Finished watching .hack//Legend of the Twilight

Finished watching .hack//Legend of the Twilight (2003, Bee Train, 12 episodes) on 9/15/2016.

Shugo is convinced by his twin-sister, Rena to play an MMORPG game called The World. When they begin, they are awarded limited edition character models based on legendary players Kite and BlackRose respectively. As Shugo plays along, odd events take place where he obtains the mysterious Twilight Bracelet from an elusive girl named Aura. The twins set out with new-found friends to unravel the mysteries that surround this odd bracelet.

PLOT - The story is somewhat interesting, and the characters aren't half bad and, but it's not really that complex of a plot more than it is entertaining. The animation is alright with vibrant colors. The way the characters are animated isn't too stiff, which is good. The soundtrack isn't bad, but it's nothing to write home about with only a couple of catchy tunes here and there, but it can be lively for the most part.

6.5/10 - Overall, for a 12 episode show it's not that bad but there's still room for improvement. If you're a fan of the franchise you'll definitely enjoy it, otherwise it's just a cute Saturday-morning cartoon that any little kid would enjoy.

Finished playing Final Fantasy III

Finished my second playthrough of Final Fantasy III (2006, Square Enix, Nintendo DS) on 8/16/2015.

Gameplay Hours: ~85

Four youths are entrusted with light from four legendary crystals. With this light they hold the power to defeat the darkness that plagues the land. But is that enough power to fight the darkness?

8/10 – This is a great remake of Final Fantasy III, a game that was not released outside of Japan until this version came out in the US in 2006. Along with drastically improved graphics, the main characters were given actual names and distinguished personalities, along with individual character designs that also reflect in their job changes. The story of the game was also improved upon, especially the dialogue. A lot of detail was also put into the wardrobe of each job. With the exception of a few jobs, not one Black Mage character, for example will look exactly the same as the other. There's always some detail about the clothes that differ from character to character. I really enjoyed that too. And of course, there’s the soundtrack, I wouldn’t consider it a full remake if the soundtrack hadn’t be rearranged *coughocarinaoftime3Dcough* and I’m happy to say that it was and it sounds… well, pretty good. I guess the DS does have its limitations.

Finished watching Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey

Finished watching Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey (2002, Madhouse, 13 ep.) on 9/7/2014.

In this alternate reality sequel of the original series, Prof. Daiba unleashes the Noo, an ancient alien threat from its confines during an archeological mission to the end of the universe. Five years later, this threat reaches earth throwing into motion a reunion of Arcadia's Captain Harlockand his old crew.

7.5/10 - This sequel to the original series, if I can call it that, was actually pretty decent. At least comparing to that piece of garbage prequel known as Gun Frontier. So I guess that means I'll be comparing them both. Why? Because I know there are other shows and movies in the franchise and from what I heard none of them are very consistent with each other so I'm not even going to bother with them. That's why I'm sticking with only these two. Even Outside Legend was a little wonky in terms of continuity, but that's as far as my patience can go. Don't get me wrong, I think the whole Captain Harlock idea is pretty epic, but Leiji Matsumoto keeps annoying me with his inconsistency in this franchise. However, I'm willing to bet this series is the best Captain Harlock spinoff. Now, the reason why I'm not sure whether to call this show a sequel or not is because it behaves like both a sequel and a reboot. The reason why I say this is because the show is supposed to take place after the Mazone arc. Even Yattaran mentions fighting the Mazone in the past, but at the same time the show starts with Pr. Daiba still alive and his son, Daiba yet to meet Harlock for the first time. So basically Harlock defeated the Mazone without Daiba as part of the crew and Pr. Daiba was never killed by the Mazone, but instead... by the new threat known as the Noo. In 13 good looking episodes Harlock pursues this new enemy and I have to say, as a fan I was pretty pleased with the quality of the show. I never got bored, there was always something new happening each episode and the art was clean and crisp. The animation was also well done, specially with the Arcadia turning in some scenes to dodge laser canons. I do think that some other scenes didn't have to be so static though. It would've been nice to see Harlock exchanging a few blows with one of the bad guys as they exchanged a conversation between eachother. Other than what I've mention I really don't have much to complain about with this show. It was very awesome to see the old characters reunite in an updated art quality that would match that of today's anime shows. And as my last visit in my Harlock voyage as a true man, I shall move onto to watching the CG movie that was released recently. Til, then, may the hearts of passionate souls guide you through the stars of the universe.