New Layout

Yeah, I am back. Amazing I know. I think this is a record about to happen. So, yeah, we decided to change the layout. Time to become slightly more professional and stuffs. Oh, and it might keep changing. Like, maybe the colors. Who knows. But be on the look out.

Not Dead

Sorry I have been gone so long folks. One of the problems of being a blogger is being involved in way too many projects. Like my new blog Back on the Street. I want to thank Enzer for holding things down. He is privied to an idea I have for posting on here. Something involving audio. So, be on the look out

Still Alive

I just want everyone who reads this (that guy) to know that Sage Gnosis and Enzer are still alive, and just to prove it we brought in a special gues GlaDOS!

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/extras/stillalive.php

Also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Merry XMas

Enzer and I thought you guys might like this

Disgusting, but in more ways than one

Ok so just for future reference, black face is never ok. Don't tell it is cool for a costume party or something. It is straight up wrong. Here is a good reason why. You can't do white face. You just end up looking like a clown or a geisha. Besides, in no way does black face have a pleasant history. Like Minstrel shows. Anyway, this is Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Whitney Isleib. Sorry, I guess some of you might not care. I just find this very very fucked up. And don't say well she's just a cheerleader because if Johnny Damon did this you'd hold him and the Yankees accountable. So, have the same standards fro Dallas Cowboys, she represents the team after all.

Streetlight Manifesto @ Nothern Light 9/23

“You can’t punch people at a ska show,” my friend Trevor said to me as we waited for the first band to play at the Streetlight Manifesto concert this past Wednesday at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. Which is pretty much true. The overall vibe of that was something along the hippie ideal, treat everyone pretty groovy. Even if I wouldn’t necessarily throw the word groovy around to describe ska. Maybe something more along the lines of hyper relaxing. As kinetic as the synergy of a surprising collective of instruments.

Batman Ain't Got Shit on these People

Ok, so I have been a fan of parkour since I first saw an action reel of it on WAM. For those of you who don't have a ridiculous cable package, WAM is an offshoot channel of Encore targeted mainly at teens. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for people who can do this. I tried once and almost felt I was going to die. But that is a story for another day I promise. Right now, I want you to enjoy other people doing an amazing feats of awesomeness.

Tron + Daft Punk = Awesome

I will always have a soft spot for Tron. When I was little, Tron was this epic live action Disney movie that had nothing to do with Disney. But even more than that, it made look cool to be a gamer and a nerd. I mean the only other gamer movie at the time was the Wizard. And the gamers in that movie were a douche bag and an autistic kid. Fucking great. Anyway, this is a great visual summary of the movie and it has a bitching Daft Punk soundtrack. I am giving this video the full 5 stars and you should too.

Bloody Monday

Synopsis

A virus deal clinched in Russia on the Christmas eve. Purpose: unknown. Two clues: a mysterious lady "Maya", one of the gangsters, and "Bloody Monday", the keyword for the project. Then an incident happened in far-distant city of Tokyo. Fujimaru Takagi, a second grade student at Mishiro Gakuin high school, is commissioned to find out the truth by Public Security Investigation Bureau for his great ability as a super hacker. Now, Maya, approaching to Fujimaru, as his high school teacher.

# of chapters available: 86, ongoing
Score: 2.9 out of 5

Johnny Wanderer is EPIC

So, I enjoy a good a web comic here and there. Yes, I read the standards like VG Cats, Crtl+Alt+Delete, and XKCD. You know, the shit ever other nerd reads. But, I do love me some Megatokyo and Applegeeks too. Well, Ananth over at Applegeeks has another called Johnny Wanderer that he writes with Yuko. Its pretty awesome and deals with hilarious and true events from their daily lives. One such comic, talked about how ridiculously diverse their apartment is. It would have been funny if it ended there. But no. Some guy named Sam Neiland had to write and produce an awesome song to go with it. SWEET! Here is the song for your listening pleasure.

Prelude to Awesome

A review is coming and its tastier than a storm.

Sleep

Sleep softly girl
Sleep softly girl and enjoy sweet dreams
that carry you to better morrows
Let Morpheus lift you and take you away
to his dreamland kingdom
so that your wishes
can become momentary realities
wrapped in packages shaped like lifetimes
tied neatly with the bows of eternity
given to you to make up for crappy presents

Eyeshield 21(manga)

Eyeshield 21 (manga)


Synopsis

Kobayakawa Sena is a freshman in highschool. Despite his previous decisions to change his life, he finds himself in the exactly same place he was in during elementary school and junior high: a push over and an errand boy. However, this changes when Hiruma, the most feared person in his school and president of the American Football Club, notices Sena and forces him to join the Football Team. Now Sena will become Eyeshield 21, a mysterious running back with lighting fast speed.

# of chapters available: 333, series complete
Score: 5 out of 5

Saint Young Men

Saint Young Men



Synopsis

What if Jesus and Buddha were living on Earth in modern times? What if they shared an apartment in Japan? Saint Young Men is a humorous manga about the daily lives of Jesus and Buddha, with each chapter focusing on some element of modern life, such as Disneyland, rush hour on the train, Christmas, the public pool, carnivals, and more.

Blasreiter

Blassreiter



Faced with an outbreak of demonic blood, which transforms humans into insane and hideous creatures bent on violence and death, only one man can stand against the tide of destruction. Joseph Jobson, the only man able to control his cursed demonic form, must hunt down the man who cursed him and save the world from apocalypse


In a nut shell

Blassreiter is pretty much what the synopsis says. The show details a paramilitary group Xenogenesis Assault Team, referred to as XAT, defending a non descript town/city in what can only be assumed is Germany from Demoniacs. Demoniacs, or also Amalgams, are humans that are re-animated from the dead into monstrous forms that are both agile and strong, an ability that is unique to them is that they can fuse with any type of machinery or metal to their bodies according to their will. The plot begins to evolve when there seems to be a force creating the Demoniacs to wreak havoc. The show takes an uneventful turn when it is revealed that there is some super hi-tech organization, Zwölf, that emerges to combat the Demoniacs and they’re creator.

Original?

Not really. In terms of tech, it is more of the same from Studio Gonzo. An almost seamless blending of cell shaded 3D animation and regular 2D animation, Studio Gonzo keeps up with their regular awesomeness. Well, at least on the visual side. The plot is a little routine. I won’t lie and say that there weren’t big reveals. Nor will I pretend that some of them weren’t a little shocking. But the problem is that after all the dust settles, I can’t say anything about the series was groundbreaking. Now, is that necessary? No. But if you’re looking for a groundbreaking series or to find something you’ve never seen before, Blassreiter isn’t what you are looking for.

Characters

I was really impressed with the character designs of this series. Naoyuki Onda and Niθ did a great job with the character design. The main characters were well designed. Most of them were pretty memorable. What does this mean? Not that I can easily recall what they looked like verbatim, even though I can. More so that they are easy to spot in a line up as a character from the show. Originality comes into play here again. Most of the back stories are a little face palm worthy. Especially Gerd Frentzen. Gerd was the number one motor cross racer until an accident involving a Demoniac renders him paralyzed from the waist down. Then he follows a pretty typical track of gaining the ability to walk and gains super abilities, being a Demoniac that isn’t insane. He eventually goes insane and kills innocent people, confronts the hero, and then begs to be killed before he hurts others. The only characters I fell in love for where minor characters. It may be different for you.

Setting and Mecha Design

This is really quick. I just have to give the art team of Blassreiter a lot of credit here. I really respect the effort put into accurately portraying the German country side, village atmosphere, and city atmosphere. Even before you are told the setting of the series, you positive it isn’t Japan and you’ll probably assume it takes place in Europe. Furthermore, once you receive hints its Germany, you won’t be too surprised. On the mecha design front, I was quite impressed. All of the mecha work is done in classic Studio Gonzo style of cell shaded 3D animation. However, how do I say this…as far as the Demoniacs and the Blassreiters are concerned they feel very EVA-inspired. The mechs themselves are pretty original and pretty cool. Just another notch in the not original column

I am going to have to give Blassreiter a 3 out of 5. While it is really cool and action packed, it just isn’t original enough for me. It is still enjoyable though. However, this is one of those properties where you can see why Studio Gonzo is in the trouble it is now a days.

Blassreiter First Episode



Watch Blassreiter here


Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins

Hardcore Twins is a one shot that takes place in Miwa Shiro’s Dogs universe. It tells the tale of out of luck and ex mafia head Domino as he attempts to exact revenge on the person responsible for his fall from power. He encounter a strange pair of twins, Luki and Noki, and hilarity ensues as his luck keeps getting worse.



In a nut shell

What’s nice about Hardcore Twins as a one shot is that there aren’t a lot of inside references. This is great considering the fact that it is part of a larger universe that started with Dogs. Hence, it is an easy entry point for readers. If you like it, you can go back and read Dogs, which this one shot I believes follows pretty much directly after, and then go read Dogs ~ Bullets and Carnage. What is also great about Hardcore Twins, is that there are minor cameos abound of other Dogs characters as well as the few aforementioned references for fans of the universe already.

Characters

The character designs follow the trend already established in Dogs. I realize this probably doesn’t mean much because I haven’t reviewed Dogs yet. I’ll have to try and do and do this in order next. Domino literally looks the part of the down on his luck type of guy. His hair is disheveled, he is rocking the drunken salary man headband, and he just looks like he’s in disarray. Automatically, even if you read Dogs, you kind of want to sympathize with the guy. That is until you come across Luki and Noki. I am going to have to assume here that the two twins are girls. But, hey, you never know in manga. Moving on, the dresses Luki and Noki wear are pretty cute and it helps portray them as innocent. However, it also works with the various phases you see them portrayed as throughout Hardcore Twins. It makes them seem more comical when they are teasing Domino and makes them look demonic when they get serious. Also, the weird lazy dark eye they both have is a pretty distinguishing characteristic. I also really liked how they look exactly like two halves of one person. Even if it wasn’t original, it does work really well for the characters.

Art Style

Hardcore Twins is drawn in a very high paced fashion. The use of dark shading for intense facial close-ups was well done. Hmm, I guess I can throw pacing in here to. Because Miwa Shiro uses a very dynamic panel layout, the pacing of the manga does go really at an appropriate pace for an action based manga. Because of this, there is little use for classic speed lines or movement sound effect. This is something I appreciate as it shakes up the norm a bit. Another interesting aspect is having somewhat overlapping panels, where weapons extend from one panel and don’t necessarily effect the next panel they appear in.

Scanlation Job

This is no disrespect to the scanlation group MangaTranslation. I happen to think more often then not they do a wonderful job translating and editing their projects. However, I have one miniscule gripe. I notice on a lot of pages have that bent page quality. For those of you who have read manga or scanned a page from a book before you know exactly what I am talking about. For those that don’t, let me explain. When you use a close top scanner, which most are, you usually have the problem that when you scan the page the image has an obvious curl to it from the spine of the book. For me, this is a little annoying and it could have been easily fixed by the cleaner. Some of you may find no problem with this. On the bright side, I really do appreciate MangaTranslation’s translation notes at the bottom of each page. They were usually helpful or just plain insightful


Overall, Hardcore Twins is really a fun read. Like I said, it is a great entry point into the Dogs universe if you want to get eased into the pace. I warn you that this is one of the less graphic things in the Dogs universe so do not let the lighthearted action fool you. I am going to give Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins a 4 out of 5.

Read Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins here at OneManga.


Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

'Antennas Up' Album

When did nerd music start becoming so cool? Honestly. I thought 80s game music was truly like an underground techno drum and bass thing. So, please tell me when it became a part of funk. Oh, you haven’t heard? No one gave you the memo. Oh, that’s right. Its not on MTV, FUSE, or VH1 yet. So, I guess its not valid yet. Well, the best thing you didn’t know about is Antennas Up.





For those of you not in the know Antennas Up is a lil indje band out of Kansas City, Kansas. The group is comprised of Kyle Akers(bass/vocals), Bo McCall(guitar/vocals), and The Ryantist(drums/vocals). They are fun type of funk group. Like get up and booty shaking type funk. Right now they have one self titled album. I have to say I am usually doubtful of promoting funk. Its not always the type of music everyone can enjoy. Sort of like ska. But I got to give Antennas Up some credit, I haven’t found a funk group this catchy or well received by my friends in awhile.

The coolest thing about Antennas Up may not even be their nerd inspired backdrop beats. No, instead they are part of the growing number of bands completely using the internet to the fullest extent. They have a Twitter, a Facebook fan page, a Myspace Music Page, and their album is available on iTunes. Its just amazing the amount of free net promotion these guys are milking it.

Back to the group. I totally dig the way they sound. I give them all credit for staying true to the 70’s funk sound. I also have to admit, I was expecting to see a black guy in the band. Just from the sound on the vocals. Surprised I was but not disappointed. The beat is always solid and there isn’t a single track on the album you can’t dance to. Maybe “Piano Song.” But overall, it really is just your typical feel good and get on your feet album. Another cool aspect of the album is the fact that each track flows right into the next one. So you almost feel like you’re listing to one long evolving song. My only complaint is the very thing I praised. That sometimes I feel like I am listening song with a few different lyrics and a different game beat in the background.

I’m going to have to give them a 3.5 out of 5. While they have definitely made their way onto my favorites list, I think its only because of geeky nostalgia and my eclectic music tastes. I don’t know how well they would do with non geeks or audiophiles. Which don’t take as I expect them to go mainstream. I just don’t think they have a broad appeal is all.

Performing "She's Evil" Live In Studio On Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz



"SP4C3SH1P" and "Don't Wait Up"







Myspace Music Page

Twitter

Facebook Fan Page

Antennas Up Swag

BUY THE CD!!

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

'The Arcade' Album

The 80’s seem to be the decade that doesn’t want to die. From the leg warmers to bright neon vomited colored clothing, the 80’s doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. This becomes more apparent in today’s music styling as well. Just take a look at Hyper Crush. Who is Hyper Crush? Hmm, how do I put this? Oh, I’ve got it. Picture this, the Black Eyed Peas and 3Oh!3 have a baby raised in the 80’s. That sounds about right. And their album The Arcade is, if not musically, lyrically a homage to the 80’s.





Hyper Crush was recently one of may bands to perform at this year’s Bamboozle. Well, I missed out on Bamboozle so I decided to look into the bands that I hadn’t heard of. And boy was I surprised when I heard Hyper Crush. I felt like I was watching an episode of VH1’s I love the 80’s. That and I couldn’t handle all the bright colors. Did someone tell them neon was the new black? Or did I just miss the memo at some point? >.>

In all seriousness, I don’t know what to make of this band. I went to there web page to find out some boring bio info about the group. Well, Hyper Crush is composed of three members. Donny Fontaine, Holly Valentine, and DJ Preston Moronie. Although I don’t know if that’s their real names. Huh? Yeah. Let me give you a sample of their web page bio. The members met during a fistfight at Denny's in San Fernando. Holly was a waitress that broke up the fight. Donny started rapping in the summer of 1956, at some point winning a "freestlye battle" at the Country Manor Home for the Mentally disabled. Preston is an advocate of sexism and domestic violence. He is also a convicted felon and "full time" alcoholic. Holly was born in the "Jungles of South America". Holly fled to the United States after killing several Police Officers. Anyone else see some issues here? Well, at least this adds a fun and nonsensical flare to a band that’s chocked full of 80’s nostalgia.

Ok. So the album. Their only known album is The Arcade, which was released on April 29th, 2008. Yes, I know. I am a year behind. Give me a break. Anyway, their genre can only be explained as a mash-up of hip hop and electronica. Which is cool. Pretty much every song has an ill beat and I’d say a third of the songs are club ready as is. Some just need a good remix. The rest? Well, you could sneak them into an 80’s night and I doubt anyone will notice the difference. Which brings me to my next point. Their music style is dated. Not in a bad way. But it isn’t like you can say their sound is any kind of ground breaking.

As much as I like them I have a problem with some of their songs. Their most original sounding ones, like “Infinite Youth” and “Mueve Low”, are some of the weaker tracks. The track “Boom Box” has a very similar beat and lyrical styling to that of “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. While some other strong tracks I could’ve sworn were 3Oh!3 tracks when I had my iPod on shuffle. These tracks saving graces from being biters are the fact they are chocked full of 80’s references. Especially their strongest track “The Arcade.”

I’m give The Arcade a 2.9 out of 5. While the album is very enjoyable, I can’t shake the feeling like I’ve heard these songs before. Some of the songs even share similar lyrics. Also, how any times do you need to give group members and your band’s name a shout out in a song? I do recommend picking it up. But I suggest you give the songs a good listen before hand.

"The Arcade"


"Robo Tech"



Facebook Fan Page

Hyper Crush Swag

The Blog

Official Hyper Crush Web Page

Free Music Download Form

Myspace Music Page

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Mel Kano

Synopsis

Shinjou Shouryuu is a healthy 17 year old high school boy. Many of his kouhais wonder why such a great guy doesn't have a girlfriend. Ask him and he'll tell you that between school, work, and saving his kouhais from bullies doesn't leave him much time to go on dates. So he instead goes online to "F.I.L. GATES". There in the chat room his alter-ego, Kakeru, is infatuated with the girl called Hal. Hal sends a message reminding him that Sunday will be the 6 month anniversary of when they first met (online) and that she wants to meet him in person! And let's just say it's not your typical first date.





# of chapters available: 12
Score: 3 out of 5

In a nut shell

Mel Kano is a pretty fun manga by Oshima Towa. Like the synopsis suggests, Mel Kano is a series about couples who meet on “F.I.L. GATES.” From what can be gathered “F.I.L. GATES” is a type of super Craigslist. Or it may be better to say its super web 5.0. It operates as a store, a Craigslist, a social networking site, dating site, etc. Basically all of your favorite sites rolled into one. Now while the basic set-up is different couples meeting in offline for the first time, the story does return Shinjou and Haruka. However, this time its them being enlisted by “F.I.L. GATES” secondary company “F-Eye.” “F-Eye” works to maintain the integrity of “F.I.L. GATES” through covert means. Hilarity ensues since Shinjou and Haruka are blackmailed into working for “F-Eye” at first with their chat conversations. It is here where the story revolves around Haruka and Shinjou working on cases for “F-Eye.”

Humor

This manga’s humor operates off of situational based comedy. Which works really well since it is intermitted with decent action and romance. The most humorous aspect of the series is Shinjou’s and Haruka’s relationship. Online they are sweet hopeless romantic sweet talkers. Offline they are both rude, abrasive, and just not how they are online. What’s funny is when the two get into arguments, they use texting and chatting in internet cafés to make up. Because the only way they know how to sweet talk is online. One of the most humorous situations is on Haruka’s and Shinjou’s first case. Apparently girls kept going missing after meeting on particular guy on “F.I.L. GATES.” The guy knocks the girls out and dressing them as otaku figures and then keeps them prisoners. And how does he dress Haruka? As a cat girl.

Art Style

I happen to like the style of the manga. Its drawn in a pretty traditional shoujo style. What do I mean? Even the bad ass scruffy boys look cute. The clothing is pretty trendy. It has a light airy style. I wouldn’t say its anything new. Although Oshima Towa has great character design, I wouldn’t say they’re memorable.

Characters

Shinjou is your typical bad ass super strong guy. The hilarity continues that he is the exact opposite online. He is headstrong and sometimes a jerk. However, he is loyal to a fault. Haruka is pretty much a perfect match. Except she has a much stronger sense of justice, which compared to Shinjou makes her almost a saint. She also goes looking for danger, unlike Shinjou who handles the danger that comes his way.

Overall Mel Kano is pretty cool. I enjoy the fact that it’s a romance story mixed with light action and hefty comedy. I give it a 3 out of 5. I mean, I almost think that is too high of a score. But I think it’s too early to really score it too hard. I mean there are only 12 chapters out right now.

Read Mel Kano at OneManga

reviewed by: Sage Gnosis