Mormegil's Blog

-currently posting from the Wii-


Yeah, so I was looking forward to making a best of 2011 anime blog, but there's no way that's happening now. Typing on the Wii sucks, and takes 50 years. Instead, I figured I'd just make a post about where I've been.

So, my computer has died altogether. The power turns on, the hard drive works fine, the fans spin, but nothing else. Just a blank black screen. It won't even POST, let alone get to Windows. Before it did this, for a month or so I was getting constant restarts, BSOD errors(they all seemed to be Memory/RAM issues), and everything would just freeze up very often. Watching anime turned into a chore, as it would take me about an hour and a half to watch one 23 minute show, thanks to all the restarts. This is one of the reasons why I haven't been replying to any of my comments(which I will get into later) or doing much of anything else on the computer. Anyway, the fun(read: hellish) in having all those BSOD errors is trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong with the computer, when it could be a million things. Since I know a little(still very limited) about computers, I was able to at least do something. Well, I instantly ruled out a software or driver issue. That sucks, though, because then it's obviously a hardware issue. Fortunately, my hard drive is fine, and my data's okay...this time around. It's a brand new hard drive anyway. Next - and what seemed most likely - was the RAM. I really thought this was the culprit. Bought new RAM on newegg for the inexpensive price of $50. Unfortunately, the new RAM did nothing. In this case, it's probably a motherboard or CPU problem. I don't know anything about those parts, so I'm kind of stuck here, not to mention they're the most expensive parts of the computer. So, R.I.P my computer? =(

Really, my computer failing is just the icing on the cake to a mostly shitty year. The main reason why I haven't been responding to most of my comments is because I've had barely any motivation to. Even outside the internet, my socializing has hit an all-time low, and relationships and friendships are suffering greatly. It's been a tough year for me: family problems, life in general, etc. It's been crazy. I mean, a testament to this awful year is that NY got both an Earthquake and Hurricane one right after the other. In like, the span of a week. People lost power for weeks too. Yeah, uhh... this doesn't happen to the East Coast. Ever. And let's not even get to the world. It's been a difficult year for many, despite all the positives.

That aside, I do have to thank anime and manga for getting me through this year, and keeping my mental state in tact. >_<
It has been a great year for anime, that's for sure. If anyone has not watched Steins;Gate, AnoHana, Mawaru Penguindrum, Usagi Drop, and Madoka Magica, I highly recommend that you do so. Incredible anime, and the best of 2011 IMO.

Most importantly, however, I want to thank my friends on MAL, the [as] boards, Chocolate Syrupy Waffles blog, and people I've talked to all over the internet, simply for being there, for having conversations and discussions on everything and anything. I do need to apologize for always being late to reply, and sometimes not replying at all. There are even some new people who have been asking for recommendations and other various things here, so I gotta apologize to you guys as well. With my tight and fixed income(fuck this economy), it's going to be a little difficult buying a new PC, but with any luck, I should have one eventually, so again, apologies for not replying, and I don't know when I will be able to get back to you all.

With that said, the year ends in less than 24 hours. I am grateful for that. I sincerely wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope that it will be an incredible year for everyone out there. Stay strong, folks. The world can be shitty at times.

I'll see you around. Hopefully sooner than later. =)



...oh, yeah. I will most likely steal my friend's laptop the next time I see him. I gotta at least finish Penguindrum and Fate/Zero. =P
But, yeah, most anime is on-hold for now, and I'm obviously not watching anything from the upcoming Winter season. Looks like it's time to rewatch some classics and catch up on my manga reading.

Fuck Cancer.

Anime Relations: Last Exile, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, Claymore, Shigurui

So, in short, I've been dead for quite some time. You can blame that on a failing hard drive. For about a month and a half I had no internet, and there was no way I was going to call up HP support or take the computer to Best Buy. At most, they'd just tell me to buy a new computer.
Fortunately, a few friends were able to help me out. I can easily work my way around an operating system, but I don't know anything about the hardware. Anyway, it didn't take them long to figure out that there was a problem with the hard drive. Unfortunately, however, my hard drive could not be salvaged. So, what'd I lose? Nearly 500 GBs of data. You know, the usual:

-thousands of pictures
-music
-hours of porn
-most of the stuff I did for the [as] boards, including all my Code Geass icons(EUPHIE!)
-anime and videos(my Legend of the Galactic Heroes collection, damn it!)
-manga(I was currently reading Shin Angyo Onshi)
-saved websites and various documents
-etc.

I was pissed for a while, but in the end, it's really my fault. Lesson learned: back up all your data, always. During the downtime, as far as anime is concerned, I did take full advantage of Netflix. There were three series, in particular, that blew me away:





Wow, what a show. Impeccable direction, monstrous characters, unbelievably dark(literally, too!), and one of the best rivalries I've seen.





The ending could've been a little better, sure, but, wow! Gonzo at its best! Why did it take me so long to watch this? I loved Claus and Lavie, and the pure and innocent dream of flying in the sky always gets to me.





Again, what took me so long to watch this?! An all-female cast without fanservice( I AM SHOCKED), Teresa, Ophelia, and a shonen done right:
"Don't worry, we'll survive this fight! We'll make it!"
"Hi, I'm a lion and now I'm going to kill most of you." O_O!!!
More shonen should be like Claymore, definitely.




All that being said, I'm finally caught up on my currently watching list, and I even had some time to watch some older series. With a new hard drive and Windows 7, I'm back and hopefully more active than before. MAL seems to have stopped lagging too. That's a good thing.
I lost a lot of precious things, but gotta move on. In a way, my experience with the hard drive was like a microcosm of life. lolDEEP.

On that note, time to redownload Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

See ya around the site.

Finally, they have arrived! Vagabond is a series I've been wanting to read for so damn long, and thanks to Viz's omnibus(3 in 1) edition, the time has come to read this awesome samurai story. Overall, I'd say Viz has done a great job on this edition. Sure, the covers leave a lot to be desired(especially when compared to the originals), but they've included color pages, interviews, and all kinds of extras. It's an excellent deal for people who don't want to shell out around $300 for the individual volumes. Besides, some of the older volumes are out of print too.


A few pictures:


View of the top shelves of my bookcase. That's about a third of my manga collection(may or may not get around to posting the complete collection at a later time).

1. JP Berserk volumes at the top(Dark Horse volumes behind)
2. Other stuff(Japan, Burst Angel v. 1, Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion v. 1, Gantz v. 1, MPD Psycho v. 1, Gurren Lagann v. 1, and Death Note Another Note)
3. Vagabond
4. FMA
5. lolFairyTailwhydidibuythatshit
6. Fruits Basket is somewhere behind them
7. And of course, the Maromi(it's watching you masturbate), Guts, and Griffith plushes


Back to Vagabond:

Nice art on the spines




The front covers



Back covers


Close-ups:






















And lastly, some color pages:

Never in my life did I expect to wake up to this on a Monday morning. There have always been rumors. Oh, yes, always. For the many years I've been following Berserk, there were dozens of them every year:

1. "There's going to be a new Berserk anime when Miura has enough material to work with!"

2. "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows an animator."

3. Media Blasters, I believe, even once said there was something in the works, and that they were going to be involved.

4. etc, etc, etc. You get my point.


But, to have proof. To have definitive proof, like the news today, it's almost surreal. I honestly don't even think it's hit me yet.

Anyway, I want to backtrack a bit. Around two years ago, there was a post on the neogaf forums. BEST GAMING FORUM on the internet, btw. The post had to do with a trailer made for a new Berserk project. Along with that, the guy posted four pictures from the trailer, seen here:











Allegedly, they're real, studio 4C was going to be in charge, and they were captured on a Pioneer brand television(lolwut). Whatever the case, the Berserk fandom was lit on fire. People argued back and forth on whether they were real or fake. Nothing ever came of it, though. The original poster disappeared, and everyone was left wondering. But, damn, they certainly look real, and if they were elaborate fakes, props to the maker.


A few months later, Miura makes a comment at the end of one of the Berserk chapters. It was something along the lines of: "It's nothing new to say this, but anime series with a fighting man as the hero are not popular anymore these days, though I think there are still some people who want this kind of anime."


That pretty much destroyed all our hopes, as people thought a second season would never happen...

...until today. =)
Now, as to whether or not those pictures are connected with this new anime project, we may never know. But, still, I thought it was a strange coincidence. It is, after all, somewhat recent.


You know, I could end this blog by writing about my misgivings, my worries about the new anime project; and, I could speculate on animation studios, directors, if this is going to be an OVA or a full-length anime series, but right now, I just want to revel in the outstanding news. More Berserk. This is an exciting time.


One last thing. For all that is good in this world, please, please, PLEASE, get this brilliant guy back.




It just simply wouldn't be Berserk without his amazing, haunting music.


Okay, I'm done.