/ ¤********{ e l e c t r o n i c t r a n s c e n d e n c e }-+†‹±ø£'? /*/>>>>ø>>« The Electronic Transcendence Website Newsletter »<<ø<<<<\* ¥=========ø==« A quasi-parody of corporate newsletters »==ø=========¥ ÷-------------ø--« Issue 3: November-December 2000 »--ø-------------÷ *=======ø==« © 2000 Electronic Transcendence Productions »==ø=======* *\>>ø>>« Contact: eltf@hotmail.com, Eliot.Lefebvre@uconn.edu »<<ø< Eliot, of course, should be working on something that's actually > interesting instead of typing this up like some sort of freak of > nature. But he isn't. And so, ironically enough, for the start > of the issue, he turns to getting things moving along with any > project. Odd. 2: The ETNN > Wow, there have been, like, a LOT less page updates, huh? But, > hey, things have been happening to Eliot, so he can't be blamed > for it. No, he can't. Shut up and go away if you say > otherwise. Anyhow, this section (formerly What's New) has now > subdivided! 2.1: The Man > Eliot learns to draw, continues to talk about Erin more than is > entirely necessary, and has other stuff happen to him. Let's be > honest, you skip this section. 2.2: The Myth > Changes to ET projects? Wow, that never happens. Yeah, right. > Ongoing projects get all of their updates noted within here. 2.3: The Reality > What has actually happened to Electronic Transcendence over the > past two months. Like it matters. 3: Coming Attractions > Very little of last issue's "Coming Attactions" turned out to be > much more than vaporware, so we're changing policies a bit with > this section. In any event, Mecha Thrash and more anime writing > is coming up to the page, and a few new Transformers things. > Plus, the chance of artwork... 4: Reviews > A change to the format of the ETWN: The review section has now > split into two sections! Full Reviews for normal stuff, > Episodic for things like X-Files, X-Men, and others that are > being constantly published. 4.1: Full Reviews > The games are back, folks, with the reviews of Strider 2, Chrono > Cross, and Valkyrie profile all completed (though still no Call > of Cthulhu). We also managed to fit in quite a bit of anime now > that we're with the UCJAS, with Slayers Next, Ranma 1/2, > Bubblegum Crisis, Magic Knights Rayearth, and Fushigi Yugi. 4.2: Episodic > Since Eliot has been deprived of Gambit, we've just got X-Men > and Uncanny X-Men this time around. The conclusion of a couple > old Claremont story arcs, as well as more inter-team action and > the interaction between Psylocke and Archangel. 5: The Last Section > This section continues to grow exponentially for no apparent > reason, just so Eliot can artificially inflate the size of each > ETWN until eventually there will be an issue so huge that it > cannot be contained by conventional text. Or not. { 1 : Introduction by the Guilty Party } > Ranting. Eliot had to be good at something, but did it have to be > ranting? Couldn't it have been, like, singing, or drawing, or some > useful talent? If one is the loneliest number (I have that fact on good authority), three is the hardest number to get off the ground. One is easy, just because everything starts at one. Two can easily be a pale imitation of one. Three... if you've gotten to three, it shows that there's some level of determination to get this moving. Three implies that not only has there been comittment to something thus far, there is still more underlying comittment that will not go away. You might note that we're on the third ETWN - a document in many ways of questionable value, functionality, and worth in general. The first was obviously just an attempt to have something new on the site. The second, as I already stated, could have been nothing more than an imitation of the first. (I don't think it was, but that's besides the point.) Now we're up to three issues, and whatever else you can question about the ETWN, you can no longer question the fact that it is really a project and a part of Electronic Transcendence Productions. It might not be a very useful part, but it is a part, and that's what's important here. Starting a project is easy. I could start writing a novel by just writing a sentence - and that sentence could be no more than a word. The true trouble from any sort of undertaking comes not from the first steps, but from still going after the newness of the project has faded away. Part of why Mecha Thrash was so long in coming was because it was increasingly harder to keep moving with the original concept, not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it's a lot of hard work. Producing flaccid crap is easy, which is readily demonstrated by the amount of it you see everywhere, the Net increasingly so. But putting something together of moderate value, that's worth reading and doesn't have major flaws every five words is a lot of work. And it's not too hard along the way to lose sight of what you had originally wanted to achieve in such a situation - you wind up only focusing on how hard you've wound up working on something inconsequential. I like the ETWN, personally. I think it's a neat idea (if at times poorly implemented), a fun thing to do, and to some extent, a good meterstick for ET in general. The addition of the satisfaction gauge to the Coming Attractions area is as much for the validation of enraged fanboys as for my own personal scorecard. Knowing how close I stay to my original intent of projects is important, and I suspect this may actually make it easier to avoid going off on random tangents, like I have now done a few dozen times in this essay that nobody except me reads to begin with. But it's not easy, even in bi-monthly format. I have to sort out conflicting feelings over various bits of merchandise (BGC comes to mind), come up with an essay, decide what the likely upcoming projects really are... it's tough work. I don't know if going to a monthly format would make life easier or harder, to be honest. So here we stand at the third ETWN. It's off the ground, it can't just imitate anymore, the project is actually moving along, and it hasn't exactly been an easy process. But part of what affects this project especially is the input of others. Even if I get five million people saying how horrid the ETWN is, I'll still write it, but I might scale back the timing a fair bit. If I get that same five million chanting my name, I'll wake up. This is a project based around an online production company that doesn't exist. How can it get better unless we make it a consensual illsuion? ;> I don't think I even have a point anymore, so I'll stop. Just remember: the more focused you are on the path, the more you lose sight of the destination. Don't abandon a project because it's hard to do, keep doing it because it makes you happy. (And if it doesn't, why the hell were you doing it before?) -Eliot "I'm not *yawn* tired at *yawn* all" Lefebvre { 2 : The ETNN } > Missed out on stuff in the past month or so? We can help you out > with that. This is all the relatively new stuff with Electronic > Transcendence, any associated side projects, and in some cases, our > friend (ahem) Eliot. [ 2.1 : The Man ] > That which deals directly with Eliot. Skip ahead now. ERIN REALLY KICKS ARSE Well, hey. She does. Everyone should just start realizing that. But, on a more on-topic note, Erin deserves some serious praise for still standing by me through all the indiosyncracies that have popped up lately, the strange fathers and evil Stats teachers, the bad artwork and the joys of roomates. Have I mentioned lately how much I love that girl? ;> THE WEBCAM DEBACLE Um. This is really something that's probably best left unexplained to a large degree. Suffice to say that Eliot does now have a webcam, it just... um... well, horribly crashes his computer without taking a single picture. We're working on this, here. ART FOR ART'S SAKE Yeah, as you've probably picked up, Eliot's learning to draw. Of course, it's moving slowly and stiltingly, but it's still getting better. Plus, he has Erin ever-ready to reaffirm that he's getting slowly but steadily better. Who knows - there might even be some of it on Electronic Transcendence sooner rather than later... [ 2.2 : The Myth ] > Projects undergoing strange alterations for no apparent reason. Sort > of what you'd expect. ELAINENE-CHAN All right, just in case we'd been unclear about this, let's state it explicitly: Erin is the most perfect girl in the whole world. Having said that, we can talk about other women. ;> Elaine, fellow member of the UCJAS (meetings 8-11 PM, Student Union!), is a spectacular artist. Really. And, due to a combination of circumstances (the full story involves interdimensional travel and a jar of marmalade), it's all but certain that she will be kind enough to grace Electronic Transcendence with her aforementioned excellent artwork. So be happy. WHAT'S IN A NAME? After some thought on the title, I decided to rename Screamers as Iron Saviour. There haven't been any changes to the story itself, but I decided that Screamers didn't really represent much of anything meaningful in the story and sounded far too horror-film-esque. But I haven't changed the story, no. [ 2.3 : The Legend ] > What has actually changed about Electronic Transcendence over the > past two months. Okay, you probably picked up on this stuff, but... CHRONICLES RETURNS! Just when I think I'm out of the business... Yeah, we're writing Beast Wars Chronicles again. Though I really don't know why. With the retcon still ongoing, it should start to get to where it makes slightly more sense. Or not. MECHA THRASH IS DONE Says it all, really. The long-awaited sourcebook is done and on the ET site. So if you were waiting for it, go get it. If not, we don't care, get it anyways. ;> { 3 : Coming Attractions } > What is Eliot doing when he's supposed to be doing other things, > aside from writing this? More accurately, what is he doing that's > worth caring about? Find out. [ Near-Futures ] on20 < series : continuation > Picking up speed, the series about the weirdness center that is Crecheb University continues onward. To quote - in a school where everything is bizarre, who needs to hold stock in normalcy? GENESIS < series : continuation > In a world held in the grip of an omnipresent law enforcement agency, humanity is still skipping stages of growth in a dangerous dance of genetics. We're still working on Genesis, though maybe not as well... VALKYRIE LEGION < series : continuation > The champions of human souls - the Valkyries - are needed once more, but much to the dismay of those involved, the Valkyries have come back as men. More mahou shojo, genderbending, and talking foxes. Fun! IRON SAVIOUR < series : introduction > The nature of humanity itself is questioned in a near-future setting, where the most powerful military weapon is the AHMPCA - a personal powered armor that relies on human thought. It's kind of like Bubblegum Crisis with a discernable plot. ;> BATTLE HELIX < series : introduction > The USE and DCE - massive empire-states - are locked in a war for control of the planet. And one young woman, piloting a Tav, a gigantic combat robot, is soon to discover the even more sinister side of the war. ELEMENTAL KNIGHTS < series : introduction > When the crystal's power fades to near-nothing, the only hope the human race has against the darkness of the world is through four champions of the crystal. Sentai, anime, and lots of other fun stuff all rolled into one. [ Conceptualized ] FRONT MISSION 3 SOURCEBOOK < document : introduction > A world without superpowers. A world rife with conflict. A world torn by war after war fought with the devestating machines known as wanzers. The FM3 Sourcebook uses the Mecha Thrash rules to expand the Thrash world to another setting. TRANSFORMERS SOURCEBOOK < document : introduction > Transformers - a race of sentinet mechanoids, forever divided into warring factions. Maximals, Autobots, Decepticons, Predacons, Vehicons, and more all come together in this Mecha Thrash-based sourcebook. QUINTCROSS < series : introduction > Final Fantasy VII. Xenogears. Transformers. Macross. The X-Files. None would really have much in common with all of the others... but this series combines all of them into one massive hybrid. It's a bit complicated to explain. TRANSFORMERS: SEASON 4 < series: introduction > Nobody who loved this series really wanted it to end with Rebirth. Season 4 (and the thought-out sequels) brings the Transformers to a more epic, more fitting, hopefully better-written conclusion. BEAST WARS CHRONICLES RETCON < series: continuation > Still going, still working, still trying to make this largely incoherent series come together as one. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Or not. [ Disconnected Images ] ...a Transformers story, based during the revolution against the Quintessons, using the Gundams as physical models... ...artwork... ...poetry... ...finally getting those Thrash conversions finished up... ...X-Men started over from the beginning of Revolution... [ The ET Satisfaction Meter ] Last CA, we promised 10 things would come in the near future. We delivered on 1.5 of those (Ghosts in the Mist wasn't a retcon, but it was BWC...) This puts us at a solid 15% satisfaction rating. We will now comit ritual suicide. Thank you. { 4 : Reviews } > You might be asking, "Why does this newsletter need a review section? > I can't figure it out." > Well, we can't either. But it's got one, so let's all play along. > So you can understand the rating, this little document rates on a > scale of brackets, from 0 sets (lousy) to 5 sets (excellent). So, > a rating of {}{}{}{}{} would be something you should buy or go to > see ASAP, a rating of { would mean that you shouldn't waste your time > and money, and a rating of {}{}{ is average. Make sense? [ 4.1 : Full Reviews ] Video Game: { Chrono Cross } Tech Stats: RPG from Squaresoft. Players take the role of Serge in this highly anticipated sequel, journeying between two worlds that are the same except for one pivotal event ten years ago - the death of Serge or his life - exploring the effects of parallel timelines and alternate realities. Review: It might come as a shock to some people, but there really are a few individuals who didn't play Chrono Trigger. I'm one of them. And though I now have the option to, it remains an option unexercised. I will do it, eventually, I suppose, but time is a very finite quantity for me, and I hardly have enough to get anything new produced, let alone spending it on older games. So CC was completely new to me. Of course, I did expect something good. I'm used to what you get from Square, and used to them being able to blend elements of the old with the new. What I got was still surprising. This is a great game, plain and simple, and anyone who says otherwise isn't paying much attention to it. Combat is handled relatively simply and complexly at once. The theory is that you don't have to wait for characters to fill up a time bar - they can act whenever you want them to, as long as you haven't already overtaxed them. Each character has seven Stamina Points, and can use them to attack or use Elements (discussed later). Attacks come in three strengths, with each increasing strength being less accurate, but with accuracy increasing with each blow you do land. Although the damage from three weak attacks would be equivalent to one less-accurate strong attack, you're deterred from doing such by having each action bring your enemies closer to acting. Enemies act after a set number of actions, while characters not acting regain Stamina at a set rate per action. Confused? It makes sense in play. Instead of Magic, the game uses Elements, assigned to what's called a "Power Grid". In battle, your grid starts at 0, and raises by 1 point for each level of attack you do. Using Elements decreases it by a number of points equal to the Element level (i.e., a Level 3 Element takes 3 points away). The downside to this is that it allows for some abuse of the system with relative ease, decreasing the battle challenge by a great deal. The game's storyline is epic, and extremely difficult to unravel in a very short space. To summarize: the hero, Serge, acts as a catalyst to travel between two worlds. In one, he died ten years ago for unknown reasons; in his home world, he survived the same crisis. The effects on each world were profound, and his quest is to try and figure out why he was brought from one world to the other. There are a variety of characters that can help him on his quest - more than you can usually acquire - but by beating the game, you can re-acquire old characters and acquire the ones you missed the first time around. In fact, the game's multiple endings are unlocked by replaying the game and beating it at differing points. Overall, CC is a definite "must-buy" for any fan of RPGs on the Playstation. Even if it isn't tough, it's innovative, well-performed, and well-designed, and buying shows support of those aspects of the Square design teams. Besides, it'll provide a marginally-healthy diversion for a time. Rating: {}{}{}{} Chrono Cross is one of the better things to come out of Square recently, so they should be proud. It features excellent graphics, addictive storyline, and replay value to die for. The only real failing point is its lack of challenge, but that's enough to keep the game from a 5 score. Video Game: { Strider 2 } Tech Stats: Side-scrolling action game from Capcom. Taking the role of the high-tech ninja Strider Hiryu, players launch on a campaign to defeat the sinister Grand Master, slashing through hordes of enemies, a robotic dragon, a revived mammoth, and eventually even a demon. Review: A dark future world, with technology running rampant and incredible achievements, with the globe held in the palm of just one man. A lone hero from years in the past sent out to slay this evil dictator with extreme prejudice. A dark, shadowy struggle between the most powerful army in history and the most deadly warrior in history. What an incredible story. Yeah, right. Strider 2 has nothing to do with that story, outside of giving you some background for unleashing destruction. This is pure adrenaline, plain and simple. Of course, considering that it's designed by the same people that designed Marvel vs. Capcom 2, it's also simple and fun adrenaline. For all the flak the game has received due to its relatively low challenge level, it's actually a good game, just with a few flaws. It's important to note, of course, that the game does have infinite continues. That makes it possible to just bull your way through the game without using much finesse at all, and the main point that gets a lot of chastisement about S2 is the fact that you can do just that. But it's worth noting that it doesn't make the game any less fun by doing that. In fact, it may actually be more enjoyable to know you can full a frenzied slashing attack mid-air as you fall into a pit and then pop back up, because it just looks cool. Big explosions and overly flashy attacks populate the game, yet another sign that good 'ol Capcom is increasingly becoming anime in game form. Each time you beat the game, you also unlock new options, which allow you even bigger and better attacks. (Infinite Boost basically means that every one of your sword slashes throws off a homing energy blast in addition to tearing into whatever you hit...) To give you incentive to not use continues, you get a grade at the end of each level based on how many times you continued. Higher grade equals more bragging rights. As a bit of a bonus, the original Strider game is included with Strider 2. Unfortunately, the packaging for this pair of discs isn't a standard two-disc package, but an unusual fold-out single CD case. The resulting CD requires a lot of care to remove without damaging it. If you can (it's the biggest challenge of the game), you'll get to enjoy a bit of classic retrogaming and also remember why the Super NES always did better than the Genesis. ;> Of course, all told, it probably would have been better to put the two games on one disc. However, they are related - you can get more bonuses in S2 by beating Strider. All told, this game's worth a buy. It's not deep, it's not horribly challenging, and it isn't ground-breaking. But it's a lot of fun, and that's what's the really important part. Rating: {}{}{}{} Just because the game has only moderate challenge to it doesn't mean it's not fun. Strider 2 is a great deal of fun, and a worthwhile addition to any action junkie's collection. Blow stuff up! Video Game: { Valkyrie Profile } Tech Stats: RPG from Enix. Using a unique side-scrolling engine, players take the role of Lenneth Valkyrie, send from Vahalla by Odin to gather fallen souls to serve as soldiers in the war of Ragnarok. Along the way, she will aid the people of Midgard and help scourge the land of the demons that plague it. Review: I owe Enix something - they were the people that made the Dragon Warrior series, the original console RPG series, and what got me hooked on CRPGs in the first place. But I have to admit, I'm reluctant to pick things up from Enix anymore, because after Dragon Warrior they fell down a lot. Illusion of Gaia was good, but not great, and Star Ocean 2 left me with sincerely mixed feelings. So I was reluctant to pick up Valkyrie Profile. But the very FFT-esque cover, pretty graphics, and praise I'd heard of the game sold me on it, and I decided to buy it. I wasn't disappointed. First off - gameplay. It's pretty evenly divided between flying around the overhead map, walking through sidescrolling maps, and going into combat. You can see your enemies, and clever players can either avoid them or ensure the first strike. Recruiting new characters is a simple process, and the big focus of the game is picking them up and then fighting to develop them. Combat is governed by an innovative system, by which you hit buttons to coordinate attacks. It's like Star Ocean 2 in the real-time movement of the characters, but doesn't have the clumsy AI moving the characters. When characters level up, you can get CP, used to buy stat-enhancing skills, combat abilities, or increase the heroic nature of your characters. Since more heroic characters are more desired up in Vahalla, and that gets you more bonuses, you have a definite goal and progression. At no point in this game are you unsure of what to do. As for storyline, it doesn't have the same sort of epic story found in most RPGs. Instead, each of your souls is preluded to by a short vignette about their life, espousing certain morals and denouncing others. On the downside, this eliminates the idea of main characters and results in no particular attachments except to Valkyrie (and possibly Arngrim). On the other hand, it provide a variety of situations and manages to avoid becoming too heavily focused on one character. Underneath the whole sequence are the veiled hints of Valkyrie's past, with bits of memory returning to her every now and then. Depending on your actions, she may gain more or less of her memory back, and how much she regains influences whether or not you are able to acquire the best ending or not. This story does run through the whole game, and is rather engaging. Overall, while Valkyrie Profile isn't perfect, it is engaging and well-executed, and does manage to keep you on your toes. I was riveted by it, and it proves to be entertaining despite its flaws. Although it has a rather hefty price tag, don't let that scare you away - this is a great game. Rating: {}{}{}{}{ Valkyrie Profile is an excellent RPG that takes the elements that made Star Ocean 2 good, improves them, and discards the rest. With excellent voice acting, a fun twist, and good challenge, this is not one to miss for CRPG fans. Anime: { Bubblegum Crisis } Tech Stats: In the near future, the massive corporation known as Genom seeks to take over the world by using power combat androids known as Boomers. Only one group is strong enough to stand against the forces of Genom - the Knight Sabers, four young women each devoted to stopping the corp as best they can. Review: The easiest way to explain Bubblegum Crisis is as follows: it's the anime equivalent to a Die Hard film, except with mecha. Granted, that smooths over a lot of the details, but the fact remains that it's easy to equate BGC to the stereotypical American action film. That's not to say it's unenjoyable, though - BGC is a lot of fun, just not an intellectual series. First off, the flaws. Despite the fact that Sylia Stingray, the founder of the Knight Sabers, is supposed to be the leader, most of the plots focus around Priss, a singer. Good plan? No, because Priss is self-centered, angry, and rebellious. That's not in and of itself a problem, except that she doesn't have any motivation behind this. It's easy to dislike Priss within a couple episodes, and hard to really distinguish the rest of the Knight Sabers except by hairstyle until much later in the series (which is why we now like Nene). Character development is exceedingly weak, a forgivable flaw in a shorter series, but not forgivable in a long-running series that focuses heavily on one character. There are also some clichés that show up in only BGC that just get annoying. Priss riding her motorcycle, battles on a highway, Priss getting hurt and then getting a second wind, things happening at night, and AD Policemen getting slaughtered are all more than just standards - they all happen every single episode, usually with annoying regularity. On the other hand, the show is watchable, and obviously has done something right to continue to be watched. The music on the show is incredible, even though the lyrics seem to have nothing to do with the events going on in the show. Although Boomers tend to lack something in impressiveness, the rest of the mecha visuals are incredible, with softly-curving hardsuits standing aside hard-edged combat mecha. The series also has plenty of fight sequences, but simply calling them fights wouldn't be doing them justice. A BGC fight scene sometimes looks like Dragonball Z in mecha, with dramatic leaps, attacks, and incredibly high-velocity movement. And, of course, explosions - big, towering explosions, explosions that make everything on the show look like it's been overloaded with TNT and wired to go sky-high on contact with air. At first, it's pretty easy to dislike BGC, but it eventually becomes likable - not for plot or characters, but for isolated moments that are just really fun to watch. They aren't rare, and they aren't terribly inspired all the time, but they do make the series likable. You'll probably like BGC within a short time, despite all of its flaws. Rating: {}{}{}{ Despite an incoherent and often thoroughly uninspiring plot, a main character that's all too easy to despise, and certain clichés done to death, BGC grows on you. It's worth watching, if for nothing else than the awesome music and the really big explosions all the time. Anime: { Fushigi Yuugi } Tech Stats: While studying for exams, students Miaka and Yui find a book that thrusts them into another world, a world of ancient times and magic. Thus begins the saga of Suzaku no Miko, the girl who is destined to summon the legendary phoenix Suzaku. Review: Some people are hopeless romantics, and I am among them. I can't help it. I cheered when Darian and Serena finally hooked up with one another, I'm still waiting for Akane and Ranma to admit they love each other, I think Celes and Locke are possibly the most perfect couple in history. So I really ought to like Fushigi Yuugi. Really, really, really ought to. I don't. Don't get me wrong - the story does appeal to the hopeless romantic within me. I wouldn't lie and say otherwise. It's the same with Sailor Moon. But the thing is, to keep my interest, there has to be more to the storyline than that. There isn't. There's a horrid cast, lousy plots, and even the original storyline eventually twisting into a sham. The first fourteen episodes, at least, spend all their time developing Miaka's character. Unfortunately, this "development" is lacking one critical element - any alteration of the character at all. Miaka goes from a self-centered, airheaded, whiny brat to a... self-centered, airheaded, whiny brat. That's fourteen episodes older. Moreover, her gaurdian / romantic interest / muscle-for-hire Tamahome has a sickeningly cardboard-cutout personality. Although, in all honesty, I give Tamahome a lot of credit just for consistently putting up with Miaka through everything. Case in point: roundabout Episode 37, Miaka thinks she's been raped (which seems to be kind of common in FY). Tamahome tells her, *many times*, that he's okay with that and that he still cares for her. And she STILL runs away saying that he could never accept her. *He told you fifteen seconds ago he was*... excuse me. There's a definite feeling of the story being artificially lengthened, with what could easily be accomplished in one episode getting spread over three or four many times. I'm all in favor of going into depth with an idea, but the extra length doesn't mean the concept is more developed over that length. In many cases, the stupidity of the characters (the main villain just sort of stares at a ki attack tearing through the forest around him, not bothering to move or anything) is matched only by their fixation on sex. Okay, Miaka's a virgin, we get the point already. Sigh. Truth be told, half of the travails the group suffers from originate from Miaka's own utter ineptitude. Worst of all, the closer you get to the ending, the less sense everything makes, and the ending of the series (though I won't give it away) more or less invalidates half of the story as it is. Oh, well, it isn't like you didn't see it coming... When it gets down to it, my romantic side is overruled completely by my logical side that demands a minimum level of quality in a story. The series might have been good enough to inspire a cult following, but then again, it proves yet again that cult followings don't always equal high quality. Rating: {}{} I'd come to the conclusion that there had to be something good to say about Fushigi Yuugi, but I hadn't figured out what by the time I wrote this. It does have a few saving graces, granted, which saves it from being rated as poorly as Hollow Man, but it's really just not worth the effort. Anime: { Magic Knights Rayearth } Tech Stats: The world of Cefiro is dying due to the horrible influence of the corrupt priest, Zagato. Three young girls from our world are pulled into Cefiro, and tasked by the true ruler, Princess Emeraude, to save Cefiro and defeat Zagato as the Magic Knights of legend. Review: I'm thoroughly unclear on what the order of events is: MKR the video game, MKR the manga, and MKR the anime. But the more I watch the show, the more I'm convinced it doesn't matter much at all. In truth, there isn't a moment in the opening season that you're not thinking "Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete". And then there's episode 14... well, we won't get into that. Letting the whole continuity of product release go, it's worth nothing that these sorts of traits are part of what hurt Rayearth. There's a frighteningly CRPG feel to the whole series at time, with the upgrading armor and weapons and the very delineated storyline. Worse yet, there's a minimum amount of characterization to the heroines. If Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu didn't wear red, blue, and green outfits respectively, there'd be almost no way to tell them apart. The villains are also shallow, with little to no characterization given beyond "I'm the kawaii villain, I'm the sinister chick, I'm the one who's greedy", etc. I don't mind that they're based off of carbon-copy personalities, especially since most of the strongest anime characters start off as carbon-copies. What bugs me is that they never develop beyond that point, not even during episodes that are clearly devoted to characterization. After three episodes in a row devoted to Umi, she's the exact same person as beforehand. Excuse me? But the anime doesn't deserve nothing by derisive remarks. For starters, the series is animated by CLAMP, and that's a big boost to it right away. What's more, even though the Magic Knights act like one brain with three bodies, at least they (usually) act like a vaguely intelligent and competent brain. Standard shoujo infighting aside, the trio does manage to avoid airheaded pitfalls the majority of the time, and they do possess admirable amounts of loyalty and intuition. Also to the show's credit, every single week is not the standard "kick- monster's-butt" premise, with the threats coming from multiple angles and varied sources, even if all of them do eventually tie back into Zagato. In fact, while it seems counter-intuitive in such a series, there's very little repitition of plot ideas or secondary elements. Once something's done, it's done. The story moves quickly, and doesn't lag itself down with meaningless events that have little or no relevance to the core plot. Overall, I don't really like Rayearth, but I also don't dislike Rayearth. In lieu of something better, it's worth watching, and while it lacks the mark of a truly grand series, it's distinguishing enough to be more than just another piece of crap. ;> Rating: {}{}{ The bad news is that I can't really find anything to pointedly like in Rayearth. The good news is that I can't really find anything to patently dislike. It's a good, solid, average anime series, so if that's what gets you through the night, go for it. But I think I'll just keep watching it for free at UCJAS. Anime: { Ranma 1/2 } Tech Stats: Ranma Saotome is a normal sixteen-year-old martial artist. Except that he turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. And he's betrothed to Akane Tendo, the girl everybody wants but him. And his father turns into a panda, and his rival turns into Akane's pet P-Chan, and there's this girl from China who wants to kill him... Review: Ranma 1/2. How can you involve yourself in anime and not have even a passing awareness of Ranma 1/2? Okay, maybe it's not that underlying, but Ranma 1/2 is one of the longest-running, best-known, and most-loved anime of all time. Does it deserve it? In a word, yes. In multiple words, yes, yes, yes. It's been said before that every anime features at least a little humor, but in Ranma that may very well at times be the only focus. The series is rife with subtext and innuendos, along with the almost constant misunderstandings of others and simmering rivalries between characters (Ranma and Ryoga, Ranma and Genma, Akane and Ranma, Shampoo and Akane...). It'd be a horrible place to live, but we're only here to observe and laugh, and it's perfect for that. The comic elements extend even to what should be serious parts of the series, such as combat (Ranma's a martial artist, after all, like most of the cast). The opponents Ranma faces range from the deadly serious Chinese warrior Shampoo (who wants to kill Ranma in girl form, but doesn't realize that girl and boy Ranma are the same person), to the absurd Golden Pair figure skaters (Azusa is constantly fixated on anything kawaii). And every so often, getting Ranma or Ryoga splashed with water in the middle of a fight gets thrown in there, of course. Although the series is a comedy, it does have a plot, which is a positive side to it. Humor is fine, but I'd like some defining element to tie all of it together, and Ranma has it, with plenty of character subplots running at all times. Granted, there's an almost Simpsons- esque progression of events at times (Ranma learning to ice skate winds up leading to Ranma and Akane dueling with the aformentioned Golden Pair), but in such a humor-centric series, that's nothing to be upset about. Referring back to the subplots... well, they're not always deep, but they're consistent, and they fit well with the characters. (Since Ranma's betrothed to Akane, and Ryoga wants Akane himself, they have a constant feud going on...) It's helped a lot by having very strongly-defined characters - the sort of people you almost never see in real life, the sort of people who have certain personality traits that seem to override everything else they do. Nobody in real life (okay, maybe just very few people) is as profiteering as Nabiki, as lovestruck and absentminded as Tofu, or as obsessed with kawaii things as Azusa. It's unebelievable, but it's funny, and it fits with the series. In short: If you're not a fan of Ranma 1/2 because you haven't seen it, you're seriously doing yourself an injustice. Spend a little time with the show, and you'll like it. I promise. ;> Rating: {}{}{}{} There's nothing much serious in Ranma at all, but who needs it in the first place? Ranma's an over-the-top series, with lots of great sight gags, ridiculous plot points, and lots of barely-hidden subtext. Firmly defined characters help, too. Although it won't rivet you as an epic, Ranma 1/2 will amuse you. Anime: { Slayers Next } Tech Stats: Teenage sorceress Lina Inverse and her travelling companions - dim-witted swordsman Gourry, over-noble mage Amelia, and mysterious half-monster Zelgadis - search for the legendary Claire Bible, a text that could reverse Zel's condition. And in the process, all hell breaks loose. Review: Before I go into this review, I'll state beyond any shadow of a doubt that I have yet to watch the original Slayers. I don't think it changes things, but on the off chance it does, I've only seen Slayers Next. Which, in truth, is enough to make me really anxious to see the first Slayers, because if this is what the Slayers series are usually like, I'll love the first one. Slayers Next had me from the opening theme, and it's currently my favorite anime series. Why? Because it's everything anime should be, and then some. The character descriptions above don't do the main cast justice, not by any stretch of the imagination. Lina, in particular, is a great heroine - she's strong-willed, confident, and tends to have a personality more in line with that of, say, Ranma Saotome. She also has a wonderfully characteristic disregard for her surroundings when it comes to casting spells of extreme destruction (DRAGON SLAVE!). As for the rest of the cast, they're equally larger than life, at times truly funny and at others deathly serious. The secondary cast is equally well-defined - Xellos, in particular, is so important that he might well be considered one of the main characters. Unlike some anime, which has a nasty tendency to leave its characters relatively stagnant, the group in Slayers Next evolves at a steady pace, and even adds in little character details from time to time that don't take an active role, but do pop in from time to time. (Like the strange sort of romantic / sibling relationship between Zel and Amelia, Zel's distrust of Xellos, Lina's fixation on her breast size...) At first glance, a lot of the episodes don't serve much purpose besides simply causing mayhem, but that's not a bad thing in Slayers. The episodes almost always have a connection to the underlying quest for the Claire Bible, and most of the time the series moves in arcs of a few episodes each, with a single unifying reason behind the events in each. Although Slayers isn't a comedy, it is a generally humorous series, with many of the episodes building to one massive punchline at the very end - punchlines, I might add, that work very well. (The whole Shrine Maiden business...) Of course, the series has its more serious points, including duels with gods of darkness and unbelievably powerful Monsters. It's hard to say things about Slayers Next, because so much of the series is visual and relies on seeing what's going on at any given moment. So, to summarize: watch Slayers Next. It's good. Rating: {}{}{}{}{ Slayers Next is excellent - it's interesting, has strongly- defined characters, excellent visuals, and lots of fun scenes. It isn't flawless, no, but it is one of the best anime series I have seen in a long while, and is also completely accessible even if you aren't familiar with the original Slayers. Very highly recommended. [ 4.2 : Episodic ] > Reviews for ongoing series that can't really be encapsulated into one > review. Anime tells a single story, but comics, television shows, > and other media tells many stories over an ever-lengthening time > period. This is for those mediums. Uncanny X-Men: #385 Rating: {}{}{}{ This issue wraps up the whole "crossover" storyline that the two teams had been on for the past few issues, and as such had to be pretty impressive. It's got a very good visual impact, if nothing else - German Garcia never fails to impress, and his co-pencilers are at least passable (they don't stand up to Garcia, but that's sorta tough.) On the other hand, the interplay between the divided teams is never very clear, and it largely just seems an excuse to pit X-Man against X-Man. Though everything wraps up nicely, and it does have some good character development, this issue's ambiguity on certain issues (how did the two teams coordinate their actions so thoroughly?) leaves the issue a bit lackluster. X-Men: #105 Rating: {}{}{}{} Am I the only person who really doesn't like Lenil Francis Yu's artwork? It's really rubbed me the wrong way since the beginning of the Revolution arc. It isn't bad so much... I just don't like it. In any event, that didn't detract from the fact that this proved to be a very enjoyable, solid issue of X-Men. A very solid fight issue, to be certain, but one that actually has our heroes at a disadvantage, and facing very skilled, competent enemies - something Claremont excells at. We also get more foreshadowing of the Kelly story arc, and a very ominous look at someone gunning for Psylocke - by implication, Mr. Shadow King himself, who I'd hoped to see return. A rather simple issue, but extremely well-done. Uncanny X-Men: #386 Rating: {}{}{ Um. Where's Kubert? Wasn't he supposed to be the penciler for... sigh. I suppose I can't complain, since the art here is still rather nice (but it's not Kubert...). Unfortunately, the story is solidly mediocre, and reeks of the directionlessness that the X-Men experienced post-Age of Apocalypse. It's supposed to be a character study issue, but winds up doing little to develop any of the characters in a meaningful sense. (Part of it might be that I don't like how suddenly Cable decided to fall into Cyclops's shadow now that he's dead. Strikes me as... well, contrived.) Not a bad issue, but overall, one that is very passable and forgettable. X-Men: #106 Rating: {}{}{}{}{ YAHOO! NEO! Finally, the continuation of this line that was left hanging a few issues back. The Neo continue to be very real, impressive, and powerful adversaries, and have a great deal of inter- group relations. It's still not very clear who or what they are, but it is now a little clearer, and Claremont is wonderfully dishing it out in bits and pieces. It's hard to describe all of the aspects that make this such a stand-out issue. The art is not perfect, but good - again, the sort of stuff you'd see post-AoA. Cecilia is being spectacularly fleshed out by Claremont - I hope the fact that we didn't see her walking away doesn't mean she isn't out of that complex. Overall, a very good issue, and a very engrossing read. { 5 : The Last Section } ELECTRONIC TRANSCENDENCE ENVIRONMENT WINDOW: No roomate for a week. Relishing the freedom. Matchbox Twenty on the system, everything looking like the Maximal computer system. Id's gear sits on my desktop. Thinking of artwork, anime, and Erin (duh). Wishing stupid camera would work. Wishing I had a mecha. Wishing Serial Experiments Lain made sense. SNAP JUDGEMENT: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a game with an intricate and complex combo system. But simply mashing buttons tends to work just as well. THE FINAL WORD: "You're asking me how stupid I think people are? I go to UCONN, where 85% of the students, if I told them it would get them an A, would bang their heads against a brick wall for an hour." -Erin (she's awesome! Did I say that lately?) ELECTRONIC TRANSCENDENCE WEBSITE NEWSLETTER STATEMENT: The ETWN is published (sorta) six times a year (hopefully) by Electronic Transcendence (duh). Its express purpose is threefold: to keep a running tally of what is on Electronic Transcendence, to give people an idea of what will be coming in the near future from the site, and to continue to futher Electronic Transcendence by being an easily- distributable read. It also exists to give Eliot something to do from time to time. No facts were checked, researched, or in any way given validity in the making of this newsletter. Many of the facts contained herein cannot be taken for gospel, and, in fact, are blatant lies. However, we are not under any government law that requires the telling of the truth, because if that were the case, the government would be out of a job. Electronic Transcendence Productions cannot be held responsible for accidental pregnancy, intentional pregnancy, rightful death, rightful life, large breasts, small breasts, weight gain, weight loss, turning invisible and suddenly turning into a heartless jerk, nausea, rabid antelope, meteors sudden oblitherating every trace of life on Earth, the continued existence of the Republicans, or anything else that might involve somehow having to fix a problem. We can, however, be held accountable for the relative dryness of a turkey sandwich. Send us the sandwich, 1 cent in processing fees, and 1,000,000 cents for shipping and handling charges. No animals were killed in the making of this newsletter. We did, however, kick two squirrels and possibly caused irreprable psychological damage to a labrador retriever by calling it fat. Many meat-bearing animals have been killed in the making of this editor, because Eliot likes hamburgers. 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