Nineteen of Fifty-Two

Television

Blue Gender

Blue Gender is one of the most underappreciated shows I've ever seen. This is a classic fish out of water scenario where the main character, Yuji Kaido, and others are put into cry sleep while the best scientists in the world try to cure an illness that they have. They go to sleep with the hope that when they wake up they'll be cured, only to be awoken amidst a post-apocalyptic waste land where insectoid monsters known as the blue have taken over and the majority of people live in space.

The first half of the series shows Yuji being evacuated back to the space station, but on the way to the space port the elite team of soldiers sent after him is picked off by the blue to the point that there’re only a couple left and Yuji has to learn to fight. By the time he reaches the space port he has fallen for the last remaining soldier, Marlene Angel and when given the order not to help her and to stay in the ship, he chooses to go save her life, ultimately getting severely injured in the process.

The Second half of the series show how Yuji and the handful of other infected that returned are trained to use new mech suits to kill the blue. This half of the series is more from Marlene's perspective as she has fallen for him and she has to watch as he changes from the sweet guy he once was into a monster. She ultimately helps him return to a neutral ground, and they manage to destroy the blue and re-take the world, but not before a massive mutiny on the space station that gets everyone who remained there killed.

The whole show follows the idea that the world is a living entity. It suggests that the Blue was a natural immune system that the world brought out to cleanse it of over population and technological destruction, culminating, once the purge was complete, in the blue all going to one spot and dying.

It's an awesome story, full of intrigue, romance, horror, sci-fi and mechs.
One scene that truly sealed it's awesomeness for me was in the middle of the first half of the series where Yuji comes across a town where earth people still live. It turns out that the space people abandoned them and continue to use and abuse them, considering them less than human, killing them if necessary as they're already dead.
Yuji convinces his companions to help them though, as an attack of Blue is imminent. Ultimately Yuji and his team are unsuccessful, losing the town and a lot of recourses.
The scene that sticks with me, however, is one of a little girl who he's been looking out for. Yuji's just fallen down and he looks up to see her standing there and a moment later the blue just power through the space where she'd been standing. You don't even see her die, but you know.
It's just one of those moments where you can tell just how bad the world has become.

So that's Blue Gender. If you ever get the chance to watch it, you should. Its old and I haven’t seen it in shops for a long time, but if you get the chance, do. (In fact I believe FUNimation's you tube page has a few eps)

Blue-Gender-Opening
- James

Eighteen of Fifty-Two

Games

Assassin's Creed

So I haven't played the most recent game and I've only played the main console games, and I am yet to read a book, but other than that I think I can speak on this subject with confidence.

So, ok, I've only enjoyed four out of the  thirteen games and none of the six novels, four films, five novels and I've never even seen the encyclopaedia, but still I really like what I have played. The Assassin's Creed games are third person games set the near future and in historically significant eras of the past including the crusades and the renaissance.

I find that the worlds are beautifully designed, straight out of the history books. With historical characters like Richard the lion heart, Saladin, Da Vinci, the Borgias and others, all fully fleshed out, realistic and as scary/creepy as you'd expect.

The thing I love about the Assassin's Creed games isn't the settings or the characters, though they are awesome, it's not the story, which isn't amazing to be honest, it's the way you move, how you travel around. It's like parkour in ancient times. Climbing things, jumping, running, it's done really well.
As far as I know this was the first game to ever make it so that anything that looks like you can climb it; you can climb it.
Before Assassin's Creed game's you'd have games that would have you jumping around all over the place, but only on specific objects. Objects that were highlighted, or a specific object used over and over again. In Assassin's Creed (and all of its subsequent releases) if you think you should be able to climb it you can. If you can reach it you can climb it.

In the subsequent games the tech and the gameplay has only gotten better, strengthened and become more fun. I still love Altair, the main character from the first game, but after three releases with the sequel's character, Ezio, I've grown to love him as well.

These games have been released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, steam sells the first for £9.99, though its really a controller game.
Go play it.


The original AssCree Trailer.
- James

Seventeen of Fifty-Two

Movies

Tangled

Is it weird that I absolutely love this film?
Not just the story either, the characters, the songs - yes I own the album - the art style, the voice acting, the animation, the pacing, hell I even like the annoying animal characters that usually peeve me in movies like this.

I don't know what it is, I guess it's a mix of all of the above, but I just can't get sick of it. At this point I must have seen this film about a hundred times and it's only been out on dvd since late march 2011.  From it's detailed and funny cast of characters down to it's slow played romantic story arc, it's just a brilliant take on the rapunzel story.

 This version follows Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, a thief who accidentally came across her tower as they travel across the country so that Rapunzel can see the flying lanterns that she's watched from her window every year on her birthday, and so that Flynn can get back the crown he stole from the royal castle.
Through a series of adventures the pair grow close and a romance blossoms between the two of them, only to seemingly be shattered as Rapunzel's 'mother' manipulates two men that Flynn screwed over into trying to kidnap her while making it look like he gave her up to them and tricking Rapunzel into thinking that Flynn betrayed her, as she said that he would.
Flynn is arrested and sentenced to death and Rapunzel returns with her mother to her life in the tower, only to realise that she is actually the princess of hte kingdom, stolen at birth by her 'mother'. While this is happening Flynn realises what's happened and breaks out of jail to rescue her.

It's odd that I just told you the majority of the film and yet refuse to tell you the conclusion. All things considered you won't guess it... or will you? huh? Well, regardless you should go watch it!
Like... now.

Why are you still here? seriously? go watch it now.

Looks ok i guess-video
- James

Sixteen of Fifty-Two

Comics

Ultimate Comics; Doomsday

Ultimate Doomsday is a multi-series cross over from the Ultimate Marvel Universe involving Ultimate's versions of the Fantastic Four, Spider-man, Spider-woman, Ice man from the X-men, the S.H.I.E.L.D. side of the Ultimates (many marvel fans know them as the Avengers) in which a number of near simultaneous attacks occur on science institutes and seemingly unrelated people, including the should-be-dead Nick Fury, the home of Reed Richards, the home of Peter Parker and the home of Jessica Drew, Peter Parkers female clone, Spider-woman.

The comic follows several paths that lead to the same end, the fantastic four, now the Fantastic three when Reed Richards is seen to die in his home, mourn their loss while Ben Grimm goes into some sort of comma while his rocks fall off, eventually freeing him of his rock cocoon. Spider-man and Spider-woman attempt to infiltrate Roxxon science division to discover if they were involved in the attacks, though their sleuthing gets Jessica in more hot water than she had expected. Finally S.H.E.I.L.D. work every angle they can think of reacting to everything and trying to get ahead of the game.

The comic shows all the characters at their best in the middle of such a monumental disaster as they are pitted against an enemy that they never thought they'd have to face.

Of course in the end the three groups come together to out-wit their latest adversary, but they don't manage to do away with him. They are most certainly going to have to face off against him again at some point. I'm not going to tell you who it is, but suffice to say I didn't see it coming.

There were some great things abotu this comic collection that I think take reading them to understand, but I'll say them anyway; I love the interractions between Spidey adn Spider-woman. They work SO well toghether. I'd say it's like seeing peter parker talkign to himself, but she's his clone so it's kind of redundant. There really isn't enough going on page stuff goign on with Jessica Drew.
If I could ask for any one thing to happen with the Ultimate universe... well it'd be Peter Parker coming back, but I can't really see that happening any time soon (though I have a great plot line to make it happen, but you'll have to wait for the Ultimate Spiderman review for that). But if I could have anotehr wish it'd be to put Jessica Drew in her own comic. It was nice to see her confronting her past, facing off agaisnt Doc Oc and inevitably giving in to Peters morals and saving his life. Jessica is a fun, lively, intelligent, entertaining and witty character and we need see more of her.
Another thing I loved was a short cameo of Hawkeye, in which he turns up for five minutes to torture an alien creature that nobody can get to talk. He is a legendary agent and suffice to say, the alien talks... in about 30 seconds.

Really though, its a great read. Smart, excting, funny and surprising. it makes you think, its emotional and it has some sensational art. Go read it now.

How-Spider-man-should-have-ended
- James