Hunter x Hunter Rewatch - Chimera Ants Arc

The Chimera Ant arc always holds a complicated place in my probably-too-large place in my heart for Hunter x Hunter. On one hand, it's the arc that as fans, we're supposed to find the best. I've seen tons of comments saying "if you find this arc boring, you have horrible taste and are too dumb for Hunter x Hunter." It's like the Rick and Morty of the HxH fandom. And backing up those opinions is the fact that this is the longest, the most complex, and arguably the arc that has some of the highest highs of the entire series.

Still, from watch one to this most recent watch (three), the Chimera Ant arc has never been my favorite. For every point it has going for it, there seems to be a counterpoint. One of the biggest problems, for instance, is that going along with the fact that it's the longest arc, it's also the arc I find has the most pacing issues. And yes, I know this is where the "you don't understand!!" comments come in. The extremely analytical and voice-over heavy style of the arc slows things to a crawl, intentionally, in that there's about 4-5 episodes that take place over the space of in-universe 60 seconds or so.


This style isn't inherently bad, but it does require every moment to be interesting enough to support stretching time out so much. And unfortunately, not all the side-fights in this arc are, in my opinion. Ikalgo is the biggest offender in my opinion. His side story looking for Palm and fighting Brovado and the like carried so much less tension than all the rest of the fights. For one, I've known Ikalgo for far less time than any of the other characters, so the stakes aren't as high. Also, his Nen and his opponents simply aren't as interesting as nearly any of the other fights. This all added up to the episodes featuring Ikalgo having me count the minutes until we got back to Gon or Knuckle.


Back to Knuckle though, his fight with Youpi is probably my favorite big battle until the end. It's filled with tension as time passes, strategy with APR, and constant danger with Youpi's explosive Nen power. To me, this is an example of the arc at its best. The analytical style works great for this fight, adding to the tension of each second mattering.


The complexity and seriousness of the arc does have its drawbacks though. With Gon in such a dark place emotionally, there's much less levity and joy here, which is something HxH really excelled at, and is definitely something I love. Also, not all of the new characters are as interesting as the ones they're taking screen time from, either. Shoot, Morel, Ikalgo, Pouf, Cheetu, and Knov all range from either being interesting yet non-favorites, to downright annoying. At the end of the day, a lot of the time I just wanted to go back to see what Gon or Killua was up to, which made it rough when Gon ends up sitting for the majority of the second half. Still, there are some characters that are absolute highlights.


My favorite new character had to have been the King/Mereum. His character development is probably the highest high the arc has. Seeing how the relationship with Komugi changes him is fascinating and emotional, and the resolution is just gut-wrenchingly powerful. Hunter x Hunter has an amazing ability for making you care for characters you never thought you would, and the dark final moments of Mereum and Komugi playing Gungi is a brilliant example of that.


Gon's final fight with Pitou... holy shit. 'High point' is kinda stripping away so much of what makes that fight one of the most intense, heartbreaking, brutal scenes in all of HxH. The difference between episode one Gon to the boy who throws his life away just to get revenge sends chills down my spine. And that animation.... This arc has a ton of amazing animation, and that's definitely one of the high points.

There's still so much I could talk about with this arc. I haven't even mentioned Mereum and Netero's battle, which is at once epic, disturbing, and a huge anticlimax that throws everything we think we know about power levels in this world out of whack with the atom bomb reveal. I near exclusively focused on the second half as well, as I think the first half in many ways is better (though still suffers from pacing issues). But that means I literally didn't even mention Kite! Or how this arc brings up themes of reincarnation in ways that perfectly make sense yet still are insane. So yeah, while it's never been my favorite arc, there's SO MUCH to love here that I almost always loved watching it. That's Hunter x Hunter for you, huh?

52 Games in 52 Weeks - Entry #2 - The Re(catch)-Up

"Hopefully they'll be weekly posts chronicling my grand journey, but if not I can always do catch-up posts every month or so :P"

Five months later...

Whoops

Before you get too angry, just rest easy in the fact that literally not a single person has read the first entry (it's sitting at a pretty 0 views).

So what's happened in those five months? Video games! Just not as many as I wanted to play.

WEEK 4 - Miitomo (mobile)
First up, a catch up week.  I decided that even though Miitomo was a free download, it was good enough to count as a catch-up "game".  I was pretty into this game the first month or so that it came out, answering questions every day for the bonuses and buying up new outfits all the time.  I really had fun with the fashion aspect of this game, honestly.

What's interesting is that around 3 months after release, this social network thing has all but died.  I stopped using it daily after about a month and a half, and by that time around half my friends on it had stopped at all.  Then there was about a month of checking in daily but never really doing anything else, and now I might check in a couple of times a week just for the bonuses.  It's kinda sad, since the game had a lot of Nintendo charm, but it just didn't have enough to keep people, and draw new ones in.  Better luck with Animal Crossing/Fire Emblem, Big N!


WEEK 8 - Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash (3DS)
I actually did enjoy this week, even though the game was pretty shit.  I just spent about an hour each day with this, listening to podcasts and playing basically on auto pilot. My review:

A functional, inoffensive way to pass the time. This platformer is the definition of average; the level design is rarely inspired, sorta tedious, but with some cool moments such as the boss battles. It's not enough to stop playing the game, but I won't ever want to go back, or even remember many things fondly. The graphics are occasionally cute (Chibi-Robo as a character has so much potential!), and nearly all the innovative systems they try such as the level wheel feel pointless. If you're a huge fan of platformers like I am and need a new 3DS game to plow through, this might be worth ~$10 or so. 

6/10

WEEK 9 - Yu-Gi-Oh!: Dungeondice Monsters (GBA)
Didn't do this week, but then later caught up with this game.  Look, I really love Yu-Gi-Oh.  I was into the Pokemon TCG as a kid, but the cool kids at church thought that was kiddy and were into Yugioh, so I got into that (true story).  I never actually played the card game with another human person, but loved the video game adaptions for GBA, and later for DS.  Also, I loved the dungeondice monsters special in the anime (which looking back, was really kinky...).

Humiliation, domination, and furries.... sounds like just another Saturday night now

Unfortunately, the game was not good. Review:

An Average Game Executed Poorly

Based off three episodes of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime, Dungeon Dice Monsters spawned as a spinoff to the popular card game. Unfortunately, this dice-based game just isn't as fun as its big brother. Matches are slower & clunkier, and require several turns before you can even hope to damage your foe. There are some interesting ideas, such as making your own path by "unraveling" a dice, but the need to roll specific icons to do things like move or attack means the game can halt easily due to bad luck.

Even worse than the dice game is the actual video game wrapped around it. The game modes are pitifully small, with just a tournament mode and free play mode, besides multiplayer. What truly kills this game though, is the AI. It's TERRIBLE. I'm no Dungeon Dice monster; I learned how to play the game from a 10 minute YouTube video. However, throughout the entire campaign and a few extra matches, I never lost once. I never even had my Dice Master attacked EVEN ONCE. There were multiple games where I won before my opponent had even summoned one monster.

Everything else, from menus to graphics to sound, range from serviceable to bad. While Dice Monsters isn't the best board game, this adaptation really is a disservice, as I never once faced a challenge, nor did I ever need to think deeply or strategize. Just play the card game. 4/10

Fortunately, I only spent like $5 on this a few years ago, so I was happy to finally cross that off my list.

I was busy???

WEEK 10 - none

Oh no! Hopefully that won't happen again...



WEEK 11 - none

Yeah... get used to this.



WEEK 12 - The Sly Collection (PS3)

We're back! With another series that I loooved as a kid.  The original PS2 game was something I bonded over with my older brother, so it holds a special place in my heart.

This was like, the essence of cool when I was in elementary school

I replayed and beat the first entry, And the Thevius Racconous.  And it still holds up!  What's interesting was seeing how differently it felt all these years later.  I was surprised by how easy the game was now; as a kid, I would die over and over again, and getting the safes was basically unheard of.  This playthrough I got at least a dozen or so.  But yeah, very fun game deserving of nostalgia, although the first one is quite short.


WEEK 13 - none

*twiddles thumbs*


WEEK 14 - Bejeweled 3 (PC)

Oooh, this was a fun week!  What I love so much about this entry is how Popcap took this really simple concept (the original match 3 puzzler) that had, by that point, hundreds of imitators and offshoots and said fuck it, we're throwing every crazy idea y'all wish you had thought of into one package.  Like there's a POKER MODE that's ACTUALLY AMAZING.

Screenshot of the Quest story mode, which gives like 20 different mini-games

So yeah, I had a lot of fun going through the story mode and playing a ton of poker and butterflies.  I still have no idea what Zen Mode is, but... I'm sure it's cool?


WEEK 15-19 - none

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

WEEK 20 - Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U)

I will never be as excited for anything as I was for the original Scribblenauts.

Post #217 will live on in my memory until the day I die

No lie.  I made mega-threads, a blog, searched Google News everyday for the keyword "Scribblenauts" just to see if anyone had posted a preview or update, checked every video and forum post of it, preordered it (still have the Gamestop exclusive Maxwell hat).  I was HYPED.  So basically on principal I bought every game in the series until DC.  While I played a shit-ton of the first game (like I probably spent more hours on the title screen than most games in total), I could admit it was a deeply flawed game (read: the controls sucked).  Super Scribblenauts was much improved, but the magic had faded a little by then.

By the time I played Unlimited this summer, I realized the magic was nearly gone.  It's still a good, kinda cool game, but the puzzles all feel like they're made for elementary schoolers (name three farm animals!; what does a painter need?) and the series doesn't have any tools to reward creative solutions.  It's kinda sad, but I'll always have the memories of dreaming up endless words I would test when I finally got the game myself.


WEEK 21-23 - none


WEEK 24 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)

The last Advance Wars game, (fuck you Nintendo) Days of Ruin was something I bought on principle, played five minutes of, then stopped.  Going back and actually diving into it was a mixed experience.  My fears that the serious new tone would ruin the fun of the series were founded, as it was really weird to have a story all about the pointlessness of war and death coupled with a game where you can literally pump out endless units.  However, the story was kinda good in a very middle-school anime sort of way.  And Advance Wars will always have amazing gameplay.  So it was pretty good.


WEEK 25 - World of Goo (PC)

I bought this game when it originally came out on WiiWare in 2008 for $15, and was HELLA hyped.  In my mind, it was sold to me as this artistic, mysterious game with an amazing story and totally revolutionary gameplay.  But after like a world and a half, I stopped.  Over the years, I go the PC version several times in various Humble Bundles, and both the iOS and Android version for free.  Going back nearly a decade later (see why I started this resolution in the first place?) and starting fresh on the PC version, it was crazy to see how normal it felt.  I think a lot of that has to due with how this was one of the first huge Indie games, and a lot of what it did first has become commonplace nowadays.  But partially I think I was just being a silly kid; the story really should not be taken seriously.

Why ARE the Goo balls going in the pipe? Spoiler alert: you won't care

Still, it makes sense that the game got such high praise.  It's still gorgeous, the music is still INCREDIBLE, and the gameplay is still tight.  More than that, it constantly innovates and changes itself on a level by level basis in a way few modern games even do.  There's like 3 games worth of ideas in here (I mean, the computer world? Come ON!).  Even with the bummer that the story really wasn't the mysterious masterpiece teenage me thought it would be, I loved playing this game. Review:

A simple concept that constantly gets new and interesting twists. Beautiful graphics and music, and an interesting story. Still holds up close to a decade later. 9/10 

So there it is!  Part two.  For anyone counting, I've competed 14 weeks and skipped 13.  Hopefully I'll do a part three of this, somehow catching up with all the games I need to play.

Until then, look at your own backlog in shame so you judge me a little less.

I know you haven't even TOUCHED half of these, Greg.
You fucker.

52 Games in 52 Weeks - Entry #1 - Catch-up

A few weeks before 2016 began, I ran into this reddit thread about trying to beat 52 games in 52 weeks.  I thought, there's no way I'm doing that.  But! there was a comment that caught my eye.  This one described a much more reasonable goal: play 5 hours of a new video game every week for a year.

Now, the reason why this thread caught my eye in the first place is because I have a LOT of games in my backlog.  Recently I counted.  I checked how many games I own that I have both not completed, have not gotten my money's worth (subjective, but for me it's around $1 per hour of gameplay) and have not played at least 5 hours.  The total? 60. Yep, sixty.

So I decided to take on this great challenge!  One of the fun goals I have for 2016 is to play one new video game a week for at least 5 hours (I have like, actual goals too like school and jobs, but that's not as fun to blog about...).  This should help me slog through my huge backlog and help me finally experience all those Steam games I bought on sale.

Now, it's already 7 weeks into the year!  I want to do a weekly post where I talk a little bit about the game I played that week.  To start, here's a catch up entry where I'll rush through the first 7 weeks of games I played.

WEEK 1 - Splatoon (Wii U)

This was a Christmas present for me.  So far, I'm enjoying it a lot.  Beyond the five hours I played that first week, I've probably played close to another dozen hours.  While I like the frantic matches, I've found that I like the main Terf War mode the least.  The ranked modes are all a lot of fun, and I feel like I know more how I'm contributing.  Campaign is also fun!

WEEK 2 - Pokemon Black (Nintendo DS)

This game was a pleasant surprise for me.  I skipped this gen and got burnt out on Pokemon X, but I needed a good trip game.  And I fell in love!  I don't know, maybe I just don't like Pokemon jumping to 3D.  This game was a nostalgia trip while also adding a whole new world, all new Pokemon (literally, none of them are old until you beat the game), and a lot of interesting new twists on the formula. Fun fun fun!  I'm nearly 20 hours in and want to finish it sometime.

WEEK 3 - Leo's Fortune (Android)

So I didn't actually play this game for 5 hours, but I beat it, so I think that's fine.  While the game is pretty short, I spent exactly $1 on it, so it was definitely worth the cash.  The game is absolutely gorgeous, and has some fun and simple physics platforming.  It doesn't do anything new with the genre, but for a mobile game, it provided enough polish that I never minded.

WEEK 4 - none...

I'll have to catch up sometime.  Too busy traveling :(

WEEK 5 - Worms Reloaded (PC)

I absolutely loved the DS Worms (Open Warfare 2) back in the day, and played a ton of it.  So I bought this one to relive those glory days.  Or at least I think that's why I bought it; I bought this game in 2013 and never played it until this year.  Woops... But finally booting it up, I had some fun. Classic Worms action never goes out of fashion, although I didn't get into this one like the DS one.  It's not that the game is flawed in any huge way, but after 5 hours I was definitely done with the slow paced, sometimes hard to control game.

WEEK 6 - Sonic Colors (Wii)

Maybe my favorite week so far.  I bought this game used for about $6 for an Xmas gift to myself.  I've never been a huge Sonic fan, but I love platformers.  By the end of the week, I had beaten Colors.  It was a fun ride, with this game being one of the most critically acclaimed modern Sonic games,  It only took my around 6 hours, but that made the levels never get old or overstay their welcome.  While it sometimes got frustrating, I fought through any frustration to see the next cool world, the next silly cutscene, and the next rush of speed.  Really fun week!

WEEK 7 - Rock of Ages (PC)

And then this game.  It's not that this is a terrible game.  It's another one I bought many years ago and never installed until now.  The production values are really amazing, with a hilarious style and story.  Quirkiness can only go so far though, and I found the actual gameplay to be frustrating.  Both elements of it, the Marble Madness and the tower defense are fun in theory, but having to race against CPU players made me never sure if I was doing good and how to improve.  I bought the game for $2.50, so I don't feel bad about cutting short this playthrough at 2.5 hours.

And that's it! We're already caught up.  Hopefully they'll be weekly posts chronicling my grand journey, but if not I can always do catch-up posts every month or so :P 

Top of the iTunes - Week of 11/11

This segment reviews the top 10 U.S. iTunes songs of the week.

iTunes Top 10 for 11/11

On this lucky week (make a wish!), let's look at what songs are currently making bank in the top 10. This week isn't All Bad, as some Royal tunes are Roaring  and.... okay whatever, let's just skip to the impressions.

1. Justin Bieber - All Bad (review)

The newest entry in the "Music Mondays" series, Bieb's attempt to make his fans buy 10 singles and then also buy the album, "All Bad" is a title reflecting on his music.

Ha.

But seriously, it does move away from the angsty romantic diarrhea he's been farting out and gives us some insight into his private life as an actual person having to deal with fame. And as it turns out, he's just as whiny and bitchy as his public persona has been the past year or so. With mind-opening lyrics such as "Ooh, you know females / And how they like to run their mouths" and "I might make you mad / My bad," you really get a deep sense of Justin as a person. See guys, it's not his fault everyone thinks he's a dick! It's the paparazzi! And females!!!

JB going to the studio to record his new mature masterpiece.

It's times like this when I wonder who is still buying his songs. When Justin came out on the scene with some cute inoffensive songs, he quickly became the most hated celebrity of the modern era. Now he's finally acting like the dick everyone said he was. Maybe this is karma. Maybe we destroyed another fragile soul through the cruel vehicle of fame.

But he's still been a huge prick, and even worse, his songs have stopped being catchy. "All Bad" is a little better, with a chorus you can remember for more than five minutes, but it's still far from "Baby" or even "Boyfriend." You do you Justin. Or actually, don't.

[MOCK IT]

2. Eminem - The Monster (feat. Rihanna) (review)

Remember when Rihanna used to smile?

After releasing more "lead singles" from his new album than Nicki did for Roman Reloaded (did they even try with "Survival"?), Eminem finally found one that stuck with "The Monster." It's not exactly a "monster" of a track, but he got Rihanna to do the hook so obviously it's worth listening to. Plus, I don't even think he attacks the gays or females in this song, which pretty much forces me to put this on repeat, even if it pales in comparison to their last collab "Love the Way You Lie."

Eminem delivers a few short verses talking about how it sucks to be fabulously wealthy and famous and having millions of loyal fans, and then Rihanna sings about talking to imaginary friends. It's a good time.

[SPOTIFY IT]

3. Lorde - Royals (review)

The smash hit of the fall, Royals still isn't going anywhere on the charts. I hope everyone realizes the irony of a song talking about not being rich or famous making Lorde totally rich and famous, but even if you don't, the song is still worth buying. It's a breath of fresh air from the dried up pop-divas of old (see: Britney, Gaga, and Beyonce's careers slowly sinking), and proves you can have relatable lyrics without making a love song.

Plus, it's catchy as hell.

When will your trashy fav?

[BUY IT]

4. OneRepublic - Counting Stars (review)

OneRepublic is one of those bands that I never really thought I liked, and then I realize that I'm in love with every single they ever released. So it's no surprise I'm liking "Counting Stars." It's a smartly made track mixing in "maybe this is country influenced" production with "we don't care about the money (but #BuyThisOniTunes please)" lyrics, so again, it's no surprise this single is doing well. It's like Wake Me Up + Royals but slightly less catchy.

[SPOTIFY IT]

5. Ke$ha - Timber (review)

God$ha.

Finally. I almost thought the top 10 was going to be without a pure pop-trash track. Unlike the rest of the top five fakes pretending to be actual artists, Ke$ha brings the sleaze in full force, ripping off Wake Me Up and sticking some verses that may or may not have actual words in between a chorus that rivals any top 10 single she's ever released. Oh, and I think Pitbull is somewhere on the track?

[BUY IT]

6. Katy Perry - Roar (review)

Remember when Katy Perry said her new album was going to be completely different from Teenage Dream? And remember when she was so certain how different this new album was going to be that she literally held a funeral for her last album? And then remember when she released this Teenage Dream b-side as the lead single for said album?

Yeah. I still haven't forgiven her.

[SPOTIFY IT]

7. Avicii - Wake Me Up (review)

I was going to put a picture of the tattoo from the music video, but then this came up, and I think this is very important to include in this article.

Avicii, formerly known to me as "that guy who produced that one flop Leona Lewis song" continues to slay with Wake Me Up, which refuses to leave the top 10 until Roar does. I feel like this is going to be one of the last super EDM-heavy smashes for a while, so I'm happy to have it stay around for as long as it wants.

[SPOTIFY IT]

8. Imagine Dragons - Demons (review)

Imagine Dragons is the Adele of 2013: everyone loves them, every single they release is popular, and they remain classy as fuck. Their latest single is a super cute love song about demons. The chorus is super cute, the verses are super cute, and the lyrics are super cute. "Don't get too close, it's dark inside / It's where my demons hide." <33 If you haven't already bought their album, get this single, and pray their next album is as good as Night Visions.

Imagine Dragons

[BUY IT]

9.  Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball (review)

As Thanksgivings nears, I think it's time we count our blessings. This year, I'm thankful for Miley Cyrus. In a year where the pop divas of old were either flopping (Britney, Gaga, Ke$ha), boring (Katy Perry), or dead (Beyonce), Miley came in like a wrecking ball and make the pop game interesting again. Everyone had an opinion on her. The liberals hated Miley for culturally appropriating twerking, the conservatives hated Miley Cyrus for everything else she did. Plus, she actually had the music to back it up. "Wrecking Ball" is a song with actual emotion, in addition to being catchy. And then the "Wrecking Ball" music video dropped, broke every record, and became the anthem of our generation.

A screenshot from Miley's Nobel Peace Prize winning music video, "Wrecking Ball."

[BUY IT]

10. Passenger - Let Her Go (review)

Passenger either singing, or in the middle of pooping.

This song has been floating in and out of the top 10 for a little while, but I never bothered to listen to it until now. It's actually a really pretty folk-ish song with vocals I'm 75% sure weren't autotuned. It's exciting to see less pop sounding songs ("Royals", "Demons", etc.) getting traction. I'm not sure if I'll listen to it again, but I liked listening to it the first time.

[SPOTIFY IT]

Obscure Indie Gems:
(Aka anything not in the top 10 I want to talk about.)

11. A Great Big World - Say Something (feat. Christina Aguilera):
I decided to write this feature Sunday night, and was excited to see this song in the top 10. However, Monday morning came along, and this song has fallen hard, dropping all the way down to #11. It's a shame this is a flop, as it's a really beautiful song and Xtina actually doesn't over-sing during it. Like at all.

19. Katy Perry - Unconditionally:
You don't know how happy it makes me to see "Unconditionally," the only song from Prism Katy's released so far that actually fits in with her mission statement of being more mature, flop as badly as it has as her second single. She should have learned her lesson from "Thinking of You" and "The One That Got Away": her ballads never sell.

A New Era Begins.... maybe

So I might start writing a blog again. And instead of using one of the multiple ones I've already made, I created a new one. Again.

So what will this blog be about? I post what I want bitch. Whatever is interesting me. Woo freedom! But that will always probably include video games, pop music, TV shows, and putting my time and energy into things that benefit no one.

Who else is excited?