Virginia is in a state of emergency as we watch more snow fall than ever in a very, very, VERY long time.

Many updates!

1. Thanks to all the readers who put up with my very untimely blog posts.
2. Happy very-late New Year and happy almost on-time Setsubun!
3. I got a cat :3
4. Black Butler volume 1 is in stores now!  There’s always something interesting going on in the Phantomhive Manor, and the first volume of Black Butler has it all.  “Non-stop crazy” is probably the best word for it.

I just can’t help but write a bit of a review on it.  Firstly, I don’t know what it is about Toboso’s illustrations but they’re not the best I’ve seen.  That’s not to say they’re bad, but there are a LOT more prettier manga.  The anime visuals far surpass the manga.

The story doesn’t really kick up a lot, but you can tell that it’s leading up to something big.  The action is suprisingly well-presented.  I was expecting some badly-done action scenes, but they’re very impressive.

The not-so-subtle hints of shonen-ai increase as the volume goes on.  Even though the maid has an enormous crush on Sebastian and Ciel has a wife-to-be, that doesn’t seem to stop any main-character male from obsessing over Sebby.

In all, this title definitely deserves a read.  Almost all manga are slow-starters, but Black Butler has the potential to pick up quickly.  And if you’re under a state of emergency like me, this will most definitely keep you busy at home.

The Gym Leaders:  Second Half

JASMINE

Donning a new dress and some nice new shoes, Jasmine is ready to rock with some Steel-Types.  Strangely enough, she is wearing her original white dress in DPP, which takes place during the same time as HGSS.  I guess video game characters do have a change of clothes.

CHUCK

Chuck probably boasts the smallest amount of change over the years.

PRYCE

It’s images like these that make me sad to know that Pryce was SPOILERSPOILERabadguySPOILERSPOILER in the manga.  You look great, Pryce!

CLAIRE

Claire’s looking lovely, as usual.  She also has some lovely boots and a great cape.  Maybe she borrowed it from her cousin?

The Elite Four

WILL

Our lovely one-eyed psychic magician is now our sexy no-eyed nobleman.

KOGA

If you look carefully, you can see that Koga’s graying.  His skills certainly haven’t let up, though.

BRUNO

Scary and strong.  Bruno has a huge back.

KAREN

At first glance, Karen doesn’t look like a Dark-Type Trainer.  But she does look a little…on the dark side, as if she enjoys those bad boys.  Wink wink, nudge nudge.

The Champion of Two Regions

LANCE

Lance looks as epic as ever.  Let’s see if he still uses illegal Dragonite!

The Next Executives

LAMBDA

Ew.  Just, ew.

ATHENA

She and Apollo are probably based on the two original Executives of GSC.  Her red hair makes me concerned.

APOLLO

Apollo is one of those guys that looks horrible in some pictures, and amazing in others.

Kanto Gym Leader art has been confirmed but not yet revealed.  As the days go by, we only get closer and closer.

On a side note, they’ve also picked up CLAMP’s KOBATO.  Remember?  The KOBATO. that Newtype used to publish before they died?

The First Executive

LANCE

Yes, his name is Lance.  He’s the executive you fight in the Slowpoke Well.  In HGSS, instead of 2 Executives, there are 4, and the 2 in white (that haven’t been officially announced) are probably the originals.  I don’t want to spoil too much, but all of the Executives are named after real-life rockets.

The Gym Leaders:  First Half

FALKNER

At long last the official website has added a Gym Leader page.  Falkner is one of the few Gym Leaders whose appearance hasn’t changed much.

BUGSY

Bugsy was the first Gym Leader whose official art was revealed, albeit unofficially.  He retains his young and somewhat feminine look.

WHITNEY

Her official art shows her makeup-free, as do her in-game and battle sprites, but for some strange reason her VS art and badge case art makes her look like she’s wearing ten pounds of lipstick.  Maybe she’ll look better when we see the games first-hand.

MORTY

He looks like a Ghost Trainer now.  A stoned Ghost Trainer, but, SPOILER, Executive Lambda looks a LOT worse.  If you think Morty’s design change is big, just you wait.  Just you, and all of us, wait.

Please stay with us, because the website is probably going to be updated more frequently now that the games have been out for a few days, and we’ll definitely keep you updated.

I couldn't find a good pic of the boxset itself, so enjoy this one

The boxset contains episodes 42-63, “original & uncut.”  These episodes finish off the Rukia Rescue Mission and start off the Bount’s Blasphemous Fillers and Aizen’s Atrocious Arancar Plan.  Also included are the “Next Episode” previews and Kon’s extra Soul Reaper Guides that weren’t shown on [adult swim].

I’d suggest picking up the boxset along with a copy of the newest BLEACH manga.  OR, wait and see if they’ll release the boxset as a limited edition with an extra goodie like they did with season 1 and 2.

According to Otaku Dan, the boxset doesn’t include the happy stickers that you get by buying the DVD volumes separately, which makes me kind of sad D:

For a fighting game (and especially for a 2D arcade-style Guilty Gear fan like me), the stages are ENORMOUS.  I almost feel as if there should be 4 players running around on the screen instead of 2.  The fact that the camera is controlled by the direction buttons (which, if you haven’t noticed, are right above the joystick, bump, thing) makes it difficult to pan the camera while moving, which is bothersome if your opponent is far, far away and you’d like to know where they are.

In addition to the standard Hit Points, you’ve got Brave Points, which tell you how much damage you do when you land a damage-dealing hit (the other attacks steal your opponent’s Brave Points).  It’s very interesting since you have to think, do I want to do a lot of smaller attacks, or do I want to take away my opponent’s BP and then make one big hit?  The latter is usually the best answer, because if you hit your opponent when they have no BP, you “Break” them.  Until they can accumulate more BP, they remain Broken, and they cannot do damage to you and all the damage they receive become Critical Hits.

I actually enjoy this game.  It seems like it could’ve been better.  There could’ve been more characters and unlockables, and even though the addition of BP makes the fighting more “plan-it-out” oriented, the actual fighting itself isn’t too deep, since all you need to do are simple button presses (or maybe I’m just playing too much BlazBlue).

What I like the most, though, is to be representin’ the first 6, and beating up all of the characters from 7 and onward.  Seeing Sephiroth crushed by the Onion Knight brings a tear of happiness to my eye.

Also, on Squeenix’s official website, they have part of the Dissidia figures set on sale.  What I mean by “part” is that the set consists of Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus and Warrior of Light, but the website only offers Cloud, Squall, Zidane and Tidus.  Hmmm, do I sense some foul play here?  What do those new characters have that the old school Warrior doesn’t, besides unstable emotions?  Although I must admit, the Squall one sure looks mighty sexy~

Yay for random news.  I missed reading School Rumble, but now I can watch it :]

Those of you who enjoyed it will probably have a while to wait before you read it, though, because Higuri’s starting it back up in the Princess Gold magazine next month, and the last volume to be released in America was out in March 08, so even if Go Comi! decides to keep publishing it, it will take some time before the next volume is released.

Aren’t you glad we live in America?  We got our last volume but a year ago, while Japan’s had to wait FOUR YEARS.  Release-date lag sure is helpful sometimes.  Although I honestly preffer her yaoi titles over this one.  Too much drama.

The art book was only available to those who pre-ordered the fighter from Gamestop.com—you didn’t even get it if you pre-ordered in the stores!  And since the art book was produced in such low numbers, even some of those who did pre-order online didn’t get their own.  On eBay, the bidding for an art book easily surpassed $40, $50, and even $60.  So if you missed out on on the art book and want one, or even if you’re just hearing about BlazBlue now, then you HAVE to go buy it now for ONLY $15—that’s including the shipping already!! (unless you’re one of those who’s just hearing about BlazBlue now, in which you should buy the art book and then go buy BlazBlue)

The adorable clear file is still on sale, and I love mine.  The tote bag is also still for sale, although I honestly think it’s a bit too expensive.

Along with the art book, Aksys has put an ADORABLE shirt for sale, featuring Ragna being stomped by Hakumen, and the input command for the attack, in case you were ever to forget it.  The site warns that the shirt doesn’t work when viewed in a mirror.  Again, I think it’s a bit pricey, but you have to agree with me when I say that it’s one of the cutest things ever.

Both regions are accesible in HGSS, just as they were in GSC.

THE OTHER PROFESSOR

Professor Oak

Elm sends you out to seek the “original professor.”  He seems to have found out something new about PKMN evolution.  Notice he didn’t get new art for HGSS, instead retaining his FRLG art.

BALL MAKER

Kurt

I honestly was hoping that Kurt would be under the generic “People of This World” section (he didn’t even get official art in GSC), but Apricorns are making a comeback, along with the Balls they made.  A new “Apricorn Case” allows you to grow the Apricorns you pick, and you can water them when they’re on the trees now.  Kurt is still the man you go to to have your Apricorns made into specialized Balls.

With the comeback of Kurt, I can’t help but hope for the Week Siblings to show up in this game.