Eric Versus ... YouTube Videogame Videos!

We've started a new project over the last couple of months where we're sharing our incredible videogame skills with the world through the magic of YouTube videos.  Links below!

Eric Versus Andrew - Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Eric Versus Andrew - Super Street Fighter IV
Eric Versus Andrew - Fighting Vipers XBLA

You can see the rest of our videos at the main channel page - Eric Vs ...

Anime Walking A Dangerous Path I Thought It Had Grown Out Of

Remember 10-15 years ago when big complete series box sets weren't the norm like they are now and you had to buy anime in individual volumes with 3-4 episodes on one $20 DVD (or, the horror, a VHS)?  Somewhere along the line, someone said "this is really fucking stupid and a complete rip off", so complete series DVD sets started coming out.  Instead of having to spend hundreds of dollars on 10+ DVDs to get a whole series, now you can buy one set for $30 or so and get everything.

At least, that was how it had been for quite a while.  Now, though, Funimation and Bandai are going back to their old ways.  And that is a damn shame.  Funimation isn't too bad yet, but instead of releasing a complete series now they are releasing separate seasons - and occasionally licensing only the first season but not the rest which is incredibly frustrating since you have to wait to finish the stories.  Bandai Entertainment, on the other hand, seems to have fully relapsed into those bad habits as indicated by their plans for releasing K-ON! in the United States.  No complete season sets here.  They are releasing single DVDs with 3-4 episodes and charging $30 for that shit. 

No thank you.  I'm not buying that until you put out a complete series set.

Bandai also has the bad habit of charging way too damn much for their stuff.  $50 for Haruhi Suzumiya season 2?  Hell no.  I'm not paying $50 for a handful of real episodes and then the awful Endless Eight.  It is ridiculous.

Anime industry, you're already in big trouble.  Raping consumers like you did in the bad old days isn't the answer.

My Anime "Rule of Two"

After spending the last year watching pretty much nothing but anime (and sports ...), I have come up with a pretty solid rule for figuring out of something is good or not.

You need to watch everything twice.

There have been some anime series that I kind of hated the first time around (Paniponi Dash comes to mind), but I have loved on subsequent viewings.  Likewise, there are series that I liked the first time, but struggle with a second time.  Funnily enough, they are mostly love dramas that I struggle to watch again - Love Hina, Suzuka, and Peach Girl, specifically.  They are fun the first time, but annoying the second time and I find myself skipping way too many episodes and scenes because they are either stupid or I don't want to watch awkward crap again.  I think perhaps they will be fun to watch again a while down the road, but not any time while they are still fresh in my memory.

I will fully admit, though, that I'm not a normal anime fan.  A lot of stuff I've liked are series that "real" anime fans think sucks.  I don't mind "moe".  I love fanservice, even if it is over the top.  I actually like to buy stuff instead of watching online or downloading.  I'm crazy.  But at least I'm not a weeaboo.

Spice and Wolf Review (Anime)

Spice and Wolf is one of the most interesting anime series I have seen in a while.  It isn't an action series.  It isn't a fan service series (although Holo is naked a lot ...it isn't bouncy sexy fanservice).  It is 100% story and character driven, and even though it is slowly paced it is absolutely fascinating from beginning to end.  The characters are fantastic, the animation is well done, and the show overall is quite stunning.

Strike Witches + Star Wars = Awesome

Not a review.  Just awesome-ness.  Strike Witches is all about girls with airplane parts strapped to their legs.  What about X-Wing parts from Star Wars?  Good times.

Strike Witches Review (Anime)

Strike Witches is a crazy anime about teenage girls with magical powers who are the last best hope for humanity against an alien threat.  How do they fight them?  By strapping crazy airplane parts to their legs so they can fly around and shoot shit with huge guns.  Oh, and none of the female characters ever wear pants for some reason.  Yeah, it is that kind of show.  But it is pretty awesome.

Negima! Review (Anime)

Negima! has been described as the Harry Potter of anime.  A stupid description, of course, because most of the characters do not use, or are even aware of magic.  The main character is a silly little kid with glasses that uses magic, but the similarities to Harry Potter end pretty much there.  Instead, it is a story of love and loss and friendship with magic stuff shoehorned in.  All in all, though, it is pretty darn entertaining.

How I Choose the Anime I Watch

Not a review, but I thought it would be interesting to share how I choose the anime I buy and watch.  First, I'm not a weeaboo, so I don't know every hot thing from Japan coming down the pipeline.  I don't read manga, and don't care to.  I also don't really like taking advice and recommendations from other anime fans because they're dorks who would piss me off with a "Sub vs. Dub" debate or tell me the manga is better or say I have bad taste or something.  Seriously, screw those jerks.

Instead, I have my own way.  I start out with a series or movie I already know I like and I search for it on Amazon.  On Amazon's product pages, about halfway down, they have a section of recommended products that are similar to the one you are looking at or are items that other customers bought who have roughly the same taste as you do.  By looking through the dozens of products listed in this section, I can find similar anime to stuff I already like.

And from there, obviously, it sort of snowballs.  One series opens the door to a dozen more, which opens up a dozen more, which opens up a dozen more, etc.  Every time I think I'm finally whittling down my list of stuff to buy, I find ten more things to add. 

One important step is that I do read the user reviews of the series on Amazon before I decide if I want it or not.  The user reviews usually do a good job singling out fan service (hey, I likes it) and giving basic plot rundowns, so I can figure out if a series is for me pretty early on.  This process has only let me down once (the Galaxy Angel series, if you must know).

Ask a supposed anime fan about Divergence Eve / Misaki Chronicles or Kiddy Grade and they'll probably tell you they suck, but they have been some of my absolute favorites and I wouldn't have found them without my little system.

FLCL Review (Anime)

FLCL, also known as Fooly Cooly, is an anime series that combines all the best parts of anime in general into one six episode series.  It is a mix of giant robots, sci-fi, slice of life, comedy, and rock and roll and is just plain crazy.  The story is a bit of a confusing mess, but it is absolutely entertaining from start to finish and features great artwork and some of the best music of any anime yet.

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Review (Anime)

I think the time is right to review what has become one of my absolute favorite anime series of all time - Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.  The time is right because I'm all horny for playing guitar at the moment (the show is about a rock band, after all) and I figure it is about time I show people I watch anime other than just those that feature girls with big boobs as the main characters. I gots depth, man.

Review Revised July 4th after a third watch of the series (hint: I liked it even more the third time).

Ikki Tousen Review (Anime)

Ikki Tousen is the king of pointless fan service anime.  Like, way, way, way over the top and unnecessary.  But it also tells a fascinating story and has some truly interesting characters, so it isn't merely fluff with no substance. 

Azumanga Daioh Review (Anime)

Azumanga Daioh has been described as the "Seinfeld of anime", and that is pretty accurate.  It is a show about nothing.  There is no real overarching plot.  There are no real heroes or villains.  It is just a group of high school girls in Japan doing normal Japanese high school girl stuff.  But it is one of the funniest and sweetest and just plain fun shows to watch that you'll find.

Strawberry Pocky Review

I've covered Pocky before.  You know, the cookie sticks dipped in a flavoring.  Chocolate is the most popular.  Etc.  Well, now I've given Strawberry Pocky a try.  And it is good.  Not as good as chocolate, but good.

If Strawberry Pocky tasted as good as it smells, it would be the best thing ever.  It smells like really ripe, really good strawberries that you smell at the store and think "Goddamn, that smells awesome.  I'm going to buy some even though I have no idea what I'll do with them".  The taste, unfortunately, isn't quite as potent.  You still get a definite strawberry taste, but it is pretty subdued.  I have to say, though, that the more of them I eat, the more I like them overall, which is a good sign.

All in all, I give Strawberry Pocky a 8/10 or one ... well, I think this image from School Rumble speaks for itself.

1/23/13 Edit - I've noticed a ton of traffic on this review lately.  Anyone wanna leave a comment and tell me why?

Chocolate Yan Yan Review

I went to Wal-Mart with the intention of buying about 10 boxes of Chocolate Pocky.  They only had three.  Bad times.  Next to the Pocky section was a different, but similar looking, Japanese snack called Yan Yan, so I picked up a couple.

Pocky is cookie sticks already dipped in a flavoring.  Yan Yan is essentially the same idea, but you get to dip the cookie sticks yourself.  Yan Yan comes in a round container, and when you open the top one side holds the cookies and the other side has chocolate frosting to dip the cookies in.  We've seen American products like this before, so it isn't that big of a deal, but still pretty cool.

What impressed me about Yan Yan is just how good it actually is.  The chocolate cream is really tasty, and the cookies are a little bigger than Pocky and taste pretty good all by themselves.  Combine the two for ultimate deliciousness.

An interesting thing about Yan Yan is that they have words printed on them.  It is usually just an animal (like goat or cow or chicken or something) and then a super "Engrish" version of something about that animal. A whale is a "biggsey mammal", and a cow says "muuuu" or a squirrel is "your best friend".  Goofy stuff like that. 

All in all, Yan Yan is pretty darn good.  They come in packs of 16 sticks along with the chocolate to dip them in for around $1.  I think I prefer Pocky just because it is easier to eat (you don't have to dip it), but Yan Yan tastes pretty damn good and is a nice alternative.  I give chocolate Yan Yan a solid 8/10 or one barfing kitten (yes, another barfing kitten). 

K-On! Review (Anime)

K-On! is kind of like Beck, but instead of a serious band of dudes making seriously good rock music, K-On! is about cute high school girls playing light, fluffy, saccharine sweet pop-rock.  But you know what?  It is still pretty awesome even though it is so sweet and cute it'll make you want to barf.