The Massively Monstrous Manga Review Rhapsody

So, I've decided I'm a pretty terrible manga reviewer. And for good reason, manga is a lot harder (in my opinion) to review than anime. There's a lot more material to cover in one volume than any given episode of any anime. And yet I have a pile of unreviewed anime to get through, as well as all the manga I want to review, because I really want to be a manga reviewer.

So, in order to force myself to review everything I own, and curb my manga spending habits while I work my way towards paying off a few bills I owe on, I've decided to start a new blogging effort.

I swear that I will not buy another volume of manga unless I have reviewed all the prior volumes. 

For some series this won't be too hard. Either I've reviewed all the volumes I own, or I'm only a volume or two off from being caught up. So I'll probably be able to buy new Blue Exorcist, or Bakuman, or Toriko, or Fullmetal Alchemist volumes soon.

On the other hand I think it's time to bid a tearful farewell to ever buying another volume of One Piece again.

Now the only question is, do I start with the small fish, and work my way up to reviewing all the major ones? Or do I start on the large series and hope that I somehow make my way through them? The answer will have to wait for now, since I'm in the middle of spending six hours a day training for my new job, and doing school work. The bonus is that once I finally finish training I'll have plenty of downtime on the job. I'll be working evening shift in a call center, where I've been told there is plenty of downtime between calls. And I've been told that they don't care what you do in between calls, as long as you are focused during the calls themselves.

So I'll have that time, except I intend to use that time to catch up on schoolwork I got behind on during these two weeks of training. I've long since learned that I'm a terrible procrastinator, and the longer I put doing this off the less chance there is of me actually doing it. But I can also see myself flopping off if I try to start it now. As it is, I have other responsibilities to take care of, and I'm so close to graduation that I think a massive manga review catch up can wait for a few months. I only have spring term left, but I'll only be taking one class then, and in between doing that and working I'll be able to get plenty of blogging done.

What I am going to do now is finally catch up on my anime reviews. Watching an episode a day, and writing about it is a bit less time consuming than reading a volume of manga and writing about it. So in order to emulate my insane friend, I'm going to be reviewing an episode a day, maybe even more if I have the time, of all the anime I'm behind on.

Keep in mind that I haven't reviewed Fairy Tail in months. And there are series I haven't even started reviewing that I want to review. So this just might kill me.

Also, along with all that, I've started writing for the Manga Bookshelf in the hopes that coat-tailing more experienced bloggers will give me some more internet notoriety. The weekly column I'm writing is called Combat Commentary. Every week I go through a fight scene from any manga, shounen or otherwise, and analyze how the fights work, and whether they work at all. Since most of the anime I watch and the manga I read is shounen, and generally has fight scenes, I decided that if there was something I was qualified (?) to talk about on a weekly basis, it was this. So I hope you enjoy it, though I get the feeling that I'm getting more readers from the links I post there, as opposed to readers that will be finding my column through this blog.

I'll post links to every new column when they come out (on Tuesdays), in case there are any of you that happen to read my blog and want to keep up to date on what I think of shounen manga (and more) fight scenes.

On Hiatus For Finals

As anyone that regularly reads this blog, or just glances at the most recent posts, knows I haven't been the best at keeping up to date with current episodes and whatnot. The main reason for this is that I've been spending more time focusing on school. I did still try to do what I could when I had some free time, but finding myself this close to finals and with a ton more reviews piling up I've decided to make it official. I'm going to be going on hiatus until finals are over. Because of the classes I'm taking there won't be any reviewing, just a lot of paper writing and final projects finishing. This takes a lot of time and needs all my focus. So unfortunately even the series I was up to date on get to be delayed for a little bit, but don't worry, as soon as the semester is over I'll be right back to work.

The good news is that my last final project is due on December 14th. So I only have nine more days before I'll be done with all this. I can't promise that something will go up immediately, but I think I'll be able to get some work done, at least watch a few episodes right after I finish said final. So who knows, it'll only be about two weeks before I have something for you.

Hope you can all hold on until then, and see you soon.

Editorials: Post 300! Or, My Cat is an Idiot, Possibly a Wizard, or a Ninja. NINJA WIZARD CAT!!!

Oh well, two out of three isn't so bad.

I realized the other day that I have exactly 299 blog posts up on my blog. To mark this occasion I decided to write a more personal post. I normally save my writing blog for personal updates, but since no one ever reads that one, I decided a few personal posts here couldn't hurt.

Anime Reviews: One Piece Episode 465 - Justice for the Winners! Sengoku's Strategy in Action!

I just recently managed to catch up on the One Piece anime. Granted I did so by skipping the Impel Down arc, aka/ the arc that made me stop watching for a while in the first place. Not that it's bad, I just didn't enjoy it as much. But since it's been a while that I've regularly watched One Piece I'd forgotten exactly how good this show is. I love the manga, and am generally more a manga than anime fan. But One Piece is a lot better than I remember. In fact, it manages to improve upon the emotions that Oda first put to pen. Especially in this episode. I went from bawling my eyes out, literally crying harder than I ever have for any sad scene in any movie, TV show, or anime, to busting my gut laughing by the end of the episode. Darnit Oda, stop putting me on these emotional roller coasters! I literally had tears running down my face, and it was because of a character that has only been around for one other episode than this one! I had more tears running down my face than any of the characters ever have!

This was me, but with less dignity.

So yeah, One Piece makes me cry and laugh at the same time. Go figure.

I'm considering starting doing weekly reviews for One Piece, though with how behind I'm on my Fairy Tail reviews, I think it might still be a while before I do so. If I don't do weekly reviews, then you can at least expect a few more detailed reviews of the FUNimation DVD sets. But I'm pretty sure I'll start doing weekly reviews. I know this one doesn't look like much, but that's mostly because I just felt like pointing out how this episode made me sob like a baby. It's not the start of the reviews, mainly because by the time I'd get around to starting this set of reviews I'd be so far behind I'd once again be struggling to catch up. So for the sake of not making this any more difficult than necessary I won't start weekly reviews of the One Piece anime until I'm certain that I can keep on top of my already existing Fairy Tail reviews. By then I'll most likely be doing Bakuman weekly as well, mostly because I want to have a complete set of reviews for that series starting with the first episode. So if I start doing One Piece I'd have three series. Not to mention Beelzebub when that one starts.

Maybe I should consider just enjoying some of these series instead of trying to write reviews for each and every one of them? I'm not even sure where I'm leaving myself time for book reviews and manga reviews. I've already mostly dropped reviewing Graphic Novels. Oh well, eventually I'll start zeroing in on a specific genre to review. Though if I can find a way to streamline the reviewing process, I could easily handle several series. I just need to start forcing myself into a schedule, something I have to confess I suck at.

Sorry this review doesn't look as nice as my more recent anime reviews. It's more just a blurb on my part, I promise that when I do start reviewing One Piece (if I start, I'm tempted to just watch this one for the enjoyment of it) it will look much nicer.

Comic-Con 2010

Wow. What an experience. As a first time Comic-con goer I wasn't sure what to expect. I was thinking I'd probably spend a bit of money, get some free stuff. What I didn't realize that with so much stuff to geek out over I would never have enough money, ever. I didn't even find everything that I wanted in the first place.

When I first got to the con, I checked the schedule and saw that there was a panel with Stan Lee in it. If nothing else I wanted to see the man in the flesh at least once, that was one of my main goals for this convention. It was a pretty decent panel, though I wasn't too interested in the project they were talking about, it was a series of animated graphic novels about the Holocaust, but at least it was fun to see him in real life. I got a few pictures, though most of them are horribly blurry.

Unfortunately this was the clearest photo I managed to get of Stan Lee.

After that first panel I made my way down to the floor to look around at the booths, and wait for Raven. It took him a while to show up, but once he did we met at the Funimation booth and I bought one of the Con exclusive Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood T-Shirts, and a thirty dollar grab bag. I got the first twelve episodes of Romeo x Juliet which I don't really care about so much, but it's still nothing I hate. I also got the first volume of the second season of One Piece, definitely loving that, and most importantly, the entire series box set of Samurai 7. Doesn't get much better than that, unless of course they had replaced Romeo x Juliet with the second volume of season one of One Piece, and maybe replace the One Piece DVDs I did get with the third volume of season one, just to keep things in order.


After that we made our way down to the Viz booth, to see if they had early copies of Bakuman available. They did. However, they also didn't have any copies in the booth, instead we had to look all over the place for the book store booth that was selling the Shonen Jump material. Both me and Raven were able to get our hands on a copy of the manga, so be expecting a review of that soon. I was planning on writing the review the first week of August, when Bakuman is coming out. But since I got my hands on a copy early I'm going to write the review a bit sooner. Maybe. I've got a few books I need to get through as well.


We stopped by the Girl Genius booth, which was a thrill for me, since I'm a big fan of the webcomic. I bought their second volume and got it signed. Saved myself three dollars that way.


After we got some lunch we tried to go to some panels, but the lines were so insane, and by then Raven had to head home, so I wandered around the floor for a while, and got some more pictures.

And then I was hugged...

Around six I got into the line for conference room twenty. I wasn't about to miss what was happening in that room at eight. The line, while long, didn't take as long to get through, and I sat through a panel with previews for several new shows coming out, two of which looked interesting, The Cape (?) was one that looked interesting because it was a superhero drama, there was another one that was a superhero drama, and a vampire one that looked uninteresting, and then another that I can't remember the name of, but had decent acting. Look, don't blame me for not having details, I was reading my copy of Bakuman by that point.

I don't know if there was a midget, or a kid inside it, or if it was remote controlled. But it was moving.

Finally eight rolled around and we got to see what I'd stuck around so late for, the world premier of Batman: Under the Red Hood. First off, it was strange, seeing an animated Joker that didn't have Mark Hamill's voice. However, after the initial strangeness of it, John DiMaggio really owned the role, definitely living up to the actors that have portrayed the role before him.


While there really wasn't any surprise as far as the plot goes for me, since I already knew what happens before hand, this movie's strength was definitely the heart. The characters were treated with the dignity they deserved, and the performances by the voice actors enforced this. Visually the movie was spectacular, and there were several moments worthy of applause.


I won't go into depth, as the movie is not out until Tuesday, and I want to avoid spoilers. However, it is available for rent, and I highly recommend that anyone reading this who likes Batman go out and buy the movie. They're relying on DVD sales to continue producing such quality animated movies.

Well, that's about all, except for the last little bit of news, the upcoming direct-to-DVD animated movies from DC:

1. Batman/Superman: Apocalypse - The origin story for the modern Supergirl.
2. Emerald Knights: A Green Lanter Anthology, like Gotham Knight, and the Animatrix, with each entry focusing on individual members of the Green Lantern Corps.
3. All-Star Superman
4. Batman Year One

The last one is especially thrilling for me, because it was the first Batman comic that I really read, and what hooked me on Batman.

Well, I guess that's it.

Oh yeah, I talked to the Funimation booth about the status of Strong World. One of the booth workers said that they do not have the movie but it was only a matter of time, since it's One Piece after all. And according to Funimation President and Founder Gen Fukunaga they are currently in the middle of negotiating the rights to the movie with Toei. Negotiations are going back and forth, said Fukunaga, and Toei aren't the fastest of negotiators, so there is no clear answer to when we can expect a DVD release of Strong World. But with active negotiations occurring I think it is quite obvious that it is indeed only a matter of time before we have our own copy of Strong World.

Now I wish I'd had the presence of mind to ask them if they were going to be releasing any of the other One Piece movies within the near future, or if there are any plans for this. I wish even more that I'd realized who exactly I was talking to at the time. When I saw his name I remembered that he was someone high up in the company, but I didn't realize he was not only the President, but also the founder! Oh well, if we don't see any One Piece movie releases by next years Comic-Con I'll be sure to approach President Fukunaga with these questions.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my post, and I'm definitely looking forward to going again next year. And now to end this with the most epic thing ever.

Bobba Fly and Pimp Vader.

Comic-Con Preview

Well, tomorrow I'm going to Comic-con. I have two goals. Getting my hands on that Dr. Manhattan Statue, in hopes that I can get early copies of not only Mr. Monster, but also, I Don't Want to Kill You.

My other main goal, besides getting the Viz media bag, is stopping by Funimation and asking them a question or two about their anime line up, especially what the status is on Strong World, whether the rumor that they have a subbed copy, and if yes, when will it be coming out, whether online or on DVD.

I want to try and get this on film, so I can post my first video to my blog. With any luck they won't be too busy and I won't be too shy. So I'll let you know how things go.

Off to Comic-Con

Well, I'm heading down to Comic-Con this weekend. I'm cheap, so I'm only going on Friday. I have one goal this time, well two, get a Viz media bag, and find out when Strong World is coming out in the States finally. Or at least when a subbed copy will be released. If Funimation can release a sub of the movie before the fan subbers can, then that will be a definite victory for them.

We'll be traveling down to St George tomorrow, staying the night at a friend's, and then traveling the rest of the way to California on Tuesday. This will be my first time at Comic-Con, so I'm excited. I'll try to post a summary of my experience when I get back home. Until then, I'll try to get the reviews I am behind on posted sometime tomorrow.

I Write Like...

This is a sad, sad day for me. I checked out this website that I found on Nathan's blog. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go kill myself.

Avalon Locke (Whole Manuscript):

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

And it's the same for chapter 1. But for chapter 2:

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

For chapter 3:

I write like
Kurt Vonnegut

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

So I'm thinking...that it only counts the first chapter, or first few thousand words? Either way, I can't get this foul taste out of my mouth.

I wonder what it says for the last chapter?

I write like

Dan Brown

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

OH COME ON!

I have decided, this website hates me.

For Morpher:

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

So in case anyone was wonder, I refuse to believe this website is accurate.

PS: Nathan I hate you for posting a link to this site.

Naruto Volume Seven Addendum

Regarding my comment about the eating live octopus. Turns out it was Korea, not Japan. My apologies to the Japanese people.

Warning: The video linked above may be a bit much for those with queasy stomachs. Granted, I was able to watch it, and given my other review that's saying a lot.

Self Directed Learning: On Journal Writing

For my self directed learning I reread a book I have with excerpts from Wilford Woodruff's journal. Whenever I think of journals and personal writing I always think of him. He was the one who inspired me to keep a daily journal on my mission, and this time I decided to focus on the literary value vs the historical value that his texts have.

The first thing that I noticed about the journals were that not only did they provide a record of his daily life, but because he was extensively involved in the development of the church and the spreading of missionary work they also provided records of larger events of that time. The thing that I found interesting was that he wasn't a historian, much like many of the men and women who wrote journals. As such, whether they had bias it was usually noticeable as his personality shows through his writing quite obviously. He wasn't trying to be objective, instead he was just recording what happened to him each day, and if what happened to him happened to be a historic occasion then it was recorded just like all the more mundane details. As a historical record the journals of Wilford Woodruff, and other Journals, are very unique compared to official historical records. Since they are written as personal writings they aren't influenced by any kind of official agenda. In other words, they are more or less excluded from the conventional wisdom that "The winners write history." As such we get a pretty unique view of history from these journals. It's kind of like a history that offers a comparative view from other sources of history.

Literary wise it isn't surprising how much the writing style improved from the earlier entries to the later entries. Early on it is pretty clear that Wilford Woodruff, while perfectly capable of writing in a coherent way, was not quite as comfortable as he was later on. I've always admired him for his diligence, and thought that the improvement in his writing is a testament to daily practice, no matter what it may be. As far as the overall literary quality goes, it's a surprisingly good read. Normally when I think about journals I think that all of them are as boring as mine, especially if they are daily entries. Because most of the time my entries are never really worth reading because the things that happen in my day really aren't that interesting. However, Wilford Woodruff was able to write in such a way that made even the more mundane days in his journal seem all that much more interesting. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the most important determining factor of literary quality. If your writing keeps people from wanting to read it, then it failed one of its most basic purposes.

Self Directed Study: Renaissance Period

While trying to think of something to write for my self directed study, I thought of something I found on my mission. Since we were talking about the translation of the bible, and I'm doing the poem translation exercise for the second paper, I decided this would be appropriate. The translation difference that I found in the bible, between the King James version and a German translation. The differing translations can be found in 1 John 5: 7-8.

The story that I heard about this difference in translation was that when the English bible was being translated the translator was told to add in a passage of scripture that supports the notion of the trinity. However the translator refused to translate anything that wasn't in the original Latin. So "they" went and added these bits to the scriptures in Latin.

Keep in mind that this really is little more than hear-say and rumor. I have no way of proving this true, but I do know that there is a difference in the translation.

Here, let me show you:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: And these three are one.
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

1 John 5: 7-8

Now here is the same passage from the German translation:

Drei sind es, die Zeugnis ablegen:
Der Geist, das Wasser und das Blut, und diese drei sind eins.

1 Johannes 5: 7-8

Just from looking at word count it's quite obvious that the German translation is quite a bit shorter. Here's the German Translation, translated back into English:

There are three that bear witness:
The Spirit, the Water and the Blood, and these three are one.

This re-translation takes a big chunk out of the King James Version verses. In fact, the entire meaning of the passage is changed. It isn't about the godhead or trinity in any way, but instead in the German version it speaks of only the Spirit, aka/ the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, the influence it has on us, The Water, aka/ The Waters of baptism, and the Blood, aka/ The Blood shed for us, the atonement. Essentially the passage seems to be talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and The Atonement. Only half of what is in the KJV is even mentioned.

I bring this up because it is quite interesting, how different the translation of the scriptures can be, when compared between languages. From the poetry translation exercise I am learning that there is a great difference in meaning just when the words are changed during translation. I don't know what it means when entire sentences are added, or removed, depending on which one, the KJV or the German translation, is actually the more faithful translation, but meaning is definitely changed between translations.

Conduit Day 2

The second day was also fun. I got a signed copy of Monster Hunter International. I'll be posting a review of that later, once I finish it. Overall I have to say it was a rewarding experience, being able to listen to people in the market talking about different subjects. Just listening to other writers and their experiences, and being able to learn from their experience was incredibly invaluable.

That really was the best part about going to Conduit, getting inspiration from other authors, being able to talk to them. It's nice realizing how they aren't afraid of new authors, it's a very open community. Best of all, according to the authors there everyone in the industry is an introvert, which made me realize that approaching them would be easier for me, seeing as how I'm also an introvert.

Oh yeah, and next time I see Dan Wells I'm telling him his maskerade isn't tricking me. That man is a creepy, creepy man. Oh he's friendly, but dang that first chapter of his book I Am Not A Serial Killer is already freaking me out. I'll get into more detail when I review the book. That's assuming that I manage to finish the first chapter.

Conduit Day 1

Well this was the first convention I've been to that I had to pay for. I say "pay" loosely, since I've yet to actually pay for it. Isn't having good friends great? Though when they start threatening to shatter my kneecaps I can't help but feel that the definition of "good" is being stretched just a little.

Conduit is a pretty small Con in Salt Lake. It's mostly focused for writers, and most of the guests were writers, or had connections to the writing industry. Sadly there weren't really any editors attending, though we did have a good time talking to some of the authors there. The main purpose for attending conventions like this is to network with people in the industry, so hopefully there will be some editors we can track down and talk to tomorrow.

Overall the panels were pretty good. I could go into more detail about them, or I could just link to Nathan's blog, since I know he kept better notes than me.

We talked to John Brown for a little bit. He's a pretty cool guy, I'm definitely going to check out his book. As soon as I can afford it. -_-

It was interesting seeing how easily a panel can fall apart. And I gained a new respect for panel moderators who keep things on track, as I've seen how easy it is for a group of writers to loose track and go off on tangents. Though I think that the audience also has a responsibility for not asking questions that go off track.

While fun and informative, my ADD aside, Conduit was a bit smaller than I expected, than any of us expected. Then again, it was worth it to talk to a few of the published authors and to get to know them, realize that being published is in fact possible. On that note I need to get back to finishing my book.

Mistborn Movie Blog

I just found this today. Looks like I'm definitely going to be watching this one for news on the Mistborn movie. They were also kind enough to link me.

Definitely worth checking out.

Mistborn Movie Blog

Viking Swords and Beowulf

Well, this doesn't have anything to do with what I normally blog about, but bear with it. This is for my English 291 Early British Literary class.

Ancient weaponry, especially swords, is something of a hobby of mine. While reading Beowulf, and noticing the importance placed on swords, especially Hrunting, the sword given to Beowulf, I thought it would be a good idea to do a little research into viking swords to provide a little background information to go along with our study of the text.

History

Just to provide a little background, I'll briefly go over the evolution of the viking sword, starting at the Iron Age. At the beginning of the Iron Age, iron replaced bronze as the primary material used to create swords and other weapons. The story of the viking sword most likely used by Beowulf begins with the Celtic culture at the dawn of the Iron Age.

The Celtic sword, several examples of which are shown in the image above, were relatively crude weapons when compared to later steel weapons. Quenching techniques had not yet been developed so iron swords were created using the same forging techniques used to create bronze swords. During this period, however, smiths learned new techniques and slowly discovered the method by which to make steel, which resulted in swords that were harder to break, and more capable of holding an edge.

As the Celtic culture declined, other cultures picked up on their iron and steel working techniques, which led to the creation of several swords inspired by the Celtic design over the course of history. The next step in the evolution of the Viking sword was oddly enough carried on by the Romans.

The Roman Gladius is a fairly iconic sword, that is recognizable even by people with no interest in historical weaponry. It was a short steel sword, similar to the Greek swords, used in close quarters. The Gladius was not the primary weapon of the infantry, who focused instead more on tight formations and the pilum, or spear. Strong similarities can be seen between the Roman Gladius and the Celtic swords, especially in the shape of the grip, which in both cases does not feature a cross piece.

Before the Gladius developed into the Viking sword, however, there was one more evolutionary stage, that also took place among the Romans.

The Spatha was a much longer sword than the Gladius, and was developed for use by Cavalry officers, who would have need of the longer reach the Spatha provided from horseback. Their use was widespread among the conscripted Germanic troops, and found wide use among heavy infantry in later years. Eventually it replaced the Gladius among front line troops, providing them with a longer reach.

The Spatha eventually traveled north, where it was developed into the weapon used by the Norsemen, and Vikings.


Forging and Dimensions

The Viking method of forging blades was passed down from the later Iron Age, around the time that steel was developed. The technique was referred to as Pattern Welding, and was the answer to the two main problems that iron and steel swords had. Iron, while much harder than bronze, was still not quite hard enough to hold an edge. It was a fairly malleable material, but could still be beaten out of shape, and had to be regularly sharpened. Steel on the other hand was much harder and could be sharpened to an edge, and retain that edge. However, it was also brittle, and could easily shatter if the force of impact was large enough.

Pattern welding took the advantages of both materials, and combined them to negate the disadvantages of both. For those familiar with the Japanese style of sword forging, they already now that the Katana is created by folding a harder steel layer over a softer iron core. The folded edge would then be sharpened and hold the edge, while the soft iron on the inside absorbed the vibrations of impact during combat. However, the method of folding the steel over the iron leaves the soft iron exposed on one end. This was not an issue in the case of forging Katanas, as the soft edge was also the inside of the curve, and wasn't used for fighting.

Viking swords, and its predecessors, however were all double edged weapons. Meaning that folding the steel over the iron was never an option, as the edge that would be created would remain the weaker edge. Instead of folding, while a viking sword was forged the smith would take a bar of iron, and five smaller bars of steel. Keeping the iron in the center the smith would then weave the bars of steel around the iron, creating a blade that perfectly encased the iron center, and created a steel shell that could be beaten and sharpened into edges.

Because of this forging technique, Viking swords had both the properties of iron and steel. They were hard, held an edge, and could not be bent out of shape. They were also flexible, and could bend just enough to prevent them from shattering after use.

A common feature of Viking swords was a fuller, which ran down the length (31.5" long) of the blade in the center. It was a groove that served the dual purpose of lightening the blade, but most importantly it served to stabilize the blade, and allow it to keep its straight shape more effectively. To understand how this works it helps to think of the blade as a I-beam.

The I-beam provides rigid support during construction, and is lighter and stronger than just a regular steel beam could be. Because of its shape the three plates of metal prevent each other from bending out of shape. I apologize if I can't really explain it, I'm not an engineer, but this is how it was explained to me by a researcher of medieval weaponry.


Another iconic, not functional, feature of Viking blades can be seen on the pommel, the counterweight at the edge of the hilt. Usually, to some variation or another the pommel featured five nubs arranged along the bottom of the pommel.

Social Role

Oddly enough, the sword was not the preferred weapon of Vikings. Instead the average Viking would choose cheaper weapons such as axes and spears. Swords were reserved for the richer members of society, those that could actually afford them. Beowulf, being a Prince, would definitely be one such who could afford such a weapon.

What's even more interesting is Unferth's gifting of Hrunting to Beowulf. If the sword was even half as magnificent as it is described as, then Unferth was a wealthy man indeed. Even more impressive is the fact that he gave this weapon to Beowulf, and what an incredible gift it was. Considering how Unferth was Beowulf's main challenger, and generally displayed suspicion towards Beowulf, this event marks exactly how much Unferth's opinion of Beowulf had changed. Not only that, but it marked exactly how magnificent Beowulf was, that his deeds were so great that they caused a man who had challenged his claims to not only change his opinion, but to provide Beowulf with such a noble and rich gift.

Random Chat: Collecting

You know, it's kind of funny, but recently I've been downloading a bunch of TV shows, especially anime. I've found that I enjoy hunting down rare ones more than I enjoy watching them. Once I download them it's not so much so I can watch them, it's so that I have them as trophies. So, for me, downloading is like hunting, good quality videos are my trophies.

I think I realized why I'm suddenly obsessed with downloading is because I don't have any money to buy manga anymore. So my collecting obsession is switching over to downloading anime and TV shows.

LTUE Day 3 Review

Well, here we are at the end of the three day convention. I know my reports haven't been that great. Well, too bad. So much has been going on that I've been mentally drained for the duration of the Con.

I didn't go till later in the day, the Con started at nine, I was halfway through karate training at that point. I went home, took a bath, had some food, and around twelve-ish I was back on campus and in the convention.

I started off with a presentation on Family Friendly Anime. Got some new ideas for shows worth watching, especially ones for kids. But a lot of what was presented I already knew about.

Overall, the panels were enjoyable, but nothing really mind blowing. However, I did have fun during the Writing Excuses Podcast recording session. After that I attended the readings of James Dashner and Dan Wells. Some good books there. I look forward to getting my copy of I am not a Serial Killer, and reading The Maze Runner, of which I already own a copy.

There was a panel that I attended that was actually kind of useful, it was about Writing a Good Blog, something I really need to learn how to do. I learned that book blogs can get advance review copies of books if they ask publishers for them. How very interesting...

Let me figure out how to do this, and who knows? I like free things. Wonder if Viz does something similar with manga? Couldn't hurt to try, since I plan to be reviewing individual manga volumes anyway. But if I can get advance copies of their releases, that would be perfect.

Humm...I've found where to contact them. Now let's see if contacting and asking does any good.

I'll keep you updated.

LTUE Day 2 Review

Well, this is coming a little late, while I'm in Day 3 for that matter. But anyway. Yesterday was an interesting day. If nothing else I couldn't keep awake during my last class of the day, Japanese. When I got home I decided to crash for a little bit before I had to leave for the panel I really wanted to attend, Writing in Webcomics.

Since I didn't have German class I was able to attend an extra workshop, Pacing and Structure with Dan Wells. I listen to his podcast, so I came inside while he was talking and couldn't help but think, 'Hey, I know that voice.'

Great workshop, a lot of stuff that I already knew about, but from a different perspective. Reminded me I need to start writing my endings first when I'm plotting a book.

Killer Openings was a good panel. Nice to learn that even professional writers have started their books terribly.

Military on Military Sci-Fi was great. People often don't think about how to properly write military characters. It's really different from writing civilian characters. Got some good notes from this one, not that I intend to write Military SF anytime soon, but I think they're still important to keep in mind.

How to Build Aliens and Monsters was so so. Basically it's all about what the aliens or monsters symbolize. But overall it's always best to write characters for the sake of characters.

After that I went to class, went home, slept for a little, and went to watch Writing Comics and Webcomics. This one interested me, since I'm interested in writing webcomics. Good info here. I was able to get some more enthusiasm for my projects.

Final post coming later today.

LTUE Day 1 Review

Well, I really can't say much. I only got to go to four sessions of the Con, because of work and classes. However, the few that I went to were very useful. Since LTUE is a Con centered around writing, so it's more for writers than fandom, I got a lot of useful tips, I've also thought of some better ideas for my own stories.

Sorry, but my mind isn't working right. I'm just too tired right now.

Fairy Tail OST Review

Well, I finally finished my review of the Fairy Tail Soundtrack for Anime Instrumentality. Makes me feel all professional and everything. Without the money part...please buy things from the amazon links I post?

Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this review, mainly because it involved me listening to the Fairy Tail Soundtrack over and over, which, granted I don't need an excuse for, but it was fun writing down my thoughts of what I was listening to. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

I know I haven't posted much here, but that has to do with the fact that I've been working on this for the past few days. I also have adopted writing several drafts of my reviews first. Sure it will take a little longer for them to come out, but I think they'll be much better written this way.

Can't think of much more to say. Other than, buy stuff! I need money! If you want to read more from me, and you do, don't you? Then click one some links, and buy some stuff. (While you're at it, tell Adsense to unblock me. I learned my lesson alright!?)

Oh yeah, please follow this link for the actual review:

Fairy Tail Original Soundtrack Volume 1 Review