Since all my WoW characters have been staying still at level 60 (or lower), I’ve spent more time on other stuff lately (not necessarily important stuff, obviously). Here’s what I think of some things:

Anime, Manga:

X (TV) : Finally watched this. Style is very CLAMP of course, and compared to the movie, the character development is a lot better, though there still isn’t enough time to flesh out all the Dragons of Heaven/Earth. And seriously, why is the 1-episode OVA counted as “Episode 0″? It has waaaaaaaay too many spoilers. But still, an enjoyable, and somewhat depressing, series. 9/10.

Full Metal Alchemist : Never finished it before, went back and played the episodes I had seen on fast-forward, then finally finished it. Good series, never felt dragged on despite the considerable length. The plot towards the end was a bit lacking though, and I didn’t care for the ending. But the characters are royally interesting and really make the show. 8/10.

Full Moon wo Sagashite : Re-watched the anime, then read the manga. The show is still fantastic – the last 13 or so episodes are tear-jerkers even when you know what’s coming. And the music is great as always. The manga isn’t quite as depressing, but maybe it’s just because of which one I came across first, but I prefer the anime. Anime 10/10, Manga 8/10.

Rurouni Kenshin : Would you believe I had never seen the entire series before? Well, now I finally have. The common opinion on this show is pretty much spot-on: the Tokyo Arc is just OK, the Kyoto Arc is fantastic, and the last part (which I’ll just call the Filler Arc) just kinda unimportant. Also watched the Tsuiokuhen OVA (Trust and Betrayal), and yes, it’s just as good as they say too. I can see why it’s AnimeNfo’s #1 ranked anime. Tokyo Arc 7/10, Kyoto Arc 9/10, Filler Arc 6/10, OVA 9/10.

Ultra Maniac : A girl from “Magic Kingdom”, who sucks at using Magic (which apparently is done by connecting a mini-treasure-box to a mini-computer and then saying “practice”) comes to Earth and goes to school. Very novel concept. While in school she meets another girl who helps her and has boy problems. Also very novel concepts. Anyway… made myself watch about half of it, couldn’t really stand to watch more. I can already see what’s going to happen, and just don’t care. Also, I hate the OP song. The ED song is just slightly less bad. 4/10.

REC : A very short (9 episodes of about 12 minutes each) series, about an advertising guy who gets stood up on a date, meets a newbie voice actress, drinks with her, discover she lives near him, and then find that her apartment burnt down. You can probably figure out where it goes from here. Completely predictable, but funny, cute, and warm, nonetheless enjoyable. 7/10.

Banner of the Stars III : 2 episode OVA. Not much happens here, just ties up Jinto’s ties to his homeland and (slightly) further develops the relationship between him and Lafiel. And of course, anyone who hadn’t seen the previous series will have no idea what’s going on. But for those who did and liked them, it’s more of the same. Here’s to hoping for another TV series. 7/10.

Battle Programmer SHIRASE : 16 half-length (~12min) episodes, telling the “story” about a genius computer hacker/programmer named Shirase/BPS. Whose mental ability is apparently that of able to encode what he hears into MP3 in real-time. And who can hack a supercomputer using a cellphone. And who has a “niece” in elementary school who seems to has the hots for him. Yeah… the show is completely retarded. But it’s funny at times, even if the running gag (a guy named Akizuki comes to BPS for some purpose in various incarnations, who then later walks in on him in what seems to be a sexual position, usually with a child, then has a lot of weird thoughts) gets really really old. 5/10.

TV Shows:

Friday Night Lights : TV show of the year for me. Seriously, watch this show (you can watch past episodes on NBC.com), even if you don’t love football – it’s just a well-done drama. 8/10.

Densha Otoko (電車男) : I had never heard of this until now, but apparently it’s a very famous (and supposedly real) story in Japan. Here’s the description of the story, stolen from Wikipedia:

In 2004, an anonymous user posted in a thread for single men to decry their woes. According to his account, he had been sitting next to a beautiful woman on the train when a drunken man entered the car and began bothering the other passengers, most of whom were female. When the drunk began to badger a particular woman, the poster took the risk of telling the man to stop bothering the passengers. The two struggled for a short time while the other passengers used this distraction to summon the conductor, who took control of the situation.

Never having done such a thing in his life, the poster was amazed to find the woman thanking him deeply for saving her from harassment. They exchanged addresses and parted ways. The poster, upon returning home, began talking with other posters in the thread and was eventually nicknamed “Densha Otoko” (Train Man).

A few days later, Densha Otoko received a package from the woman: an expensive set of cups and saucers made by Hermès. Flabbergasted, the man turned to the 2channelers for advice; he was soon convinced that the tea set was too expensive to be a mere thank-you gift. Following the advice and suggestions of the other posters, Densha Otoko eventually contacted the woman.

After an enjoyable first date, they began meeting regularly, Densha Otoko all the while posting updates and asking for advice on everything from restaurant choices to what clothing to wear. Following their collective advice, he got a haircut, updated his wardrobe, and began to emerge from his shell. After several dates, his personality had changed for the better and this culminated a few months later in his confessing his love for her. She reciprocated, and when the 2channelers were informed, there was a mass celebration; posts began flowing in congratulating the new couple, and extravagant Shift JIS art pictures were posted. Because 2ch has an enormous impact on net culture in Japan, this story quickly spread throughout the media.

You have to admit, it’s an interesting and unique concept for a TV show. It stars Misaki Ito (which I first saw in the live action version of You’re Under Arrest! – more on that in a bit) and Atsushi Itō (who REALLY looks like Tu in this show – so much that it’s uncanny o.O), and while it’s predictable, it’s still very entertaining – the scenes with all the forum-goers are quite funny, and the interaction between Yamada (the Densha Otoko) and the various people in the story are well done. And Ms. Misaki Ito, who plays Aoyama/Hermès, did a good job IMO (as well as looking very cute). All in all, it’s a series I liked – watched all of it (12 episodes + 2-hour special) in one day. 9/10.

You’re Under Arrest (Live Action) : I had actually seen most of this a long while back, but never finished it. After watching Densha Otoko, I remembered this series (since it also stars the lovely Ms. Misaki Ito), and decided to finish watch it. It’s only 9 episodes, and most of it is spent in the case-of-the-week format, so the character development is kinda lacking. But some of the characters (especially Nakajima) are great, and it manages to be entertaining for the most part, even though the “action scenes” leave a lot to be desired (it’s not really possible to replicate what happens in manga/anime, sure, but in this case the gap is even bigger than between the GTO drama and anime). 7/10.

Games:

Half-Life: Source, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 : The videocard I bought last year came with HL2: Ep 1, so I figured I’d pick up HL2, play through the original again, play HL2, and then finally play Ep. 1. Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were both critically acclaimed games, and it’s not hard to see why. Compared to almost every other FPS out there, the original is still a refreshing change of pace to this day thanks to it’s strong storyline. And HL2 really ups the ante in every way. The visuals are fantastic, the story is well-written, and the weaponry is interesting (the upgraded Gravity Gun might just be the best weapon in a game ever). Unfortunately, the vehicle controls are kinda lacking, and the game, even fully up-to-date on patches, still seem buggy – I would randomly get hard system freezes on loading screens. And Steam, while not so bad as it currently is, is still an annoyance. But putting those aside, it’s not hard to see why HL2 was picked the best game of 2004 by so many. Episode 1, as the first of what should be 3 episodic installments, is just kind of more of the same, and it makes good use of the Gravity Gun, so it’s quite alright in my book. I’m not sure I like the episodic format (I got Ep. 1 for free, but it’s normally $20, and $60 for all three might be pushing it in terms of value, especially if the Eps. 2/3 are the same length as Ep. 1, which isn’t very long). HL:S 8/10, HL2 10/10, HL2: Ep. 1 9/10.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy : It’s LEGO. It’s the (good) Star Wars Trilogy. It’s a combination that has proven very effective (side note: the LEGO Millennium Falcon, it of $500 and 5000 pieces, looks amazing), and this game doesn’t disappoint. It needs an analog gamepad to be properly played (which is why I never got around to it until now, and only after I spent a day trying to get my DualShock2 to work with a PCI Parallel Port card, failed, and ended up getting an Xbox 360 controller), but that aside, it’s just pure bliss. Sure, it’s a kid game at it’s core, and so the gameplay is very simplified (there’s no such thing as really dying in this game, and the puzzles are easy), but for anyone who has an interest in Star Wars, this game is so charming and fun that you can’t help but enjoy it. It’s the small touches (for example, in Jabba’s palace, if you assemble a radio, it starts blaring out the Imperial Marching Theme, and some of the enemies will start dancing) that really make the game. New in this version is the vehicle levels, which are also a lot of fun. All in all, it’s a very solid game, one that can be enjoyed by everyone who likes Star Wars and probably many who don’t. 9/10.