Music Be the Food of Geeks

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Anime music is by far one of the most influential genres of our time. For some, it could be motivating, others it could be inspiring, and maybe for others it could be seen as soothing.

As for me, it’s a combination of those three. However, there are some anime soundtracks that I always find myself returning to for nostalgia, good music, and overall, a fantastic anime. Here’s my top three anime soundtracks.

3. “Howl’s Moving Castle”

Hayao Miyazaki is possibly one of the most influential persons ever to exist. His ideas are wonderful, his art style is whimsical, and even the music for his pieces is amazing. I solely chose “Howl’s Moving Castle” because it’s the first musical score I recall when I hear ‘Hayao Miyazaki’.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” follows Sophie on a journey of magic and her fateful meeting with Howl, the owner of a moving, enchanted castle. This movie has gone on to be considered as a Miyazaki classic next to “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro”. The iconic art style creates a beautiful tapestry while melding wonderfully with music crafted by Joe Hisashi. It’s a soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re floating. It’s an overall upbeat soundtrack with some mellow tones which exposes the mood of the movie.

Favorite song: Sky Stroll  - this song just oozes with whimsy that is spread throughout “Howl’s Moving Castle” and features some beautiful violins. It’s an uplifting piece that starts off slow and builds up to something truly upbeat and lovely.

2. “.hack//SIGN”

“.hack//SIGN” was an anime from my teen years, when Toonami was fresh. “.hack//SIGN” took place in an MMORPG called The World and focused on Tsukasa, a boy who can’t log out.  The music in this series is classical and pop themed which fits perfectly, given the location of the anime. The tunes surface old memories of late nights watching this series, relating to the characters who were finding themselves, and trying to understand life through my adolescent eyes.

Favorite song: Fake Wings – ah, the song of my teen years. I would play this nonstop until my speakers were worn out. It has a great harmony accompanied with a beautiful piano and tugs at the heartstrings.

1.”Revolutionary Girl Utena”

Where do I even begin with this soundtrack? With this show? The series revolves around Utena Tenjou, a tomboy at Ohtori Academy who finds herself through endless duels while winning the hand of the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. The anime itself is a brilliant showcase of growing up, philosophy, life lessons, and comedy. The music is no exception.

Crafted by the Be-Papas, the music covers a ton of genres. It has a little something for everyone and it does not disappoint. Even the lyrics are strange, but enticing, riddled with deep layers that tie into the scene that they’re played during. The lyrics give way to hours of translating what it all means while jamming out to some amazing tunes.

Favorite song: Watashi Banbatsu Hyaku Fushigi – this song is raw. This song is every heartbreak you’ve ever endured, every harsh realization about yourself, every struggle you have with yourself, and every single roughness that you have ever encountered in your life. It’s powerful and mind numbingly emotional.

Overall, these soundtracks have shaped my musical tastes and inspired me to write or draw. I hope they give you some inspiration as well and open your minds.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you liked it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what’s your favorite song from an anime?

Deadpool: Breaking Walls and Taking Names

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

You might be wondering where Thursday’s entry is and I assure you, I have an important, validated reason for not writing anything for Thursday.

I went to see “Deadpool”.

Readers, I have been waiting for a “Deadpool” movie for approximately three years, if not more. Three years ago, I discovered Deadpool in the game “Marvel vs Capcom” and out of interest and insomnia, I decided to suit up as the iconic character. After toying around with his crazy fighting style and quick one liners, I was curious about the Merc with the Mouth and decided to do a little research. The more I learned about this charismatic character, the more I adored him and felt bad for him given his life.

Then came the test footage of the “Deadpool” movie and I knew I needed to see this film. Following it was the “Deadpool” video game with its terrible controls and hilarious, wondrous writing.

After three years of waiting, the “Deadpool” film was produced and I didn’t hesitate to see it.

This movie was equivalent to the first lick of ice cream in the summer. It was refreshing from the dark, gritty superhero stories that stuck to the script. Deadpool didn’t stick to the script; he climbed into the audience’s lap and guided them through his adventure of revenge and trying to win back a lost love. It was flavorful with pop culture references, nods to actors and other movies, and smooth with its writing and line delivery. It was appealing from Ryan Reynolds’ figure to Colossus’ steel frame and even Vanessa’s transformation from short haired temptress to geeky, concerned fiancée.

Overall, “Deadpool” was a movie that did not disappoint and excelled beyond my expectations of how this movie would be. If you’re eighteen or over (this movie is definitely not for children due to intercourse, Ryan Reynolds’ dick, gratuitous amounts of female nudity, and more salty language than a sailor can shake his fist at), I highly recommend that you see this movie enough times until your brain is nothing more than witty one liners and pop culture references.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry! If you enjoyed it, please feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what did you think of “Deadpool”?

SDCC 2015: Dawn of the First Day

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Today is the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year. No, no, not Christmas, not Halloween, not even Thanksgiving. Instead, it’s the San Diego Comic Con held in southern California. The San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) is the mecca of all things geeky, nerdy, and pop culture. It’s a melting pot, culminating with many fandoms, cosplays, and enough merchandise to make Santa cringe.

Here’s why everyone wants to be at this sacramental event of all things geeky.

1.The Celebrities

Benedict Cumberbatch, Elijah Wood, Markiplier, Bill Murray, and so many other wonderful performers will be at this year’s SDCC. They will be there for panels, Q&A sessions, autograph and photograph opportunities, and to promote future, wondrous content.

2.The Sneak Peeks

Speaking of which, we have received a new “Doctor Who” trailer in which the Doctor rocks out on a fender guitar, Missy and Clara return, there are new locations underwater and in some strange world, the Zygrons and Daleks are back, and there’s a young woman who asks the Doctor (or ‘old man’ as she calls him) what took him so long; could this possibly be the Doctor’s daughter? She looks much different, but she does have the time lord gene. Regardless, this only just a snippet of what SDCC will show us.

So far we’ve only seen a picture of the upcoming “Sherlock” special, but there will be panels regarding other shows such as “Supergirl”, ”Orphan Black”, “Ash vs Evil Dead”, and so many others.   

3. The Vendors

The Oatmeal, Karen Hallion, recognize these names? These are some iconic Internet artists who have spoken the truth to us through fanart and original work. They will be at SDCC in their respective booths alongside Thinkgeek, Cyanide & Happiness, and other wonderful exhibitors. The only downside to this is making sure you don’t drain your bank account and your wallet.


4. The Cosplays

Cosplaying is an art form that anyone can participate in. There have been tons of outfits that have inspired fans, motivated people to enter the world of cosplay, and artistic versions of beloved characters. In the past, we have seen beautiful almost immaculate cosplays. Here’s hoping we see many more for this year’s SDCC.



5. Exclusive Merchandise

Every year, SDCC unleashes unique merchandise that can only be found at the con or online at a higher price (depending where you go).  So far there’s the limited edition Snoopy flying ace figure, World of Warcraft plushies and figures, Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as action figures, and much more.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, comment, critique, and subscribe.

So tell me, what would you do at San Diego Comic Con?

Hottopic + Thinkgeek = HotGeek?

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Thinkgeek and Hot Topic are two popular stores that sell pop culture items. Thinkgeek, up until this point in time, has only existed on the Internet, but all is about to change. Just recently Hot Topic purchased Thinkgeek.

Hot Topic used to be the central for all goth and punk related apparel in the 90s; a store that made my Catholic parents cringe. For me it was a paradise to try something new in my life from wearing belts laden with skulls, chokers, and wristbands adorned with band logos. Needless to say they weren’t too thrilled about this venture in my life, but what do you do when you’re a teen? You rebel against society and throw the horns and middle finger to the man. Then later on you realize that the man is your boss who pays you to do a service and you need said money to live and buy more chokers.

As the years rolled on Hot Topic slowly changed, starting off by selling anime, Justin Bieber, and Nyan Cat merchandise. Not too long after, Disney crept its way through the doors and soon the store sold all things geeky. Of course there’s nothing wrong with geeky (I’m a geek myself) and naturally, the store changed to fit the times. From its evolution, Hot Topic has lost its gothic and punk roots thus upsetting people everywhere who grew up with store.  It also doesn’t help that Hot Topic has thousands of rumors on Google of stealing other people’s artwork to incorporate into their own merchandise.

Thinkgeek is a site that also radiates geek from its merchandise to its tag line. Over the years it has gained quite a reputation as being the go-to online store for all things geek. It has served as the ultimate proprietor of unique gifts for the pop culture population from Firefly to Star Trek and has definitely helped me for birthdays and Christmas.

People have complained that both stores are going to ruin based on how expensive everything is from mere key chains to t shirts. Shipping prices have escalated, jumping from five dollars to seven and even with discounts that still doesn’t help. Some have even noticed the quality of the items are declining, making them wonder what exactly are they spending so much money on.

Now that these giant geeky stores are merging, who knows what will happen?  Maybe we will finally have a Thinkgeek store or Hot Topic will start selling unicorn meat and Lord of the Rings’ weapon replicas. Maybe we’ll finally have reduced prices or witness the return of the 90s goth and punk paradise. Either way, this merge could be a bright future or distasteful disaster for both outlets.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you think of Hot Topic buying Thinkgeek?

Under the 8 bit Sea

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Before we begin tonight’s entry, I would like to inform you all that I’m adjusting my posting days. I will still post on Fridays, but I will no longer post on Mondays because of my extended work hours that day. Instead, I will be posting on Tuesdays. So from now on the new posting schedule is every Tuesday and Friday. With that being said, let’s delve into tonight’s post.

8 bit gaming never left us and over the years, it has found its way back into our lives. My last entry focused on an 8 bit adventure and now today, I present you with another one.

Scuba diving has always been a past time of strapping on swim masks and diving down to see what lies beneath the waves.  In Deep Loot, you get to do just that, but instead of admiring the majesty of manta rays or the beauty of bottle nosed dolphins, you get to treasure hunt.  Released this year for mobile devices for literally nothing, Deep Loot allows you to explore an endless ocean and complete eighteen sets of treasures. Some of these collections are references to pop culture; for example, one set is the Discord Diamonds (aka the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic the Hedgehog) and another set is Galactic Artifacts featuring a Futuristic Screw Driver (aka a Sonic Screwdriver from Doctor Who).

As you dive there are movie references scattered throughout the ocean. One movie reference that caught me off guard was a sunken Statue of Liberty from the original Planet of the Apes. These nods to classic cinema make the game more interesting and add a spark of humor as you fight off jellyfish, sharks, and other sea creatures.

While collecting treasure, you earn coins for each piece you obtain. Yet the game easily eats up your hard earned money as you’ll often find yourself roaming to the store purchasing packs of keys for treasure chests and more air supply packs. Of course you can upgrade your boat, suits, weaponry, and drill, but after a while they become quite pricey. Knowing that you need the upgrades to continue completing the collections you ask yourself: is it worth to spend $1 on 100,000 coins?

I’ve managed to complete eight out of the eighteen collections, knowing that I have many more pieces to find. The gameplay is fun, but at times irritating due to the random onslaught of fish attacking you. Very rarely, this can lead the game to freeze and force you to end your dive. Thankfully, you still make out with your loot, but you’ve lost an opportunity to discover more treasure.

Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10. It’s fun, highly addictive, but can its rare freezes can be remedied.