After three years, I think it's time I finally updated this. First off, I suppose I wanna say this site's not completely dead, but the updates will be rare. Whenever I feel like it, to be precise. I've just run out of ideas for content, aside from the occasional game review, which I do really just out of boredom. I should also really put the guitar tab section to rest, as I don't ever plan on going through the painstaking process of writing (or correcting) tabs anymore. By the way, got myself an ESP LTD Viper-407 a few months ago, and it's great. Oh and I really have to say the GeoCities ad windows to the right are really fucking annoying. Sorry.
In the past three years, I've hit level 99 with my Assassin in Ragnarok (no botting), quit, and swore I'd catch up on whatever games I'd missed out on during my Ragnarok binge. I started playing World of WarCraft, hit level 60 with a Hunter on the Gorgonnash server, and quit that after a few months. A few other games I feel the need to mention are the Silent Hill series for their stories and creepy atmosphere. Unreal Tournament 2004 for just being the best DeathMatch experience I've had since Quake II. Half-Life 2 for just being a great game overall, as with FEAR, and WarHammer 40k: Dawn of War for being the first RTS that really makes war feel as dark and gritty as it does. I recently overhauled my system, though my old one was no slouch, it just wasn't keeping up with games like FEAR. Luckily I didn't have to see what Oblivion would've ran like on it, which is a beautiful game by the way. Busted my ass looking for the Collector's Edition, but haven't really started on it yet.
As for anime, I have a few I can recommend. First off, Elfen Lied. It grabbed my attention from the first episode and refused to let go, and ended up becoming my second favorite anime of all time. It's violent, it's depressing, it's beautiful. Watch it, if you can stomach it. The second has to be Honey & Clover. It's a very clever romance/comedy, and while personally I've grown sick of this genre, Honey & Clover takes a very real, human approach to the drama, yet still boasts some of the best comedy I've seen in an anime. It's second to none in that regard.
A few honorable mentions are the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. Picture a well done detective/cop show set in the future. Samurai Champloo for just being plain stylish and cool. Samurai 7 for being a good old adventure anime, as well as Last Exile for being a real treat for the eyes. If you're looking for some manga to pick up, I can also recommend Saikano. I haven't read all of it, but it's shaping up to be my favorite manga of all time. Perverted comedy, yes, but the story itself is really heart wrenching. As of late, I haven't been watching much anime though.
One thing I really want to mention before I finish up this post is Narcissu. It's a visual novel about a terminally ill young man and woman who meet, and are fated to die either in the hospital they reside in, or at home surrounded by fake smiles. The two of them decide neither of them want that, and run away together. While the whole thing seems very simplistic, Narcissu ended up being one of the most beautiful stories I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my life. I'll admit, I got a little misty eyed at parts, but I urge to you to give it a try. It's been translated in English and the original Japanese author has given his permission to allow it to be distributed freely on the internet. When you're done, e-mail me with what you think, won't you?
-Shinji
