I am sorry. I really am. With all the work I have to do before the end of the semester, I need to focus my free time on only a handful of things. My fanfiction keeps chugging along since it flexes my writing muscles. Video games have been off and on with me bouncing between Persona 2: Innocent Sin Portable and Fire Emblem: Awakening. I've been trying to get to my New Game Plus run of Persona 4 Golden, but I keep pushing it back. And I would prefer to tackle the game after I go through it more than once, you know? I have to commit to what I review. That's why I did a ton of playthroughs and research on my Mass Effect reviews.
So again. I apologize for my not meeting my own expectations and deadlines.
...
...
On the other hand...
Today is Christmas morning. Whatever being(s) or random force I prayed to for years has finally responded and blessed me.
Higurashi: When They Cry is on Amazon Instant Video for $40.
Tell it on Mount Everest that Fangirl has stopped angsting.
After all the tears I cried over one lousy show because Geneon shut down and then Funimation stopped licensing it in North America. Then it gets licensed in Australia... with a different region code. Then dubbed episodes were getting deleted online. I thought I would never see this show in English ever again without resorting to breaking laws.
Yes, the dub is arguably really bad. Yes, the show is not that pretty. Yes, the animation is barely acceptable by taking shortcuts. Yes, there is hardly any music. Yes, the second season never left Japan. Yes, the later OVAs are terrible. Yes, the manga is so much better. Yes, there are more horror stories out there that are better written, better inspired, better paced, and better executed. Yes, I'm still a shallow Fangirl who has very sad tastes in entertainment.
But damn it, Higurashi is my guilty pleasure and the most memorable anime I ever watched.
Oh, and it gets MUCH better. (or worse. Depends on how you look at it.)
Even after I finished it years ago, I still reference Higurashi in my posts. Most times it's to point out how horror has not affected me the same before or since this anime. It set a bar of expectations. This show took me on a roller coaster ride in which I had no idea where it would end up. And it scared the crap out of me the whole time because I had no idea what was happening. But I couldn't stop watching it.
Other times, I just look to see how story arcs focusing mainly on one character are done either well or poorly. Higurashi was never always at top form: the second season was a damn mess. But the first season was great. Watching the gradual descent into madness genuinely chilled me. I was so heartbroken when these characters suffered horribly, only to end in lots and lots of blood and death. Yet the massacres always remained as moments. They last a few minutes and don't appear again with as much intensity until much later. Some call it whiplash or bipolar. Maybe it's a bad crutch for a story to lean on. But it's brilliant.
Man, I missed this show. The magic did fade on me since I remember the plot, but still. The manga's just not the same.
 |
| O_O... I take that back... |
Life is good right now.
And I get to watch Shinji-kun lose his mind over and over again while Aigis sits back laughing while the universe collapses under her heel -
Oh... right. My bad. I'll stop making fun of -
O.O
O-Okay, um, uh...
never mind, I take it back...
please don't kick my ass, sempai! TT-TT
Still... it's kinda funny. As bad as the dub's reputation is, a few voice actors had a chance to join in bigger, better projects. And at least two of them are pretty decent. Can't complain.
...
Maybe another run of Persona 3 would be nice...
*checks drafts*
Oh, right. The beloved JRPG with horrendous Ending Fatigue and Pacing Problems needs to be taken care of. ... And I gotta beat it on normal mode... and actually face the Reaper... and max Social Links... and hear "YOU'RE NOT ME!!!" seven more times...
HELP.
2 comments:
Aw, I was hoping that Rena would hit Keiichi with a dragon suplex. As you know, any anime is quadrupled in quality when it includes wrestling moves.
Well, whatever. Take as long as you need on your end. The way things are sounding, Persona 4's going to be a fight to the finish for you, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in hearing whatever thoughts -- however negative -- you might have on the game. What would the internet be without a regular dose of criticism and the occasional pinch of negativity?
Oh, right. Pictures of cats.
Haha! Persona 4 Arena's sequel just can't come any sooner, can it? It makes me wonder if the suplex is an exclusive weapon for Aigis. Or maybe Yu or Elizabeth get one too, since they're both of the Fool Arcana? I dunno. Gotta wait.
And thanks. *sigh* I know you once said it was one of your favorite games of all time... I'm sorry.
At least now I understand why it's so hard to love Persona 3 and 4 equally. They're both so polarizing...
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