Cannot Catharsize: Nana

Ah, the slow days of summer. It's nice to be able to just sit around and relax and do absolutely nothing, and then watch as my days go from meandering to sprinting in a moment AKA when I start my job. I've taken a pretty long break from writing, and depending on how my summer goes, I may not be writing too much on the blog (at least until next semester). But more on that some other time.

Right now, it's another edition of Cannot Catharsize, this time featuring the exquisite anime, Nana, that I just recently finished burning through. Nana is a shoujo anime, based on the manga written (drawn?) by Yazawa Ai, which started airing originally in Japan in 2006. I will be the first to admit that I was quite tentative about watching this anime at first, being that it is mainly a romantic story, mostly plot driven with absolutely no fighting (none physical anyway) nor explosions. But, after watching the first 4 episodes, I found myself hopelessly intrigued by the characters.

The main plotlines revolve around two characters, both named Nana. The first Nana you meet is Komatsu Nana, a naive, air-headed, and spacey girl from rural Japan. At the beginning of the anime, you see her taking the train to move to Tokyo, presumably to live with her boyfriend who moved to Tokyo a year earlier, Shouji. She makes frequent references to the "Demon Lord" (Dai Mao in Japanese), contributing to some elaborate fantasies that she manages to concoct regarding both her friends and her boyfriend (such as when she imagined that he had found a new lover in Tokyo named Sachiko and had been cheating on her for the past year). At first, her character seems like your typical, annoying young girl character, complete with overdone facial expressions and outbursts of emotion, but beneath the surface, she is an extremely complex and pitiable person. Gradually, her annoying habits transform into endearing qualities, with many of the characters at first put off by her outgoing character, only to find themselves wishing they could spend more time with her later.

The second Nana is Oosaki Nana, a husky-voiced, punk-rock singer. She comes off as strong and confident at first, seemingly much more reliable and even-keeled than K-Nana. However, as the series goes on, her flaws begin to seep through, and her character transforms from the strong leading heroine to the emotionally unstable partner, becoming dependent on the support and love of K-Nana, whom O-Nana affectionately names, "Hachiko," after a famous Japanese dog ("nana" also means seven in Japanese, while "hachi" means eight).

Some of the other characters include O-Nana's band, "The Black Stones", including the lawyer-drummer Yasu, O-Nana's only high school friend and lead guitarist Nobu, and the bassist, high-schooler turned child-prostitute Shin. Additionally, there is the rival band, "Trapnest," which include: Reira, the beautiful female lead singer; Takumi, the leader and bassist; the lead guitarist, former "Black Stones" member and O-Nana's lover, Ren; and the drummer, Yasu's old friend, Naoki. On K-Nana's side, you meet Shouji, and their friends, Junko and Kyosuke. While this presents itself as a large ensemble cast, each member is so different, not only image-wise, but also in character and personality. As each character is introduced, their relationships begin to intertwine, with the two rival bands having many inter-band relationships. This leads to many complications between each member doing what's best for their band versus what's best for themselves.

While the anime has many different underlying themes and numerous motifs (such as the use of nana, music, and the part-time jobs each of the characters possess outside of music), one of the main themes is ignoring that which is immediate in favor of that which may come in the future. Throughout the story, the characters continually choose that which they believe will bring them more happiness in the long run versus that which has made them happy up until that point. No details, because most of the occurrences are plot drivers, but it is very interesting to see the characters rationale for making each decision, even if you can see right through them as a viewer.

Overall, I absolutely loved watching this anime, burning through all 47 episodes in about a week. Another season should be forthcoming, and I honestly can't wait to finish the story. I think I'll start rating the anime's I watch, retroactively giving Gundam 00 a B+, and Welcome to the NHK an A-

Grade: A

I leave you with the second OP, "Wish" by Olivia, which is inspired by Reira in "Trapnest."

2008 NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals

Damnit all, I was so close to having a perfect round. Instead, my picks were pretty much obliterated by extremely close games that could have gone either way. Time for a short recap, then the conference finals predictions.

Boston vs. Cleveland
Prediction: Cleveland in 6
Result: Boston in 7
Cleveland was so close to winning game 1, losing 76-72 on some pretty bad play down the stretch. But, if they had won that game, they could have easily coasted to closing out the series in 6 in Cleveland. Instead, they lost that game, and lost Game 7 in Boston by a measly 5 points. So disappointing...

Detroit vs. Orlando
Prediction: Detroit in 6
Result: Detroit in 5
If Orlando hadn't choked Game 4 down the drain with some dumb play from Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic would have taken both games in Orlando, and pushed Detroit to at least six. Instead, they came up small, and Detroit won quicker than I expected.

Los Angeles vs. Utah
Prediction: LA in 6
Result: LA in 6
I'm pretty proud of this one, because I knew that LA would win all 3 games in LA, and that Utah would win the first two in Utah, and that it came down to a coin flip in Game 6. And LA won the only way you can win on the road against a good team: get up by 20+ points. Seriously, they almost blew it at the end. If they had only been up by 15, they would have lost.

New Orleans vs. San Antonio
Prediction: New Orleans in 7
Result: San Antonio in 7
God damnit, this series went 7 games, exactly as planned, and I though Game 7 was going to be close, but in reality, it wasn't. The Spurs got up big, and like I said before, that's the only way to win against a good team on the road. I was completely expecting the Hornets to come back and win, but they managed to choke away their last few possessions when they went away from Chris Paul. God that makes me mad.

...

All right, now for predictions.

Los Angeles vs. San Antonio
The Lakers really don't have anyone who can guard Tim Duncan or Tony Parker, but the same could have been said about Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams in the last round. It's going to be tough, but I think LA has enough offensive firepower to take down the Spurs (you beat the Spurs by outscoring them, not by playing better defense). That and I love how Derek Fisher is playing right now. Everyone points to Kobe, or Lamar, or Gasol, but I honestly think it's Fisher who won them the Utah series, and who has been the seals holding up an otherwise leaky ship. I think the Lakers continue to play great basketball, and manage to steal Game 4 in San Antonio.
Prediction: LA in 5

Boston vs. Detroit
Good God, the worst NBA playoffs match-up possible has come to fruition. Be prepared for some absolutely disgusting 75-77, ugly, dirty, and sometimes downright dangerous games. Boston is playing like shit, complete shit, and I do not expect them to come out of this series. Detroit is playing extremely well, and are extremely focused. That and I have lost all faith in the entire Celtics roster beyond Paul Pierce.
Prediction: Detroit in 6

2008 NBA Playoffs: Random 2nd Round Thoughts

The 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs is in full swing, and here's just a few thoughts as most of the series' hit their midway points.

Boston vs. Cleveland

Good God this series is ugly. So ugly. 76-72 Celtics in Game one? A Nuggets-Warriors game would have a score twice that. And it's not just good defense. The offenses of these two teams have just been bad. Cleveland won pretty big once they got back home to make it 2-1 Boston, but here's hoping for a LeBron James miracle, coming back from down 0-2 to win 4 straight and take the series, like he did against the Pistons last year. But overall, I never want to see a series like this ever again...except I'm gonna have to when Boston beats Cleveland and they play Detroit in the East Finals (Hurray! Here's to less than 80 points scoring per game! I can't wait!).

Detroit vs. Orlando

To be honest, I have yet to watch a single game of this series, not out of choice though, simply because I don't have cable (so I can only watch the games that are broadcast on ABC). But, from what I've read, Detroit's been pretty much pushing Orlando around, and Orlando's been taking it like a bitch. With the exception of Game 3 in Orlando when Rashard Lewis went off for 30 points, Orlando's been taking it the entire series. After a horrible fourth quarter collapse in Game 4, Detroit is up 3-1, and that means Orlando is done. Why? Because the only way they could come back from down 3-1 is if Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu transformed into LeBron James.

Los Angeles vs. Utah

I think I'm starting to become a Lakers fan. I just like the style they play: very up-tempo, lots of passing, lots of movement, basically basketball the way it was meant to be played. But sometimes I get so pissed off when Kobe gets the ball in the post and instead of posting up or driving to the basket, he just pulls up for a contested jump shot. Sometimes they go in and I'm like "wow, he should not have made that," but most of the time they miss and I'm like "God F@$#-ing damnit Kobe."

The Jazz just piss me off. Every single (and I mean every play), they commit a foul of some sort that goes uncalled. Whether it be a moving screen, raping a defender on a back-door screen, or pushing off on every rebound, they always seem to do something that makes me wonder if the refs really enjoy fair basketball or not. Admittedly, this isn't that bad (because every team makes moving screens/pushes off for rebounds), but the worst and most annoying habit of all the Jazz is that they whine like women. Every single time Carlos Boozer misses a shot, it's like he transforms into a weeping rape victim screaming for revenge. It's like "c'mon dude, man up and just play through the hits. God knows you commit twice as many uncalled fouls as those that go against you."

New Orleans vs San Antonio

I was thinking this series was going to be competitive, and some people might say it has been (since the series is tied 2-2), but in reality, these games have not been close. The Spurs were blown out twice in New Orleans, and then proceeded to blow out the Hornets back in San Antonio the next two games. Does home court advantage really mean that much? These are the same guys right? They don't magically switch with some hidden twin that secretly sucks at basketball when they go on the road, right? Cause it sure seems like it.

But anyway, back to studying for my last final (Intro to Partial Differential Equations = B- here I come!). I'll be finishing school soon, then it's two weeks of fun back home with my friends, then off to work at my internship, that I wrote about here. Till next time...

Motion Picture Magic: Iron Man

Since this is JK's blog, I figured I would use his title for movies. This is my review for Iron Man.

Iron Man is based on the comic book of the same name published by Marvel comics. Its about a weapons manufacturer and dealer named Tony Stark. His company, Stark Enterprises builds weapons for the U.S. military. The basic plot (I won't go into details, because that is called spoiling) is that Stark goes into the middle east to demonstrate his latest weapon to the military. After his demonstration, he leaves with the military back to the base. The vehicle he is in is attacked and he is the only survivor, although he is badly wounded. The terrorist group that attacks kidnaps, and then puts an electromagnetic device in his chest to keep him from dying, because shrapnel is slowly moving into his heart. He needs a device for the rest of the movie to keep himself alive. But in the meantime the terrorist force him to make weapons for them. Instead he builds a crude suit of armor (crude but still high tech given the materials he had to work with) and escapes killing most of his captors along the way. When he returns home, he changes his ways and stops building weapons. He then makes a more advanced armor and becomes the hero Iron Man.

Of course theres a little more to it then that, but I try not to spoil movies. Anyway, I must say that Iron Man is the best Marvel movie I have seen to date. Better than X-Men 2, better than the Spider-Man series, it just blew me away. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect in the role of Tony Stark. I don't think anyone else could have pulled that off. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Tony's love interest, and Terrence Howard plays Colonel Jim Rhodes his best friend. They both play their parts very well, although surprisingly Howard's character isn't featured that much. (Though you'll probably see him a lot more in the sequel.) Jeff Bridges is excellent as the villain Obediah Stane, who becomes the villian Iron Monger. There is not weak link in the cast.

The battle scenes were amazing. They really got the feel of Iron Man down. When he flies he is like a human jet. The effects are just off the hook. (yeah I said it.)

My one pet peeve, and only because I am a comic nerd, is that they made Stark's butler Jarvis into a computer program. I would have rather seen a guy play Jarvis like in the comic. Its not a big deal, and the general audience won't care.

One more thing. You may have heard about the special scene after the credits. Well depending on your knowledge of comic books will determine whether or not its worthwhile to see it. I am a comic nerd, so the scene made me crap my pants. But it might not mean much to the general public.

Anyway this movie rocks. If you can see it on the big screen, it is completely worth it. I'll leave you with the trailer to get hype. Peace!

5 out of 5

Magic: The Project

So it's been a really long time since my first post. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything I wanted to write about. For this post I've decided to fall back on my favorite hobby, Magic: the Gathering. I want to start off by apologizing to anyone who reads this and isn't already acquainted with the game. Magic is probably the most complex strategy game out there, so it would take several tedious posts to even get a start at teaching the basics. Instead I'm going to write about a deck I'm currently building. I'm going to explain a lot, considering my primary audience, JK and Judd, are former magic players who know the basics and some advanced play of the past, but are completely in the dark as to the current state of the game and the new mechanics.

The biggest thing in the magic world right now is the release of a new set, Shadowmoor. Shadowmor is a pretty good so far as I've seen. The set's main themes are hybrid mana costs, the untap machanic, wither, and persist. Hybrid mana is mana that can be spent with one of two types of mana. Think of a grizzly Bears, if it was hybrid, say Green-Red hybrid, it could be played for its colorless mana and either a red or a green mana (example). The untap mechanic is like the normal tap mechanic, but always has an activation cost and untaps the creature using the ability, thus cannot be played while untapped (example). Persist and wither are creature keyword mechanics, like trample. Wither is simple, this creature deals damage in the form of -1/-1 counters to other creatures (example). Persist is on the same wavelength, when this creature is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, Return it to play under its owner's control with a -1/-1 counter on it (example). I don't think I'll end up taking about any cards with untap. Untap sucks in constructed and is great in limited, and the bulk of this article will be on constructed.

Beyond new cards and mechanics, Shadowmoor has really shaken up my favorite format in Magic, Standard. The previous set, Lorwyn, was a tribal based format, which basically means a bunch of creatures that make other creatures bigger because they have the same creature type. Elves and Faeries, and Merfolk dominated the scene. Elves seemed to be the biggest and fastest tribe so it was default for anyone who didn't like to think too much. Faeries was the pre-Shadowmoor hands down best deck. Yes, faeries! They play everything at instant speed which makes them able to play counterspells effectively, and they have the best card in the block, Bitterblossom. Bitterblossom is amazing! You get guys for life, from an enchantment. Other decks played Bitterblossom, but none had Scion of Oona to really take advantage of it (the shroud is counted on the Bitterblossom itself because its a Enchantment - Faerie). Merfolk basically breathe islandwalk with Lord of Atlantis, so they were a great metagame choice against the massive amount of faerie decks. There were other decks in the format, but you can get the point that it was a lot of beat down. There were virtually no combo decks (my favorite type of deck).

Shadowmoor changed all that. Because it is a mini-block, it was added to the Standard format without any sets being removed. Faeries is still really good, but there are two combo decks that were made possible. The first uses Swans of Bryn Argoll plus Seismic Assault plus Dakmor Salvage. You have to get the Swan and the Assult on the board, then shoot the swan with the Salvage dredging it back from the draw, you'll net one card and can start again, once you hit a second Salvage you can start throwing one at the opponent as you discard and dredge both. You run out of deck too quick so you run two Gaea's Blessing so your deck will recycle itself as you go. The second combo is Enchanted Evening plus Patrician's Scorn. This blows up the table, you destroy all permanents. Before you do that though you want to have a threat unaffected by the combo. There are a bunch of creatures that do this. Greater Gargadon can be unsuspended by sacrificing all your land and while he's still on the stack you can play the Scorn for free (assuming you've played the Enchanted evening that turn) the Scorn will resolve, destroying everything, then the 9/7 will come into play. Anything with persist also comes back from the combo, Heartmender and Kitchen Finks are the best of those. Other options are Epochrasite and Nihilith. Garruk Windspeaker can be used too, just put his second ability on the stack and then play Patrician's Scorn. Of course you could always float the mana before the combo and play a creature or Bitterblossom afterwards.

The second combo looks really fun to me. While not as powerful as the first, it seems a lot less all or nothing. Another thing is has going for it is main deck Patrician's Scorn is really good against Bitterblossom. Also the color requirements are a lot easier, and thus the deck will be a ton cheaper. I already own a lot of the more expensive cards involved with Enchanted Evening (the Gargadons and some rare lands). I've gone ahead and purchased most everything else I need to build the deck (was pretty cheap, around $30). This deck can go a ton of ways. The only requirement is either blue or white mana. With that in mind, my next post will take you through a walk-through of my building and testing and re-building process. I'm pretty sure it will end up being broken up into at least two posts. Then on the 30th I'll take to the deck to Friday-Night Magic at Let's Play in Waverly, NY (my first plug, I feel dirty). I'll make up a report of how things went, I doubt I'll find a way to do a play by play, but I'll try to remember as much as possible.

I'm extremely excited about this project. My first post... frankly sucked. I have a feeling these are going to go really well, and be a lot of fun. My cards are shipping to my house and I'm at school. So I'll get started when I'm back home on Sunday. Oh, and I'd be really appreciative if I could get any input once I start posting builds.