Hunter x Hunter - A Spectrum of Villainy

They say that a hero is only as strong as their villain, and in the case of Hunter x Hunter, that may very well be the case. Hunter x Hunter, compared to other anime in its genre, boats an incredible roster of villains, each with their own unique motivations, backstories, and abilities. Each of them has their own unique sphere of influence when it comes to the overall narrative, making them even more intriguing and mysterious as to how they'll come into conflict with Gon, Killua, Leorio, or Kurapika. Today, we'll examine each of Hunter x Hunter's major villains and take a look into the wide spectrum of villainy that the story boasts. SPOILERS (FOR AT LEAST THE ANIME) FROM HERE ON. 

Fairy Tail and My Creative Journey

One of the most difficult things I've found in the creative process is digging out of a slump. It's often the case of "oh I can just a little here and a little there" and be just fine, eventually you'll strike home and the ship will be righted. Except, that's not true. At all. The creative drive is different for everyone and in my case it'd just been something that came to me naturally. From elementary school through high school I wrote and wrote and wrote to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it wasn't complete stories, it would just be long summaries. Sometimes it was completely rewriting something that'd taken me years. But it was fine, because there was a flow. And then, all of a sudden, there wasn't. The well ran dry. And then I found Fairy Tail, and haven't really looked back since.

Fairy Tail Chapter 545 Review

The concluding chapter to the Fairy Tail manga. SPOILERS follow. 

Assassin's Creed: Awakening #1

Assassin's Creed: Awakening is one of the weirdest and yet coolest comic book experiences I had last year. As you're about to learn, it isn't formatted like a regular Western comic. It caught me completely off-guard, but I have to give Ubisoft and Titan Comics some credit here. This is a brilliant idea and a very creative move on their end. Assassin's Creed had four comic books out last year and had to find new ways of innovating them, be it new characters/ settings, different points of view, continuations of stories...or completely removing the standard comic book format.

Hellsing (Ultimate) Isn't *Really* Horror

Hellsing, as a manga, is pretty exciting. The original anime adaptation has a lot to be desired, but the overall quality of the acting is pretty good and the animation is decent for the time. Hellsing Ultimate seems to be the proper adaptation of the series, as it shows how Seras Victoria came into the organization up through the end of the big war that was hinted at at the end of the original Hellsing series (so, in a way, it's what Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood is to the original FMA). Now, I think I've mentioned before that this is a "horror" series, and you'll see quite a few people say the same thing. However, I just don't think that's the case.

Has Fairy Tail Already Peaked?

It seems to be an evil trend in many Shounen style anime and manga that the series will hit its finest hour before it can come to a proper conclusion, which leads many fans looking back and saying, "No, it should have ended here." With the latest arc of Fairy Tail presumably going to be the one that closes the series out (did you read the latest chapter? Yeah it should be obvious), I was left to wonder if this goofy little series has already hit that point. 

Bleach Ending Thoughts

Last week, Japan's weekly magazine Shounen Jump saw another major era come to a close as the Bleach manga printed its final chapter. It's been a mainstay of the magazine for fifteen years and was even a part of what is the now-legendary Big Three of manga: One Piece, Naruto, Bleach. It's tough to say if we'll ever see something like that again from a single magazine, and while one part of that trio ended last year, Naruto, Bleach has been on a steady decline in popularity that culminated in a very rushed ending and a finale that has led to some pretty drastic...happenings. Did it warrant all of that hate? 

Bleach Ending So Soon?

If you're into anime and manga, you've probably heard by now that Bleach is going to reach its climax soon. If you're not following the manga anymore--not many are--you're probably thinking to yourself "okay, so, probably by the end of the year." And, nope. You'd be wrong. Bleach is ending in just TWO chapters! Many fans are upset, and, yeah, it is an incredibly jarring thing. 

Blog Update #8: MAGIC YEAH

Well the school year for most students is just around the corner (be it a week or a month...or a few months if you're into that kind of thing, can't blame you) and we're back to the old grind here. The schedule is going to be tight and, as always, subject to change, but this time I feel like I'm bringing more observation to the table than regular reviews. There are a lot of major events happening in the entertainment world in the coming world, so, may as well talk about them. 

Top 10 Heroes (Redux)

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and accept the fact that mistakes were made and that things just need to be redone. I'll stand by the fact that, at the time, those characters were my favorite heroes, but times have changed and nearly two years have passed by now. If you would like to check out my previous Top 10 heroes list, you may certainly do so here.

While I don't want these sorts of Top 10 lists to become an annual thing, in which I go back and make a "redo" list, it is always fun to assess and look back on where I was and what characters have captured and held my attention for so long. Or, rather, what heroes.

The idea of making an anti-hero list has always amused me, and it would not be one too difficult to make. It certainly makes placing characters on this list hard. It can often be a tough line to draw for a heroes and anti-heroes list with me, as characters of late have been in a morally grey area. While there are some very clear good guys on this list, there are also some that you may tilt your head at.

Also, like my previous villains list redo, there will be some repeats on here...though not necessarily in the same order. This list is much different than the one before. With that said, let's get right into it!

"Deadman Wonderland" (Manga) Review

I have an odd relationship with this series. It's not one of my favorite manga series I've ever read--though is one of the few I've managed to actually get through without dropping it for its anime counterpart--but is one I feel very attached to. When I decided to start reading this series and picked up the first volume off the bookshelf, I had no idea that every few months I would eagerly await the next volume. The twists and turns by the end of each volume kept me coming back. Yet there were so many characters and moving pieces that I often forgot names or characters. 

"Attack on Titan" Season 2 Hype!...?

SPOILER ALERT FOR ATTACK ON TITAN SEASON 1

It's hard to believe that it's been two and a half years since Attack on Titan took the world by storm. I mean, it was everywhere! It pulled--maybe even yanked--people into the anime medium and almost instantly spawned spinoffs and global attention. Sure, some of those took a little to come around, but the fact that it had one parody and two prequel series within the span of a year is an impressive feat. Usually that's something reserved for the longer-running series, not a show with merely 25 episodes.

"Attack on Titan: No Regrets" Review

Wow I totally thought I was writing about a different topic today until I looked at my schedule a few minutes ago and realized I was talking about Attack on Titan, or rather a spinoff of it, and got hyped as heck to talk about this!

I'm not necessarily talking about the main series today, of course, and instead looking at the two-part manga spinoff of the Japanese series, "No Regrets."

Manga 3-in-1's Way of Future?

Off the top of my head, some of the longest running manga--or, basically Japanese comics, and typically black and white--are Bleach, One Piece (which apparently is ONLY halfway done...how?), Naruto (which just ended), Dragon Ball, Fairy Tail, Berserk, and Full-Metal Alchemist. Several series are on the way to this mark, such as the totally unpopular and unknown Attack on Titan, while other series have already ended in a decent amount of volumes, like Deadman Wonderland and Death Note.

"Attack on Titan: Junior High" Vol. 1 Review

Ever want to imagine some of the most serious and intense human beings on television in cute little nugget-sized forms? Well, now you can!

Attack on Titan Junior High is a parody manga based on the vastly popular Attack on Titan manga series. If you're familiar enough with the story, you'll see quickly just how related the two are. The stories are the same basically have the same layout. Of course it's not nearly as serious and the Titans don't eat people at all, in fact you pretty much forget they're there until, well, they're there.