Rave Master

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. I've had a pretty full plate between work and my personal life and its definitely cut into my anime time. For the past couple of weeks now I've been watching Rave Master (Groove Adventure Rave). This has been a pretty entertaining series to watch; I just wish I had a little more free time so that I could've finished it quicker.

The story follows Haru, a teenage warrior from Garage Island who has been given the title of Rave Master. The duty of the Rave Master is to destroy the Shadow Stones that are plaguing the world with evil. As Haru embarks on his quest to locate all of the Rave Stones, he comes across some interesting friends along the way. As Haru and his friends continue their quest to find the Rave Stones, they each begin to see how their individual quests are very much connected. Haru begins to learn the history of his family and why his father abandoned him, Elie learns the origins of who she really is, and Musica learns the connection that the Silver Ray has to the Rave Stones.

The story is fairly linear and there aren't a great deal of twists. For someone who doesn't have the energy to sit through a show that requires a lot of thinking, this one ended up being perfect for me. The character development was average for the most part and the story went at a fair pace. The animation style did give me the feeling that I was watching a show more for older kids than adults, very much like Naruto. As a whole though, this was an enjoyable series to watch and didn't feel like a waste of time. It has also heightened my interest to play the game on GameCube now that I know the characters and the story. I recommend watching this for people who are fans of shows such as Shaman King and Dragon Drive.

Lunar The Silver Star Harmony

Well I ended up spending the better part of this past weekend in bed trying to get over a cold. Surprisingly, I didn't even have enough energy to sit on the couch and watch any anime. After having a long chat with my younger brother on what we liked and disliked about the different gaming platforms on the market, I started to have some renewed interest in my PSP. I figured why not dust off the handheld and give the battery a charge. Currently I am in a strategy/RPG phase so this was a perfect time to put some gameplay on my PSP.

I picked up Lunar Silver Star Harmony back in March 2010 when it released. Being a lifelong fan of the series I had to add this title to my collection. I remember getting the Silver Star Story Complete edition on Playstation when it came out a number of years ago and was very excited to see the graphics overhaul on the PSP title.

For the most part, the game remains the same as its original counterparts (PSX, SEGA Saturn, SEGA CD). The story still follows Alex on his quest to become the Dragon Master. The real notable changes are the graphics and the world map. The graphics are much cleaner and pleasing to look at. The world map removes the need to explore in order to locate cities. Now players just push the direction buttons and a cursor will move to the available cities/destinations.

For those who are fans of the series, this is a great title to add to your collection. While I have seen mixed reviews, most of the negative comes from people who either hated the series to begin with from it's early days, or were expecting a remake with a tonne of "new" features that separated it from the original. While I can appreciate the desire for change on classic titles such as this one, the updated graphics and loyalty to the original story were exactly what I was hoping to see with this game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

Turtles in Time is one of those classic games that you can't help but pick up when you want a shot of nostalgia. Over this past weekend I found myself overcome with a lot of stress. In an attempt to try and find some relaxation I decided to dust off the old SNES and throw this title in. In terms of the gameplay, Turtles in Time is a 2D beat em up. Players choose between one of the 4 turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo and progress through a series of levels from the past, present, and future.

Fans of the franchise will recognize many of the characters from the original series. As a kid when I use to play this game, getting through the hard mode was a huge challenge. Having had some more gaming experience over the years, playing through hard mode this weekend was a walk in the park. Turtles in Time still serves as a great title to casually gain and pass the time.

Let’s Duel!! I mean Gamble!!

Rio: Rainbow Gate is about Rio Rollins Tachibana, aka “The Goddess of Luck”, a female dealer who aims to be the best dealer of the world while she brings luck to the casino resort, Howard Resort she works for. However, it doesn’t end there. In addition, she specializes in every game there is to offer at a casino and even once she doesn’t know that exist. This is not the point because she has special power “Roll Ruler” to bring luck to others and control things... (kind of like Yugi and his dueling thing) which I’m sure would be considered cheating at by any gambling facilities. Anyway, it’s about how she battles others to collect these “Gates" cards to become the World Top Dealer or MVD (Most Valuable Dealer) or something like that.

What actually caught my attention is the basic idea of how they bring gambling into an anime, similar to an older series I watched a number of years back – Hikaru No Go, which was about an ancient Chinese game – Go. I loved Hikaru No Go. It’s something relatively simple yet it is quite complex to execute it well. In the case of Rio Rainbow Gate, it didn’t really. I did a bit of research so Rio is based on a gambling game – pachinko that Tecmo made. This is the same developer that brings us Dead or Alive and its other stuff like volleyball and what not. As illustrated above this is one attractive female character, which is fine as there are many series out there based on characters as such. So naturally they included lots of fan service as well which makes sense. However! There is actually a plot to it too. What I’m trying to say is that this series doesn’t have a clear direction with a lot of elements that are necessary. Examples: the extra number of side characters like Jack, or the Cowboy side character who don’t really serve much of a purpose in terms of the plot. This brings me to my next point. There is an overload of characters in this series, which is not bad to look at but there aren’t any character development for them so as far as the plot goes, they can be ignored.


If you were looking for fan service, I actually wouldn’t bother either because I’m sure you can find better stuff. So who are its target audience, which is something I have not really figured out. Again, I like how the series brings in the different gambling games for those who don't gamble and are interested the basic concept of games such as Black Jack, Poker, etc. Unfortunately, about half of Rio Rainbow Gate features actual gambling games while others are random stuff, so it’s not for everyone. In terms of the music, the opening and ending are pretty catchy. I haven’t seen any clips of the series for awhile and I still remember how it goes.


This sounds like a bad show. It sort of is and there is a second season. I am not certain why, unless the first season received a huge positive response, which don’t seem to be. I wouldn't say I wouldn't recommend to people but for anyone who is reading, this may not be your cup of tea. But, you might just be looking for something else. Hopefully, Rio can use some of her luck and make the second season better.

The Law of Ueki

So let me begin by saying that there really wasn't a lot at the beginning of The Law of Ueki to keep me captivated. It wasn't until about half way through the first season that I really started to get into the show. The story is premised around Ueki, a seemingly normal boy who inherits celestial powers in order to compete in the Celestial Tournament. His sponsor for the tournament is a teacher named Mr. K who Ueki admires greatly. The special power that Mr. K bestows on Ueki is the ability to turn trash into trees.

I know....when I heard this for the first time in the show I thought it was going to be a stupid power too. It turns out that as Ueki develops his celestial powers, this stupid sounding trait becomes pretty cool. Ueki also turns out to be a Celestial as well, which essentially gives him two forms of power that the other fighters in the tournament do not possess. All of the fighters are competing in the Celestial Tournament so that their candidates can become Celestial King and they can be granted with the Power of Blank.

There were a lot of really good qualities about this show. The animation style was what initially got me to watch this series. After looking at a few pics online, I was sold enough to take some time and watch a few episodes. I also enjoyed the soundtracks for the two opening themes. The only real drawback to this show was that it took too long to really get rolling. Luckily I hate to abandon shows once I start them or I might now have gotten far enough into this series to find its hidden potential.

As a whole, the show has a fair amount of not too violent action and an interesting/different kind of story. It is worth watching but just be patient at the beginning of the series. Season 2 is a little more interesting and continues right where season 1 left off.

So with all that being said....what celestial power would you choose? Watch the show and comment below.