Got into an anime mood over the weekend and decided to download a bunch of random stuff. Watched the first 10 minutes of all the series I got and pretty much got hooked in by Toradora! probably because it’s the genre of anime I like the most. It’s a romantic comedy that has all the typical stereotypes, a tsundere girl, an idol girl, and a weird girl. But it goes a step further than the typical run of the mill harem anime. The main male characters are actually fleshed out pretty well (to the point that I may have a new favorite male anime character) and as the story progresses you find that there is an actual depth and emotion to everyone. Now here’s not to say that the anime is not without faults. I felt that the ending arc could have been fleshed out more, even if it was already 5 episodes long. Also the pairing I wanted to happen, didn’t happen. So that also made me sad. Overall if you’re a fan of the genre check it out. (more…)

I’m sure most, if not all of you, have not heard of this recent indie game which has received some critical acclaim for it’s unique art design and characters. Zeno Clash is basically a first person fighter much akin to Breakdown of years back. The demo came out a few days ago so I thought I’d give it a try. All I can say about the demo is that it left me wanting to play more which is always a good thing. The story is fairly interesting making you discover what exactly you did as the game progresses. But the real meat and potatoes is the fighting. Punching an opponent in the face has a extremely visceral feel to it. For an independent game it provides a really fun experience. I just wish it was a commercial game with a huge budget backing to get rid of the somewhat cliché story and repetitive fights. But I’ll still end up buying the game just to see how it ends and recommend that you do as well. (more…)

Not sure how many of you have heard of The Soloist, but it’s been getting some rave reviews from pretty much every media outlet. So when I went home for the weekend I grabbed at the chance to go see it with my family. Wasn’t really sure what to expect except what I saw in the trailer. It stars Robert Downey Jr. as a writer for the LA Times who encounters a homeless schizophrenic, Jamie Foxx, playing a 2-stringed violin more beautifully than he’s ever heard a fully stringed violin played. So I went into the theater a little excited to find out more.

Needless to say, everyone was right about the movie. It was a wonderful experience that displayed the formation of their relationship, the gainsand sacrifices of their friendship, and what both of them take away from knowing each other. The Soloist is one of those movies that makes you want to slow down and think about your own life and with the school year coming to a close, it couldn’t have come at a better time. As for the performances, they were all stellar. Downey does a spectacular job as always, but the real award goes to Foxx who puts on a superb show. As you can see I highly recommend this movie to everyone out there. It’s a nice way to slow down for the start the summer months. (more…)