Solo Tremaine

[COLOR=#503F86]You've also got the [spoiler]Vizard[/spoiler], haven't you? I doubt they'd stand idly by while their [spoiler]hometown gets trashed by Aizen[/spoiler]. But I'd definitely agree. I'm really excited by the prospect of Urahara's bankai and more stuff from the others back home.[/COLOR]

[quote name='nabgeta']I think it's slowly taking over the food world and will have it's own ice cream one day and be served on French toast....mmmm:o[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]It's been done, funnily enough: [URL]http://www.slashfood.com/2006/08/06/bacon-ice-cream-is-an-udder-delight/[/URL] Can't say I'm eager to try it, as much as I like bacon.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]You are right. It doesn't suck ^_^ Well, I certainly don't think so anyway. It's given me a lot of inspiration and I'm desperately hoping someone in the UK will pick up the distribution rights to the uncut Funimation DVDs. Once I've collected enough I'll do a massive One Piece marathon, hehe.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]Ironically enough, Sasuke and I share the same birthday, according to the databooks...[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]The problem with putting Neji in now is that he hasn't got much plot to drive him. Where before he had the whole destiny/fate thing going on, he's past that and as a secondary character there's little else he has, except fighting. And Byakugan can only entartain so much. I'm much more interested to see Hinata break out of her shell.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Well, I'd certainly love to be a part in this, but being in the UK my Wi-Fi connection may not extend far enough, and also, being in the UK, I'm not getting the game till gone June. Hmm.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I'm a really big fan of Fruits Basket. I even got one of my manga volumes signed by Laura Bailey at an Expo in London last year! Aaah, I was such a nervous nerd >.>; Anyway, there's a lot in it I can really connect with. It's a very emotionally sound manga that draws on a lot of different insecurities and confronts them. In a sense I find it a very 'hopeful' manga, because I can identify with a lot of the feelings inside it and can really empathise with the characters and their struggles. The designs are really lovely too. I've not finished reading it yet. I think I'm on volume 15, but I can't be sure. I'd like to see a second season animated. I know that's incredibly unlikely, but it would be cool ^_^[/COLOR]

[quote name='Desbreko'][COLOR=#4b0082]The really odd thing is that Game Boys (and the DS too I believe) have always been region free. It's only been the consoles that have been region coded. I assume there must be some reason for this but I just can't find the logic in it.[/COLOR][/quote][COLOR=#503F86]I think the reason Nintendo delayed using discs in the first place was because they were worried about piracy, hence why the N64 was the only system still using carts during the original PlayStation era. I imagine it's the same reason DVDs have different regions, to stop people from importing, copying and illegally distributing games. And then you have the different screen colour systems in different areas; you have to make sure your console can deal with both PAL and NTSC and that the TVs it connects to can do the same... Technically, it's illegal in the UK for a shop to sell any game that hasn't been through a rating system (like ESRB), so a store can't just import a game if it hasn't been through the proper systems. And then you have localisation- if you need to wait for a game to come out in French (or [i]British English[/i] please, none of this 'color' malarky) you might as well slap region coding on it too so people really know where abouts the game is from.[/COLOR]

[quote name='medafunk']I definitely do not think that language should affect the quality of an anime at all, or anything else for that matter. If it's good quality, it's good quality. What's important is the story, the writers and the voice actors, and so long as these things are done well, I think that it should be of equal quality, no matter what language it's in. It's not like certain languages are able to express certain things better or anything, right? They're just different ways of saying the same thing. Unfortunately, we still get crappy dubs because of cultural differences and bad translation or whatever... But I guess that existing works will always be better in their original language. That's another thing--there's no way I'd be able to create something in the right way by doing it in a language I don't fully understand--literally and culturally.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Very well said- I agree completely. I guess one of the problems with trying to construct an actual 'anime' (as opposed to an animation in anime style) is that the culture is intrinsically embedded in the series whether you notice it or not. It's in the script, the setting, the characters... trying to create something that emulates it would take a lot of work. [quote name='MaskedRider']I'd make it in Japanese, and let fansubers do the rest. I find dubs can ruin a series, but the fansub creators generally do a good job. I have got to the point where I can hardly watch dubbed Japanese programs.[/quote] But at the same time, if you're creating a script from scratch in English then you wouldn't have the initial translation issues that make some dubs a bit dodgy (i.e. odd intonation, lip-flap and untranslatable phrases and jokes). I'd love to hear something I created in Japanese and watch it with subtitles, but I think I'd create it in English first. Besides, it's not as if all Japanese dubs are amazing. Some of the high-pitched female voices really grate with me. Certainly, with Outlaw Star I much prefer the English dub to the Japanese. It has a weightier feel to it. The problem is that because, generally, when you watch a subbed anime it'll be the first time you see it, and you'll automatically associate that voice with that character; and secondly, not being Japanese, your ability to empathise with the voices will be somewhat impaired in comparison to your well-honed abilities to detect genuine emotion in English voices. So the English dub has to work twice as hard to win you over if you've already heard the Japanese one. [quote name='Miss Anonymous']I wouldn't pick Kajiura, simply because all her work ends up sounding the same to me. Kanno would be a better choice.[/quote]Yeah, I think so. Which is a shame, because Kajiura's music is very nice, but having the same themes appear over and over again does get a bit uninspiring. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle was definitely her high point.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]I think it's an average figure taken from how many posts you've made and how many days you've been here. So if you had a massive period of time in which you were inactive, then your posts per day will be lower than someone who's only been here a few months but posts upwards of three times a day.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]So considering you've been a member since 2002 but only have 301 posts, that'll be why.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Haha, I thought you might :p I know he's not necessarily very good at swordplay, but I like him all the same. A lot of other chatacrers are far more interesting, but there's just something about Hitsugaya I identify with although I couldn't tell you what. I think I have a thing for characters with white hair... But considering he's just had a starring role in a film I'm more than happy to see what the other captains can do.[/COLOR]

[quote name='TwistedChick']With Kishimoto taking such "artistic liberties" with his characters, we could see just about anything from just about anyone at this point.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Well, they are his characters :p He's probably been planning this for a very long time. I don't imagine he just woke up one day when these chapters were coming up and thought 'I know, I'll make Sasuke Lord of Everything'. There's reasoning in there somewhere, heh. Let's hope Sasuke does actually get balanced out somehow (perhaps eliminating his Cursed Seal powers in this battle, or [i]something[/i]), or it will get boring. If there's no jeopardy for the characters then there's no excitement.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE=1]As for Hitsugaya, I think we can just assume at this point he's an idiot who's comparing his own power to that of the Vasto Lordes and assuming it's the same for all Shinigami Captains. God that brat annoys me.[/SIZE][/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Oh, I really like Hitsugaya. I think he's cool; I was hoping he'd pop back in again soon. He has been absent for pretty much the entire Hueco Mundo arc, so it's not as if he's been as major a player as Renji, whom I don't like so much.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I don't think he'll take Itachi's eyes. I think he'll be content just watching his brother die in front of him. If he'd wanted to follow the same path as his brother he'd have killed Naruto already to activate his Magenkyo. Maybe he and Snake get recruited to Akatsuki? That would be the only way to keep the plot interesting, as far as I see it.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Yeah. One of the early gameplay videos I saw was Ike vs Dedede, and Dedede won by just spamming Ike with one attack. To me that smells of inexperience on both counts- it doesn't tell me that the game is shallow or that the Dedede guy was actually any good. I imagine if Ike had more experience and knew how to counter that move properly, the Dedede wouldn't have been so successful.[/COLOR]

[quote name='TwistedChick']I wonder if Kenpachi will ever get that rematch with Ichigo he's been wanting. They're together now. Might he just...?[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Probably not. It would break the flow of the story if that happened now. Or ever, really. To me that just seems like a continuing motivation for Kenpachi to keep Ichigo alive for the rest of the story, so I think it's unlikely it'll actually happen. Much like the many people who promise to fight each other in Naruto, and then don't.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503f86]More to the point, where does Sasuke's story go after this? Let's say he kills Itachi. His character journey is complete, essentially, unless he decides that he does want to go after Madara. If he doesn't, then he has very little left to do except be all-powerful. Orochimaru's gone too, so it's not as if that storyline can go anywhere else until Kabuto comes back. And even then, there's not a great deal either of them can do to each other. Well, Sasuke could cough and destroy half the world (including Kabuto) whilst simultaneously rebuilding it as a giant tribute to his own face, still leaving himself one hand free to do the crossword at the rate he's going now.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]If he loses (and I would have preferred him to), then where does he go? He wouldn't go back to Konoha, and wouldn't be able to fight Akatsuki.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]So, for my own benefit, a list of ongoing story threads/plot carriers:[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Jiraiya's fate and the prophecy[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Sasuke and Itachi[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Team Snake and Kisame[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Kakashi's Magenkyo[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Kabutochimaru[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-Naruto et al and Tobi[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]-The eight-tailed beast[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]Anything else?[/COLOR]

[quote name='Aaryanna_Mom'][B]2. Do you get affected by them, generally?[/B] Not really. The few times it happened, it was usually by someone who in my eyes is still a kid. It's kind of hard to get offended when a child is attempting to tell you off. Being laughed at for doing something like rpging at my age as they put it only served to make me laugh a bit.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]That's the kind of reaction I wish I'd have, but I don't think I've grown up enough yet. I'm still quite protective of the things I do, and, constructive criticism aside, to have someone out-and-out insult it without even looking at it properly is one of the few things that really rile me up. I'm annoyed that it annoyed me so much, because I know he was just being a pretentious arse. I guess it's naive to hope to avoid all kinds of confrontations like that, especially as I'm hoping to become a writer and/or actor, which'll lend itself to people being fanatically spiteful for little to no reason :p[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I'd like to think I'm a tolerant person. But some comments that a guy left on a couple of my YouTube videos really pissed me off. Before you say it, I already know YouTube is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but even so I just wondered why he felt the need to: 1) find my video; 2) watch it all the way through; 3) spend as much time as he did formulating his 'witty' response; and then 4) repeat the process with my other videos, which he thought equally as crap. It just seems completely pointless. Anyway, I deleted them and blocked him- all his videos seemed to be rants to his webcam about the state of politics in the UK- a favourite phrase of his that appeared on my page was 'sucking on Tony Blair's ballsack'. I'm not one for retaliation. I don't think provocation is going to give me any greater peace of mind or sense of achievement, so unless I'm defending myself in the course of an argument or against something completely libellous I'll tend to leave it be. That said, there have been times when I've seen or read something and at least thought 'that was a complete load of crap', but not written anything down. So, my questions are these: [b]1. What have your experiences with rudeness on the internet been? 2. Do you get affected by them, generally? 3. Have you ever been deliberately rude to someone over the Net, and why? 4. Do you think there are times when it's justified? 5. Why do you think people feel the need to make unecessary comments online?[/b] 1. Aside from the above, I've not had that much experience with rudeness, aside from the odd Moderating issue some years ago or annoying people on eBay. 2. For the most part I tend to think they're just being idiots and leave them alone. If it necessitates a response, such as moderating or eBay, then I'll be curt but formal. It was these YouTube comments that for some reason just really annoyed me. It didn't help that they were the trailers for the films we'd made as a company, that we'd spent a very long time over and had a great time making. Granted, they're not even close to Hollywood-quality, but we're only two guys with a camera and they've had good reactions from people watching the proper, full-length film. It just pissed me off that he knew nothing about me or the films or anyone involved, yet felt compelled to make such a coarse, snap judgement. 3. I can't remember if I've been rude to anyone over the net. Probably, but nothing comes to mind. If I have it's probably been in response to something someone else has said. but like I said, I like to think I'm tolerant. 4. Well, perhaps, but there's no reason you can't be intelligent and civil in a response to someone being rude at you. If someone's being really unreasonable and gets you that angry then it's probably just the course of your emotions and you can't help it. I would only really launch into someone if I really felt they deserved it, and that would take a lot. 5. I think having the keyboard in front of you and the text coming on your screen almost illicits a sense that you're talking to yourself, so you're almost seeing someone else write up your thoughts and then going 'Yes, I agree with that', and then post it. So I reckon it's mostly done for laughs or to try and bait a response back to start an argument. The internet is a breeding ground for extreme, blunt opinions, after all :p But can you really feel passionately enough that "OMFG X-BOX IS SO MUCH BETTAR THAN NINTENDO STOOPID EFFIN FANBOI" that you need to troll every Nintendo-orientated video/blog/etc on the net?[/COLOR]

[quote name='TwistedChick']After all, Kakashi is his father's son, the man who "in his time, the 'three great shinobi' of legend paled beside."[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Hah, for a moment I thought you meant he was [i]Jiraiya's[/i] father's son. I was like "OMG, Kakashi is Jiraiya's brother?!", and then I realised that you meant Kakashi's dad, heh. Go figure. I was wondering how well Naruto might be able to develop on his own. You're right, I don't think he has the knowledge to do much by himself except improve his strength, so either Yamato or Kakashi would have to just lay technique upon technique upon him. Naruto can't (or at least, hasn't) used any genjutsu yet, right? Is he incapable of that?[/COLOR]

[quote name='TwistedChick']I understand that the "new sannin" are supposed to be stronger than the old, but it seems exceptionally unbalanced to me. Sasuke was never [I]this[/I] far ahead.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Maybe this will be the trigger for Naruto's latent strength to come through and completely boost his abilities. Not only will he have the key to the Ninetales passed onto him from Jiraiya, but he's always had a much greater will and sense of determination than Sasuke so I think he's still got potential to surpass the Uchiha. Whether he survives or not is another matter. Either that, or Sasuke will be incapacitated somehow, much like Orochimaru with his arms. I'd like to see that to bring some balance to the angsty upstart.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I think, in England at least, there's generally a certain kind of person that'll go in for body modification, and as such, all the ones I've known and met have been very similar (in background, tastes, education, etc), so to me it's individual expression in much the same way that lots of other people express themselves individually in exactly the same way :p And, in the way James said, it goes present a certain image to other people, social stigma or not. Certainly if you're into body modifcation, you're not likely to become a receptionist or somebody who has to work closely with the public and give an impression that needs to appear friendly and welcoming. If you're into creative expression and work by yourself than it doesn't really matter but whether or not you take pride in your own appearance, other people will always see you differently. But the brunt of it is if it means that much to you to express yourself through tattoos or piercings, then don't let other people stand in your way. Personally I'm not into body modification. The most I'd get (and I have thought about it a few times) would be a small tattoo, perhaps on my upper arm of the back of my shoulder. But piercings have no appeal for me. I'm fine with other people having piercings, but while people with heavy body modifcations I'm sure are prefectly nice people for the most part, I just find it difficult to identify with them because I'd never do that to my body. And, perhaps the bain of being raised by a psychopharmacologist and a psychiartrist as my parents, I just wonder about the physical aspects of it. Lip/chin piercings wear the enamel off your front teeth, for instance. Bigger piercings need a lot of maintenance to make sure both they and the body around them stay as they're supposed to. A tattoo will fade eventually and, as I get older, will become a floppy mess that I'll need lasered off if get fed up with it. That's not to say I can't get a decent 20-30 years out of a tattoo if I wanted one (I should hope, anyway), but those things always niggle in the back of my mind. Hair dying is much less extreme, as far as I can see. I've considered bleaching my hair, dying it dark red... and I think it looks very nice on others. A little fleck of blue or pink in someone's hair, something more subtle like that, can often be a better display of individuality than something huge. After all, if you are going to get a huge tattoo that you only have to hide with your shirt all day anyway, is it worth the expense getting it in the first place?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Mmm, in an interview Kishimoto said this year's manga was mostly going to be about Sasuke and Kakashi. Kakashi is fine, but I'd much rather see more of Naruto and Jiraiya (or subsequent lack of) than Sasuke. I just find him a bit... boring. Certainly he seems to be very much of a Deus ex Machina right now.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Sandy'] Oh yes, and the DigiSage Haku from my [I]Digimon Masters[/I] RPG, way way back in the day.[/quote][COLOR=#503f86]DIGIMON MASTERS?! Oh my God, Sandy, I'm so much in love with you right now for remembering that. That RPG was awesome. I have a sudden urge to go back and read it :p [/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]*does so* Aha, [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=21504"]Ryouka, and his Guilmon Chase.[/URL] How cool.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]The character I think I enjoyed playing most was Krystal in Sandy's [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=50425"]OtakuBoards Survivor: Game On![/URL]. There was some really, really enjoyable stuff there and I'm so so annoyed that I had to drop out near the end. I can't even remember why I did now. Anyway, it was such a challenging RPG to take part in that you had to push yourself to the limits of not only the task at hand, but also your characterisation. I had a lot of fun, and in all it's probably my favourite RPG that I've ever been part of.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]I liked playing Fox McCloud in [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=24914"]Don't Shoot The Goombas[/URL], although I don't think I did particularly well in it.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]Of my own RPGs, it's probably a tie between Sabre in [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=41820"]Anime Stereotype High School[/URL] (well, I say mine, but I nicked the idea from Shy) and Flamedramon in one of my Digimon threads. Or Valkyrion in Exodia's Legacy. Ah, I love RPGs that actually finish.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]As for other people's characters, a lot of the finalists for Game On! were amazing. Raiyuu's Ling Xiaoyu and Doukeshi's Lara Croft were wonderful to read. I'm afraid I don't remember many others.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#503f86]Would I revist them? Krystal, definitely. I never felt I properly finished the game, so I was always left hanging a little after that. I've considered revisiting Anime Stereotype High School a few times, but with the amount of writing I'm doing at the moment elsewhere, I can't commit to anything new until I've finished that, as much as I'd love to.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I imagine it's somewhat like West Side Story- Bowser's family moved to the Mushroom Kingdom to escape from problems in his own country and is trying to take over Mario's gang territory. Whether there's some sort of Tony/Maria thing going on between Bowser and Peach is anyone's guess, though. She does seem to let herself get captured rather a lot... In Smash Bros, sees to me that you've got your law enforcement with the Starfox crew, Snake, Samus, Ike, Marth and Meta Knight. DeDeDe seems like some corrupt drugs lord that'll help out whoever pays him enough. I sense an RPG in this somewhere...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I thought that, but Fredo's older than Mike, and Luigi is Mario's younger brother so... yeah :p I'm still really annoyed that there's been no release date announced for Europe and Australia yet.[/COLOR]