'Persona 4' Part II

The guys at the DDS-Net forums are pretty laid-back and cool people. No massive wars started yet. No internet drama and bullshit erupted. Since it's still a small community, I managed to find my voice among a sea of veteran fans.

Not long after I published part 1 of my review, someone started a Persona 4 thread. I laid down my opinion of the game and tried to be as honest as I could. Within hours, people flooded in with their own few cents. Just recently, a few of us got heated over a tiny aspect of the game. Had someone not pointed that out, the discussion could've blown up into full-scale war.


It's funny how I am most experienced with the Persona series, but I have more in common with those who like other SMT games.

I have... TONS of issues with this game. Let's say that this can be the ending of Mass Effect 3 levels of rage.

Spoilers ahoy.

'Persona 4', Part I

Whelp, the Persona reveals on November 24th exhausted me. Though I got eight hours of sleep and did not watch the stream, I still ended up cranky and angry at the world. And I liked three out of the four new games! How can something I like make me ecstatic and piss me off so much at the time?! If I become an alcoholic once I'm 21, I'm blaming Atlus!

Anyway, I've delayed this review long enough. Time to get to business.

...

Before I do, I find it funny that I said I don't COMPLETELY hate Persona 4, yet I'm sure many people came to that conclusion anyway. Just because I found a lot to whine and nitpick about, that doesn't mean the game was garbage. I've torn the Mass Effect games a new asshole a few times and I still play them endlessly. Though I know it's extremely campy and flawed, I still love Shadow the Hedgehog. As much as I sing high praises to my favorite band ever, I still step back and laugh at how hilarious and awkward HIM is at what they do. You can't be honest with yourself if you say you love everything about something.

So no, I don't hate Persona 4. Not entirely, at least. To know how I really feel, let's finally get this review started.

BTW, some Spoilers will begin to appear early this time around.

'Persona 3' Part V

*sips pomegranate tea*

... Note to self: never, ever, ever read Persona 3 fan fiction. Never again. Ever.

This has to be the worst game I have ever played. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the fans, the fanfiction, EVERYTHING related to this game deserves to be destroyed. If only there was an appropriate punishment worthy of this abomination of a game's existence! All thanks to Atlus, they owe me four trillion yen in tissues for P3P's New Game Plus ending alone! That's not even covering all the other non-Shinji relates moments in the game! Yukari's dad! Junpei and Chidori! Takeharu Kirijo! New Years Eve!

Why on earth did I play this game?! ...Oh, right, a bunch of other traumatized folks on the internet recommended it to me so I could join in the parade of misery. There... there are just no words...

That's it. I made it this far. There have been a few moments when I came very close to slicing my jugular open. Instead I threw a tantrum because I have self control! Today, I will end this review once and for all! I will not falter this time! Watch me!!

'Persona 3' Part III

Okay, me, those boxes are deliberate. Such lazy censorship was clearly done by an amateur. What the hell are you hiding?

*sees hand with Fanta bottle of sand*

Ha! You can't stop me! I came prepared!

*wrestles with arm and twists thumb, forcing bottle to fall*

*free hand picks up bottle and throws it out the window*

*wraps once-aggressive hand in a cast to prevent movement*

TAKE THAT, ME! =P


Anywho.

Yes, something has been bugging me all throughout this review. At some point I will have to confront my subconscious and demand it to spill it out. I really feel like I'm purposefully avoiding something, as I keep making awkward pauses to slap myself back into shape.

But I must stay on track. If I don't figure out what this missing thing is before my final verdict... No. That won't happen. I will finish the detailed review with that missing thing! I will succeed, even if it kills me! I will stay strong until the end!

Well, enough of the silly battle cry! Let's move on into the plot, where spoilers will be common!

CHARGE!!!!!

'Persona 3', Part II

Looking back, I think I went too fast with the gameplay section. If anyone read it and had no idea what the hell "Tartarus" or "the Dark Hour" is, I apologize. I will go in more detail once we get to plot, which is not until a good ways off at this rate, but let me simplify them here and now.

When you're not living a normal high school life, a mysterious "hidden" hour emerges at midnight, between one day and the next. That is the Dark Hour. Most people are unaware of this, as they are "asleep" in coffins that suddenly manifest. Only those with a Persona - or those with the potential to awaken one - can wander around freely.

Except there are Shadows everywhere and their behavior seems to be affected by the phases of the moon. Most, however, hang out in this massive tower located in the center of the town our heroes live in. It also just happens to be your high school during every other time but the Dark Hour. Of course, its up to you to investigate and figure out how both Tartarus and the Dark hour came to be.

And you can't do that without comrades.

There might be some spoilers.

'Persona 3' Part I

... okay.

It took me a long time to recover after my first impression post. Now that I underwent extreme psychotherapy and a lobotomy to erase that inexcusably f'ing awful event from my mind, I'm back to normal and ready to review.

Other than that one moment that I cannot remember details of, Persona 3 was a lot better than I originally expected. For once I found a JRPG that is interesting and its developers competent.

'Tis a shame that I have over 130 hours of two playthroughs to reflect and comment on. By this point, it seems that video game reviews will be a billion times longer than anything else I'll ever post. Looks like the Mass Effect trilogy won't be the only one getting this special treatment.

'Rabbit Doubt'

The Birthday Massacre should totally sponsor this!

Rabbit Doubt is a game where among a group of "rabbits" hides one "wolf," who deceives and "eats" everyone until someone can identify and stop him/her. Six people, Yuu, Mitsuki, Rei, Eiji, Haruka, and Haijime, decide to play the game for fun until they are abducted and the game comes to life. There is a wolf among them killing everyone off one by one...

Man! That sounds like great fun! So, who wants to play Rabbit Doubt?

Too bad the experience of reading it was nowhere near as fun as it should have been.

Hope y'all got your rabies shots!

As far as psychological horror goes, this sure hits rock bottom. Maybe the manga is only twenty chapters long and not much content can be covered in four volumes, but there are short stories that can be described as epic poems of old compared to this. The characters are pictures of stereotypes plastered on some cardboard: it may be thicker than before, but it's still flat. And as I mentioned with Paranoia Agent: if your characters are dull as crap, why should we care about their problems? Why care if they are dancing on the razor's edge and at the point of falling into the abyss of death? If a pile of roses can't make a pile of feces look nice, then no intellectual theory from a college psychology textbook can make Mr. John McBland Smith likable.

Smart. Peppy. Normal. Spoiled. Jerk. Slut.
Name all the horror films of late that have such characters.

Let's see... Yuu is the normal and kind young man. Mitsuki is the cheerful straight-laced good girl seen in far too many anime. Eiji is a delinquent asshole. Haruka is a slut. Rei is the lolita with a sweet, sad soul asking for love and attention. Haijime is the smart one with black hair and glasses. I'm sorry, did I spoil too much? Guess which one is a hypnotist and how relevant they will be. Now THAT is a spoiler!

That's the problem with most horror stories and films to date. The characters and plot are absolute crap.

On a less cynical note, the art style is really good. The character designs are nothing too noteworthy, but their clothes and hair are fairly realistic and nicely drawn. The environment of the abandoned building is very detailed, dark, and eerie. The rabbit masks are especially creepy, often seen worn, torn, or bloody. At the very least the manga does have an okay atmosphere with several relatively creepy images of the murders that occur.

Pretty darn detailed. Mangaka earns a cookie.

Despite the premise sounding interesting, it is definitely not a slasher or torture porn unlike some films. *cSoAuWgShEcRoIuEgSh* Rabbit Doubt is bloody, but not gory (the most graphic is a severed hand holding a cellphone.) That being said however, the horror is handled very weakly. There is an amazing lack of suspense from start to finish. No "scare" is built up in any way and the end result might look good, but only out of context. The scariest panel will be so bland that you can go to bed and sleep like a baby. I did.

Predictable plot with a bullshit twist ending. Boring characters with no likability. Terrible executions of horror. This manga is pretty darn pretentious to have the "psychological" label slapped on its bloody head. At least the art is pretty.

You're better off with Higurashi or Paranoia Agent, both of which are far more intriguing and not as predictable. Yes, Satoshi Kon's "masterpiece" is better than this premature shonen one shot. Avoid unless you have nothing else to read.

Final Verdict: 0.8 out of 5

'Elfen Lied'

And no. It is pronounced "lēd" or "lead" in leader, not "lied" as in a lie. >.<

(CREDIT: to the mangaka and the poet who wrote "Elfenlied")

RANK: 1.9 out of 5 <-- frustrating="">

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Damn, that phrase irks me every time someone says it. It's thrown around so loosely to the point that you just judge for the sake of forming an opinion. This time, however, that phrase is the best way to describe Elfen Lied.

This series is a literal disaster zone. Buckets of blood and violence with cute little moe-styled characters having their heads and limbs fly everywhere. Tons of fanservice and nudity more disturbing than those in shows like Ikki Tousen or Master of Martial Hearts. Excessive exposition, unanswered questions, sloppy writing, etc. etc. ALL of these things plague and stain the reputation of this series.

So why did I put myself through hell to read the manga? The anime was made before the manga finished; thus, to experience the "true" story with the "true" ending, I read all 108 chapters online.

On one hand, Elfen Lied, despite the annoying writing style, has a decently endearing charm to it that can be liked or hated. Like an amateur "theater group" trying to perform Shakespeare, Elfen Lied has such a crude facade that only certain people can overlook to find the quality behind it. At its core, Elfen Lied is about the pain, loneliness, and rage inside of a girl who fights against it every day. No matter how hard she tries to not kill and to live at peace with humanity, her powers and years of abuse explode and create an unwanted bloodbath. Yet you might be surprised of how emotionally attached you might be to Lucy in the last few manga chapters. Easily she is the best thing in this series.

Other characters get backstory, and some relationships are heartwarming. Lucy and Kouta's relationship went down a very predictable path until the last quarter of the manga, which allowed their conflict to end on a bittersweet, but satisfying note. Besides the main character, Kurama, Nana, and Bando were some of the most memorable characters in the cast.

Now, about that theater troop...

Elfen Lied is a good tragic drama with some really cool sci-fi elements that are easy to understand. That being said, if someone on this planet could rewrite the manga and anime by eliminating all the - pardon my French - bullshit, maybe this series wouldn't make people cringe.

The anime might be notorious for being extremely bloody (like Hellsing Ultimate) and full of fanservice... BUT the manga has an inexcusably monstrous amount of both. There are so many pointless and revolting scenes of nudity that it might as well be porn. I think Marilyn Manson's face would turn green if he saw this.

I really wanted to like Elfen Lied, even in the "so bad, it's good" kind of way. Yes, I cried a billion times at the manga's end and twice at the anime's end, but this series has such a thick, nasty outside that it might not always be worth it when you get to the good stuff.

At least the anime has beautifully haunting music.

Elfen Lied had a very interesting premise, with elements of sci-fi, drama, and tragedy morphed and twisted into a gruesome but different creature. With some serious work on rewriting scenes, humor, and events this would have been a more sophisticated work. Plus, cut out the disgusting fanservice: some of the nudity in later chapters were fine, but early on it was still horrendously overdone.

I don't regret trying this out but...*cringes* I seriously need a shower.

'Death Note'

(CREDIT: to the two men who drew and wrote this series)

RANK: 2.3 out of 5
Tone down the "god" complex

Just as I wish there were mystic beads to put around one's neck and treat them like a dog, having a death note would be kinda cool. I'd wipe out assholes, criminals, and anyone who "deserves" to die. The first victims on my list are those who personify the pretentiousness of this series.

Don't get me wrong, here: Death Note is not terrible. If anyone got a taste of what anime is through this show, good for you! (Yes, that's for you, Tenebris.) This is a great gateway into what is Japan's great medium of entertainment and art. Death Note presents itself very well technically with beautiful animation, brilliant voice acting in English and Japanese, and darkly atmospheric music. Best of all, it brings a great discussion of the concept of justice and morality to the table, whether you agree with Light or L's principles.

But that is all Death Note is. I am no expert, but I can see why some otaku run away from this series in fear or disgust. To know where I stand, my opinion of Death Note is less grudging and more tolerant than my view of Evanescence. Both are overrated, feel cheap, and seem bigger than they really are.

When you take out the debate about justice, Death Note is simple and empty for a thirty seven episode series. Only one conflict stands dominant - the cat and mouse chase - and anything else lies around as spare string. Since Light and L are the main players, the rest of the cast are disposable pawns with very little influence and relevance. The prime example is Misa. 

(SUBJECTIVE RANT ALERT)

Many fans have complained before, but Misa is so ****ing shallow, stupid, and fake I want to punch the "cute" and "blond" out of that chick. This might be nitpicking a bit too much, but for anyone who is or is not goth, does anyone notice how she looks like the poster child for a "spooky" Hot Topic advertisement? With her behavior, attire, and "air", she looks like a plastic doll with a billboard sign that says "I dress like a mallgoth, just to piss off the subculture!"

*sigh* Sometimes I seriously wonder why female characters are so detestable in shonen anime. 

(RANT OVER)

Watching this show was almost as painful as watching Paranoia Agent. Although to Death Note's credit, the creators  might had some expendable plot points and characters but the overall story attempted to make them likable. Yet at the end of the day, I still cannot bring myself to finish this series. The first seven episodes instantly engaged me and held onto me; but very quickly everything felt stretched out to the point I often asked "is it over yet?" Sadly, the interesting premise began running into a dead end very quickly. Once everyone noticed this, the characters slowed down significantly as new "devices" fell from the sky to attempt to delay the ending.

Death Note should have been a short story, or better yet, a thirteen episode series. If the story went with a different angle, began in medias res, or stayed with one simple plot, this would have been a more solid and well executed story. However, this only serves as a fun anime gateway to the curious, an amateur eyesore to various otaku, and an overblown god to the diehard fanboys and fangirls. Seriously, the series is bad enough with it trying to be mature and "genius", a particular bunch of fans blow it up to epic proportions and give Death Note a bad name. This is just simply pure fun, not ground-breakingly deep.

A beautiful anime with a god-like status that deserves some credit but needs to be clobbered every now and then. I will recommend this only for the curious for the fine presentation, but good luck if you like the premise and story.

Geez... this is what I chose to watch after being amazed with Inuyasha? I need to readjust my high expectations...

BONUS: Just in case you want a different opinion from a superior reviewer and otaku, click here.

'Paranoia Agent'

(CREDIT: to the late Satoshi Kon and all who helped him.)

Rank: 1.8 out of 5 <-- so much wasted potential

An elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Now, two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from making any more attacks, but they will find out soon enough... that this case is much more than they expected.

(From Anime News Network)

Once again, my opinionated, cynical self cannot agree with the majority. This must be my destiny.

No matter where I went, everyone said nothing but full praise for this series and all for the same reasons: Satoshi Kon, the music, the animation, the maturely intricate plot etc. Everyone said that this show is for all anime fans to watch and be marveled by such a masterpiece. Everyone said how scary and shocking Paranoia Agent is because of its relatable themes.

13 episodes later. ... ... ... was that the best this "psychological horror" anime can do?

Fine, maybe Higurashi had so much show and bravado that this is bland and thumbed down in comparison. But despite how more realistic it was, almost nothing about Paranoia Agent scared me... or shocked me. Maybe it's wrong to compare two different series, one based on an amateur visual/sound novel and another made by a late "genius." Pardon my rudeness.

Well, I only found one critical review that had fairly reasonable arguments. That's a plus.

One of the biggest flaws with this show is the cast with many bland and irrelevant characters. Some of them appear for one episode and add nothing to the progression of the story; others appear frequently but never get much development or relevance ever again. Furthermore, they lack depth or at least one trait that can contribute to the greater part of the story. Fans say that the series derails from episode 9 to 11; however, I can call bullshit and say that things derailed by halfway of episode 6. The cast is so big, yet so pointless that this makes every character in most shonen anime (like Naruto and Bleach) look complex.

Plus, if you have characters this shallow and bland, the psychological twists they go through look silly, boring, or just ridiculous. Again, I hate to bring it up BUT... Higurashi had developing characters go through slow psychological torture before they went batshit crazy. Paranoia Agent just assumes we care and makes crap happen... far... too... quickly.

The final verdict for the plot? Average. Nothing was shocking - not even the ending, which was just more random than anything else. Potentially good ideas were provided but never went through. Possibly good characters were wasted. There were no plot holes, but there were lots of dead ends.

Might I also add that the plot is fill of "scrapped" ideas Satoshi Kon wanted to use for movies but never made it. Well, it shows.

However, to the show's credit, the animation is very good and character designs are very realistic, rather than going by typical anime designs. The opening theme, as stated earlier, is hauntingly creepy and yet beautiful; I am almost tempted to download it. Paranoia Agent might have been really random at times, but some issues were covered in a decent manner: mass hysteria, coincidental misunderstandings (one innocent kid was thought to be Lil' Slugger), split personalities, and escapism. It's only a shame that these highlights could not make a sloppy story get a high score from me.

I'm sorry, fellow anime fans. I tried to like this show, but it took far too long for me to get interested - no, I had to force myself to watch every single episode. Paranoia Agent did an awful job at "sucking me in." I'm sorry. But yet, I do not regret watching this show. This is something any anime fan should try out at least once and see what he/she thinks. BUT as sad as it is that it is out of print, I will not recommend trying to buy it at all. I quite frankly don't think I can watch this show ever again. At least I tried...

Creepiness Galore...

First it was Higurashi's opening theme, now it's Paranoia Agent's. But in terms of the show itself, Paranoia Agent is far less entertaining... for now. I hope the show gets much better over time, but so far, only this opening song is impressive.

Very... psychotic... o_O

'Higurashi: When They Cry'

(CREDIT: to the creators of the video games and the anime)

Rank: 4.5 out of 5 <-- cute people scare me... o_O

"Please, uncover the truth. This is my only wish."

- Keiichi Maebara, "Spirited Away by the Demon, Part 4"

The picture above is my way of showing my frustration of the lack of Keiichi representation in any Higurashi product. *grumbles*

For some reason, no matter how scary a movie or show is, I get over my few hours of self-inflicting torture within a few days and move on. But Higurashi no Naku Koro ni? It's been nearly a week, and I'm still paranoid. Too many late-night viewings...

Without spoiling too much of the story, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (literally titled When the Cicadas Cry) is set in June of 1983 when Keiichi Maebara moved to the small town of Hinamizawa. While settling in during the warming summer, he befriends four girls: blue-haired Rika, mischievous Satako, bold and mature Mion, and Rena, the chick who puts her face on every single advertisement space for this show (must be that damned trademark weapon of hers.) ANYWHO. In each arc a series of various events occur that force these five kids to dive into the mysteries of Hinamizawa as a particular June festival arives.

Vague? Well, sorry. I don't want to say too much or I'll spoil some of the more important or interesting plot points or character development. But to say the very least, the story is not told in chronological order; to be blunt, everyone is in a time loop. Each arc begins at the start of June, covers the festival, unveils a mystery, and ends in late June. The next arc will go back to the beginning of June and follow the same formula. Once one gets used to this awkward way of storytelling, one can appreciate the various scenarios that play out for different characters. But the most helpful aspect of this is how everything is separated by "question arcs," telling a series of events, and "answer arcs," clarifying some concepts not well explained before.

To describe the show, first and foremost Higurashi is psychological horror. In each arc, one of the main characters plays a lead role and becomes a "victim" or a "villain" to his or her friends depending on the circumstances. It brings a unique experience to the character as us viewers can learn more about him/her by how the act, behave, and adapt to the world and people around them. Although each of the five characters get screwed at least once. Hell, I forgot how many times Rika and Keiichi die or how often Mion gets manipulated.

But what is so scary about teenagers becoming paranoid, killing people, or killing themselves? Atmosphere, buildup, and execution, ladies and gentlemen. This show knows how to lure you in with the thickening plot, great interactions, over-the-top yet natural reactions, and the intense scenes... gorgeous. It might be disturbing that I call the gory and graphic scenes of murder and torture beautiful, but there are no mindless insane slasher killers like Jason, Freddy, or Michael Myers. This is gore done well: realistic, but not in your face; sleek, yet messy - duh; and disturbing - obviously. These scenes become moments and do not dominate the show at all. But when they do appear, believe me, it is hard to forget them.

The anime art is average overall, but the facial expressions made during reveals and climaxes are superb. The voice acting in Japanese is... eh. I really prefer Keiichi's voice in the English dub. Normally I don't care if I watch an anime with subtitles or voices in English, but I enjoyed the story in my mother tongue more. By my ears, everyone - except Rena - sounds great, but maybe I'm deaf next to the rest of the world.

Drawbacks? I love just about every character... except Rena. I know, what a shock. I found her to be almost useless because she is a combination of Rika's quietness and Satako's happy personality... just armed with a cleaver/hatchet/billhook/thingamabob. Despite having the best weapon out of everyone else (except the epic metal baseball bat,) I guess I just found her pretty useless overall. Another problem is that the Higurashi anime has two seasons: When They Cry and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (When They Cry Solutions.) Season one has four question arcs and two answer arcs while season two has the rest of the answer arcs to complete the story. At this point, I am on episode 5 of season two, and God, it feels like season four of Buffy...

Despite one needing to watch a total of 50 episodes to get the completed story behind this strange town, Higurashi is an anime I highly recommend to any horror, psychological, and mystery fan. Anime fans, check this out too. But if you get fearful easily over at least the sight of blood, save your soul and turn away.

I have on last request: check out the music to the show too. The opening and ending songs are heartbreakingly haunting and beautiful. I got them on my iPod after watching the show for three days. lol

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, in my opinion, strongly deserves a 4.5 out of 5. Great story, great atmosphere, great horror, great music, great f'ed up but lovable characters. You can't beat it.

Let's see how long it will take for me to get over myself... but cute people... *screams and hides under bed*

'Mars'

Yes, I am aware of the inconsistency. But believe me: no "star-crossed lover" BS. The cover lies!!

(CREDIT: due to the creator. not mine.)
Rank: 5 out of 5 <-- So much fun in so little volumes T-T

My friends often accuse me of being extremely unromantic. Just because I hate Valentine's Day and find a boy handwriting a Shakespearian sonnet in a special card to be very cheap, that doesn't mean that I'm heartless! My favorite band plays nothing but love songs! I cry when I watch Titanic! I think about getting married sometimes! I have my own "perfect guy" image in my head! I read and watch romantic books, movies, manga, and anime! Is that unnatural and heartless? :P

But really, it takes a little bit to impress me; so how could Mars earn a perfect score from picky Fangirl?

I might have heard of this series while exploring Mangafox, but I never was introduced to it until a few months ago. I have taken private art lessons for a long time, and my teacher and I get to chat a lot when I work. We often talk about movies and TV shows; one she brought up was a live-action Taiwanese series based on this manga and shares the name Mars. Although she did reveal big parts of the plot, I was still very interested in one of the characters she described.

To describe what this series is like, I could call it a blend of Fruits Basket, Dengeki Daisy, and a cousin five times removed of Black Swan. I would use Fruits Basket because of the smooth flow of the story and the beautiful balance between the light and fluffy moments and the dark and eerie ones. Dengeki Daisy had some really sharp turns in mood within two panels that would often make my stomach drop, something Mars has in a less overwhelming way. Black Swan and Mars have one thing in common: ALMOST ALL OF THE CHARACTERS ARE MESSED UP.

Sure, the romance in this story is basic and a bit cliche, but the combination of characters, interactions, and situations made this series extremely impressive. There is A LOT of psychological tension going on throughout the story, and each character has his or her own issues. And believe me, fights, anger, and deaths balance out the cheesy romance. Just to give a hint of how bad some characters are:

There is one character who is a complete sociopath. He not only toys around with Rei when he is overcoming grief and shock, he also manipulates Kira to the point of nearly reenacting Rei's brother's death. That same character has no problem with treating people like they are less than garbage. Hell, he even killed a guy!

However, not to spoil too much, but I think Sei is the most f'ed up character of all.

But if you ask me, throwing characters with psychologically and emotionally traumatic pasts into a 15-volume romance series makes Mars all the more intriging.

Overall, Rei might be my favorite character, even though I dislike guys like him in real life (at least the playboy part of him.) Although the events and characters might not be completely realistic, everything worked well for what they did. I can't say Kira and Rei are the best couple ever, but their relationship was very cute and enjoyable. (And there is no destiny bullshit! WHOOT!)

My only regret is that I read this too quickly: it took me two days to finish. :'(

For a long time, Fruits Basket was one of my favorite manga for the well developed characters, holeless plot, and beautiful storytelling. But now I think Mars will take its place, because it does all of those things better and then some. This series, which I highly recommend to almost anyone, deserves a perfect score.

Now I really need to find that Taiwanese version so bad. My art teacher said it was hilarious...