premise for the games is decent, but if the enemies are the same as they were in Pokemon Black and White, I honestly do not want to play it. I do not feel like battling the PETA of the Pokemon world again, Team Plasma. Pokemon is not supposed to be heavily story based, as they tried to make it in generation V. True, the previous generations had the evil team that tried to steal everyone's Pokemon, and a somewhat decent story that you sort of had to pay attention to, but not to the point of Generation V. The political themes that made its way into the game were almost unbearable, from animal cruelty to even some anti-war ideas.

As for Black and White 2, I can hope and pray that it will better than its predecessors, but at this point, I have partially given up on Pokemon just for the fact that they have clearly run out of ideas. I was thinking that since they have a Black and White 2, it would be in a different generation, but as it is in the fifth generation, I expect this to flop, but if it sells, I would not be surprised due to the fact the fans want something better than the original Black and White. I can hope that this will better, but only the release of it will tell.

Dantalian no Shoka

As a child, I was quiet the reader. I would read almost anything from mystery, to action, and even the stuff in between. When coming across this anime, I couldn't help but to smile, and feel a warmth spreading over me, because it had to deal with books and mysterious powers, and it was set in one of my favorite times in history: The Victorian Era.

The story for this anime is almost simple: a young man named Hugh Anthony Diswald, living in London when his grandfather dies, and leaves him the estate, along with his massive library. When he arrives at the estate, and goes down to the library, he meets a young girl named Dalian, the black biblioprincess, who is one of the keepers of 906,666 deadly books called the phantom books-books with special powers that enable strange things to happen, such as resurrection, hypnotism, and other strange occurrences. Together, the seek out phantom books to bring about the balance of the world.

The story in mind had premise, but it felt like later on in the anime that nothing truely connected. In the episodes, it seemed that a point could be elaborated upon, but it didn't happen, and the characters by the next episode were relaxing again. The story in each episode sort of got repetitive, due to the fact it was basically start of in house to meet problem character, to investigation "could there be a phantom book," to discovering phantom book, to battling crazy person with phantom book, to crappy end of episode.  True, while I do like episodic anime, this was a bit too serious of an anime to really pull the episodic execution, and thus the biggest failure of this anime.

The characters for this anime were likable, if not a bit dull. Diswald has an interesting back story of being a former army pilot, but they only expand on this at the last minute, and I truly wish they did more with that. Dalian was the token tsundere loli of the series, and just being as much use as just saying "Hey, I sense a phantom book," and she grants access to the library that has all the books to stop the phantom book, and even then, Diswald is responsible mostly for stopping the rampage of the book. The minor characters were very forgettable, and even the ones that they tried to make seem important were still easily forgettable.

The art for this anime was what actually drew me into this anime. It has a serious tone to it, but also has a light-hearted tone to it, which make me happy. In the anime, the art was fluid, and the effects for obtaining the books was interesting. The characters were well designed, though I felt like that the side character designs were repeated,and I had a hard time distinguishing them sometimes.

Overall, despite its flaws, I enjoyed this anime, even  though at the end it seemed to stop making sense. I liked the concept, I just wish that they had gone a bit more in depth with the characters, and perhaps not make it so episodic in nature, and have a bit more character development. Also, this anime was too short and serious to even pull off the episodic execution.
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The Contraception Debate

It seems recently that there was a huge debate on whether or not the Catholic Church should be made by the government to offer contraception through its medical plan. However, some people disagree with this idea just because they do not believe that contraception should be used at all due to religious views. However, I disagree with the Catholic Church on the fact that it is immoral and wrong to use contraception, however, I am not totally on the government's side either.

Before we put the carriage before the horse, we must first ask ourselves: What is contraception? By the books, it is any artificial means to prevent pregnancy. Most people when they hear the word contraception think of oral birth control (the pill) or even sometimes condoms. However, contraception can take the form of spermicides, which kill the sperm right on the spot, to an implantation ring in the woman to prevent ovulation, to a woman getting her tubes tied, or a man getting a vasectomy, which cuts part off the vasectomia, the tube that connects the testicles to the penis, and in doing so, ejaculation, or release of sperm cannot happen. Most of these methods are not one-hundred percent effective, but they do cut down on pregnancies by a considerable amount, and in most cases, they can be reversed, and the woman can still get pregnant when she so chooses.

So what if women use contraception, and so what if men use condoms? They can stop using those methods almost whenever, and most surgeries used to make sure people don't procreate are reversable.

The Catholic Church does not believe in the use of contraception do to the fact that inhibits the main use for sex: Procreating human life. After a major document called the Humanae Vitae(Human Life) was published by Pope Paul VI in 1968, the Catholic Church starting taking its stand against contraception. It stated that sex was for only creating human life, and any means that go against that is wrong. They also believe that the pleasure derived from sex is the pleasure that God gave us in order to create human life, and that the pleasure can help a married man and woman become closer in bondage ot each other and God.

I, for one, do believe in the use of contraception, especially oral contraception for women, if they are willing to use it. It helps cut down on unwanted pregnancy because let's face it, not everyone who has sex is actually capable of taking care of a child. It could prevent the baby from the unwanted pregnancy from growing up in an environment in which the parents can't take care of it, and it could save to parents financially, because lets face it, which would you rather do: pay about 40-50 dollars for contraception, or pay out thousands a year, taking care of a child, and giving up your free time? Now, I am not saying all pregnancies are bad; if you want to have a kid, then I support you full heartily, but as for those who don't, contraception is probably your best bet.

Even for those not sexually active, I still approve of women using the pill contraceptive due to the fact it can help with periods. It has been shown to reduce period cramp pains, and make periods lighter in women who took the pill. The reson being is the fact that the pill releases oestrogen and proestrogen, which help with periods. While these hormones help with period pain, they also can cause some problems, such as spotting between periods, and chances of worsening depression. However, despite this, the chances of any side effects happening is low, and the benefits are well worth it.

Another option for women is getting their tubes tied, which prevents the egg from entering the uterus. Women can still get a period, but they cannot have children while tubes are tied. This method actually has about a 99% pregnancy prevention rate, with the remaining one percent happening from scar tissue connecting the Fallopian tubes to the uterus causing the woman to get pregnant, and if she does get pregnant, and some of these will end an ectopic pregnancy, which means the sperm and egg do not unite in the uterus, usually in the Fallopian tubes, or even the ovarian cavity, where the eggs are stored. These pregnancies will usually end in miscarriage, and if not treated, can cause the death of the mother but can also lead to hemorrhaging. Tying a woman's tubes can increases these ectopic pregnancies, with chances of an ectopic pregnancy However, this is considered a permanent surgery, and even though it can be reversed, the fetility rates of the woman are incredibly low.

Contraception for a man, in some ways, be a little bit easier than contraception for a woman. They can use a condom, a piece of latex that wraps around the penis in order to prevent the sperm from entering the woman. However, there is almost no other contraception, except for withdrawal, which is the withdrawing of the penis before ejaculation,but that is not one-hundred percent effective. Also, there is no approved "male contraceptive pill," like there is a pill for women, and vasectomies are optional, but after getting it reversed, the fertility rates for men sink, but not as far as a woman getting her tubes tied, due the fact it can be reversed easier. The last resort for a man to become infertile is (men hold your balls) castration, however, this would render a man unable to have sex, and a practically useless form of sterilization.

I also do support birth control because is is our natural instinct to want to have sex during and after humans hit puberty. Our bodies start making the hormones needed for sex, and the ability to make children. However, since humans are a bit more complex than animals, we realize that having children too young is a bad thing, due to one: we don't have the means to take care of them, and two: it is frowned down upon society. Birth control allows us to act on our instincts without having to pay the price of having to carry a child for nine months, and perhaps can save the potential father a bunch of money in child support. For the social standard, we look down on sex because of religion, and also, I think that some people think that humans are above animals, so there for we don't have to follow our instinct, but we are animals, and we have those hormones.

With most birth control methods being reversible, then why are people against them? I think the reason why they are sometimes frowned upon is because of social customs. Birth control basically states that women can have sex with out getting pregnant, and in a society where virginity is sometimes valued, it can compromise those values. In most Christian societies, sex before marriage is considered a sin, and is looked upon as being forbidden, and especially Catholic Churches who lay heavily on that, it can be turned into a bad thing.

As I have stated before, the main use of contraception is to prevent men and women from making children, and this could be looked at potentially as "playing god." If you can prevent the creation of life, then you are wrong, due to the fact the act is supposed to be used for making children in the first place.

Another argument against contraception is that Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) can be more easily spread through out the human population due to an increase of casual sex. True, the pill does not protect against STIs, condoms can help prevent transmission of these infections, though success rate of stopping them is not one hundred percent. Adolescences and young adults up until age twenty-six can get a series of shots that helps prevent certain types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

Overall, I see contraception as a necessary thing to society, due to the fact it can allow people to follow their natural instincts to have sex, and not pay the consequences of having children. Also, it can help you women regulate their periods, and with men it could enable them to have sex with out worrying about child support. It is a necessary evil in my mind, and it can benefit society. 

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000%

In anime, it feels that there is never enough reverse harems. Sure, you might have Hetalia and the failed Starry Sky, but it seems they all lack one thing in particular: a good plot. When I found Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000%(UtaPri for short) I had almost zero hopes for it due to the fact it was based of an otome game and it had art similar to Starry Sky.However, I was actually pleasantly surprised by this anime.

The story is a simple one in my mind: a young girl, Nanami Haruka, wants to make music for her dream Hayato, and thus enter Saotome Academy, a school for idols and their composers. There she meets an array of boys, from the childish Kurusu Syo (Shou), to the serious Ichinose Tokiya. While at Saotome Academy, as she works with each of the boys, she soon discovers her true talent for composing songs, along with the bonds of friendship that are tried through and through.

To be honest, the story was the weakest point in the anime. It was simple yes, but the whole thing with the boys falling one after another for Haruka was just a bit unnatural. True, while they might have been trying to make it possible for the viewer to glimpse the potential for all the routes, it still felt jumpy, but had a nice wrap up at the end.

The art was very well done and each character was well drawn. The character designs were well thought out, and the characters were very bishounen or pretty boy. Also, the characters were brightly colored and some of the characters reminded me of characters from another   There was thing that irked me about the art, and although it was something minor, it irked me none the less: Haruka's eyes. When I first saw them, I honestly flipped. Eyes should not look like that, and why the artist had to do that is beyond me actually. I actually had to avoid looking at her eyes in order not to be creeped out.

The characters were probably one of the best aspects of this anime. Although they are all idol-wanna-bes, they all have distinct personalities, and they are likable. The guy's personalities range from the young ignorant, but lovable Kurusu Shou, to the guy that loves small and sweet things Shinomya Natsuki, to the cold and indifferent Ichinose Tokiya, to the rich, playboy character, Jingugi Ren. Though the guys were the shining point in the anime (as I expect them to be, since this anime was based off an otome game), Haruka was probably the let down in the cast. She is supposed to be that girl everyone can relate to, however she does come across sometimes as boring, and her character role is almost unimportant, but yet, everyone falls for her faster than a rock to the bottom of a pond. All the other characters felt flat, and needed some improvement, but seeing how this is an anime based off an otome game, I'll give them some slack.

The music was something else very notable about the series, due to the fact one, it was a music style anime, and two, in my mind it was very very catchy. Each song was also well written in the fact that they matched the characters' personalities very, very well. The music was well written musically, for example the melodies were well laid out and blended well with each other.

Overall, I would highly recommend this to any of my female otaku friends.  The guys were to swoon for, and they had all had their credits, and they were all likable. I will say this anime was not perfect, but despite its flaws, I still enjoyed the anime immensely. I hope that you can enjoy this anime as much as I did, and not just for its flaws.

HeartCatch Precure

After seeing the Suite Precure series, I naturally became curious in the franchise that was the Precure. In case you didn't know, the Precure series spans out to seven different series, each standing independently  of each other. After I saw Suite Precure, I decided to check out the series that came before it, Heartcatch PreCure. How did it compare to Suite Precure?

The story is basic: Hanasaki Tsubomi and her family have just moved the little town of Kibougahana, where Tsubomi's grandma resides. Soon after moving there, she starts to have dreams about Cure Moonlight being destroyed in order to protect the Heart Tree.  On a walk one day, tumbling out of the sky come Shypre and Coffret, two little fairies who protect the Heart Tree, the source of people's happiness in the world, and their description matches Tsubomi's dream. They then make her into a Precure in order to fight the Desertrian, a monster made from people's wilting Heart Flowers, due to negative feelings. Along with her best friend, Kuromi Erika, Cure Blossom and Cure Marine take charge and fight for the sake of people's heart flowers.

The plot for this anime is pretty decent for a fourty-nine episode mahou shoujo series. True, in every episode there was not character development, but it still was an enjoyable watch. Also, the story needed to move a bit better, and maybe need a bit more explaination, however, it also explained some stuff rather well.

The art for the anime was actually what drove me away from it when it first aired, I will admit. It looked sloppy, a bit odd, and washed out, but once I started watching, the art steadily grew on me. Each character was distinguishable, and well drawn and it wasn't washed out at all, just very, very bright. The expressions were also well ddrawn, and when they went into shock, it also showed the thick lines, and added well to the effect. The magical girl transformations were also well drawn, and colorful, and didn't take too long like they do in other magical girl anime, but they still could have cut down on the time it took.

As for the characters, the are either the strong point in the anime, or the weak point, depending on you point of view. They are the strong point due to the fact the main characters are well distinguished, and drive the plot well. However, the side characters are bland, and they maybe come up for one episode. The main cast is not with out its weak points: they are just too damn happy. The main cast fights against negative emotions with happiness, sure, but I do feel like they are just blindly fighting sometimes. For a while, their motives were questioned, but we never get a definite answer besides the whole"We are Precure. We are trying to do the world good. We will stop all negative emotions and depression because we are good!" speech.

Overall, I enjoyed this anime a lot, even to the point of marathoning it. As a mahou shoujou, it was refreshing and cute, and even a bit strange, however, it was a good watch.The art was stunning, and the opening and closing songs were catchy and cutesy and matched the tones of the anime very well. I would recommend this anime to anyone who loves mahou shoujou and/or just cutesy anime in general.

High School DxD

As the winter season draws to a close, to bring in the new anime for the spring, I must say that this season was full of interesting anime, from teenage girls fighting each other in an alternate world, to the daily live's of high school boys. However, as interesting as those may sound, they were not the anime that caught my eye. The anime that caught my eye was the anime about a perverted boy and some devils, the ecchi anime known as High School DxD. 


 Ecchi anime have a reputation for having no story, but in the case of High School DxD, it actually had a story about a high school boy named Hyoudou Issei who meets a beautiful girl named Rias Gremory, who is a demon. He then becomes a demon and fights against fallen angels and exorcist along with Rias' other demon slaves.

The story premise is actually rather good in my opinion, with the demons being the good guys, although that is hardly new. However, it was still amusing because of the main character being human before being a demon. Also, it was amusing because the demons work similar to chess, with Rias being the "King" and each of her slaves being a chess piece, and each chess piece has certain powers, for example the rook is super strong, and the knight defies odds.

The art for this series was superb. Each of the characters were well drawn, and their assets were well noted. One thing I will give the company who aired it is the fact they didn't sensor it. It was boobs galore, with loads of fan service through out the fights. I will give them credit that they did not have boobs randomly pop out and  just did not over do the boobs, and they made the circumstances of which the boobs were shown believable. Along with that, everything was fluid, and well drawn, and actually very eye-catching.

The characters to me felt like they had so much potential because of the different types of characters, however, I do feel like this where the anime suffered the most. A lot of time was spent on boobs, and while it did provide for some laughs, I felt like the characters had so much potential, especially Asia and Rias. The other characters for this anime were flat, two-dementional, and barely memorable, which disappointed me great because I felt like they could have been developed a lot more, but instead they focused on Rias and her boobs, and Issei's fascination with the boobs of all women.

Despite all of its pitfalls, and some of the blandness, it still proved an interesting watch overall. I liked the premise, and although the execution failed on a few levels, it still proved interesting and managed to get its point across. I actually hope for a season two, with more of Issei's adventures, and maybe give the characters a bit more depth.

Hunger Games

There have been many movies based off books, such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and even the dreaded Twilight started off as books once. At the turn of every year, it seems that they claim one of these books would be the next big movie, the next big thing that get people talking, the thing that could sell millions. This year, the world has Hunger Games fever, with the release of the movie coming out today. With all the hype it received, I naturally became curious, and read the book, and was impressed, and then proceeded to see the movie. How did it do?

The premise for the story is actually an unique,but depressing one, to be honest. After a rebellion, a treaty stated that each District would offer up two tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen, for the Hunger Games, a televised survival fight between all of the contestants, and they fight each other to the death and the forces of nature, until one is deemed the victor. At the reaping, or selecting of the tributes, of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss' sister, Primrose is selected as tribute. Katniss steps in for her and becomes the first ever voluntary tribute. Along with Peeta Mallark, the boy tribute from her district, they head to the capitol to compete in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games.

The story its self is something unique to teen fiction now-a-days, due to the paranormal romance craze, so this brings something refreshing to the table. Granted, the story was not without its romance, but it played both a major role and a minor role; it was a huge factor in the games, but it did not overtake the story. The romance between Peeta and Katniss was cute, but it wasn't portrayed seriously nor adorably. I think they tried to add some romance between Katniss and Cinna in the movie that wasn't in the book, but little stuff I can forgive.

Along with adding little romance, the movie also added bits and pieces of additional information that was not in the novel, such as the Gamemakers controlling the terrain of the Arena that the contestants fought in, and the the hosts of the show adding in their commentary, elements that were not in the novel.

The acting for this movie was one of main things that irked me through out the movie. It was dry, flat, and awkward, at best. It had so many awkward silences, and the characters were just staring off into space. Peeta, although a "main" character did not really act, and was about as lively as a piece of cardboard. Katniss was a bit better, but she still came off flat. The rest of the cast was barely memorable in my opinion, except for Haymitch, who had to be one of the best actors in this cast, even though he was barely sober half the movie.

The other thing that bothered me was the musical score for the movie. Where I thought there should have been music to fill in for the awkward acting there was none. I come to the movies not for awkward silences between the characters; I come for good music and liveliness. The musical score was barely memorable either;it was almost dead and it could have been greatly improved.

I do blame one factor alone for the poor execution of the movie: the way the book was written. The book was written from the first person, so we experience everything that Katniss feels and sees when she sees it. While I love books told like that, in movie execution, it fails in my mind due to the fact that in the movie you have to show the whole world, not just from her point of view. When you broaden the field of vision, you loose some things that were evident in the novel, such as internal monologue, and explanations behind some of the things in this world. While they tried to do some explanations through the telecasters of the "show," it lost its effect and made the movie feel like an overall T.V. show, which was not the effect the book gave off.

Overall, I was not pleased with the movie, and I was expecting a lot more from the cast and the movie its self with all the hype it received. It received a lot of hype, saying it would be the next big thing; in my mind, it is not worth the hype. A decent movie overall, with nothing standing out about it besides the premise of the movie due the fact it is dark enough to grab someone's attention without them sayings a horror movie and it is aimed at mostly female teenagers, and it isn't Twilight or romance in general.


                                                  May the odds be ever in your favor