#but you can tell in this case it's almost 100% the original dialogue/spirit of the text and that adds to it for me

[unluckyxse7en]

No context

[frostiifae]

fehs problems vs fate go's problems? ive always seen fgo as the superior gacha because its writing is actually decent/sometimes VERY good (camelot!) but i know it has problems so like... which is worse in your humble opinion

well i mean you know already i think fgo is a dramatically better game overall… but idk it’s like, fate grand order isn’t an amazing game probably 85% of the time, 15% of the time it’s Camelot or Babylon or the Kara no Kyoukai collab event (which is fucking awesome, by the way), but the other 85% it’s just a pretty decent gacha game, and that makes it really tragic how short heroes still manages to fall comparatively 

being real fgo has two really serious weaknesses, one is the really inconsistent character design where some of them are awesome but a lot of them are just really gross and awful; the other is the inconsistent writing, which shows in grossness in characters like blackbeard etc and just the general cishet Bad Anime Fan pandering

and then, lesser weaknesses: 

 - the gacha in fgo is really unforgiving with no pity rates and with spirit origins being really hard to get for even big whales - i think you’ve already talked about the good ol’ Sold My Car For Jalter horror story, and others like it - the battle system isn’t super deep and also has some kind of weird idiosyncrasies, like the fact that you can’t see ‘star absorption’ as a stat on servants even though it’s a VERY important stat to understand, or needing to press ‘attack’ to see crit star distribution but not being able to go back to use skills afterward… but some of those things get fixed later in the game’s lifecycle, thankfully 

but compared with heroes… it’s easy to say that heroes has “bad writing” (and it does) but that doesn’t really tell the complete story. like… in my case, marisa was a character i had been looking forward to for a LONG time, even saying i might try to pull for her +10 when she was released (she’s a tempest trial unit, so of course i CAN’T do that, but oh well). once i finally got her, though, i really couldn’t do much with her. just… level her up, give her a skillset that sounded good, and then try to use her in any situation where it felt like she might work. that’s kind of all. it was honestly a let down, and that feeling repeating itself across a few characters contributed a lot to my decision to drop the game.

heroes has a lot of mechanics that compare straight across to grand order; tempest trials are like grand order events, complete with bonus servants vs. bonus heroes - but grand order events have a lot of writing and storytelling, commemorative CEs with charming character art in silly situations/costumes, and give away free welfare servants that are almost universally amazing - ryougi shiki, santa arturia alter, kintoki rider, scathach assassin, even chloe einzbern are all AMAZING top-tier servants that they just GIVE to you for free with max ascension/NP level materials. tempest trials tend to give you lackluster units and you have to spend a lot of materials just to get a +1 merge, meaning they’ll never really reach their full potential compared to a gacha hero. 

hero merit is basically the same as bond xp, except hero merit gives you feathers, but bond xp gives you new dialogue, expanded profile information, saint quartz, and a commemorative Craft Essence for a servant when you max it out. heroes has the accessory system now, which allows you to decorate your heroes with little trinkets you earn from events, while grand order has new arts for every ascension plus there will be event outfits later that you can earn and put onto your servants permanently, and while there are a more limited number of them, they’re designed specifically for that servant. 

there’s a pattern here - heroes just doesn’t really… do anything exciting. it has a lot of the same ideas as grand order, but it doesn’t seem to understand what makes those ideas fun or why players want to play their game at all. there’s no heart to fire emblem heroes. it’s empty and soulless by comparison. 

i worked really hard on my eirika, on my lachesis, on my kagero and my marisa, because they were characters that i really loved. the game only really provided my one way to show that love to them: leveling them and burning very expensive skills through inheritance to make them better. pulling for duplicate copies. it’s unfulfilling. i don’t get anything and the game doesn’t really change to reflect the love i have put into the characters that i care about. 

you can take one look at my support lineup in grand order and understand who my favorite servant is right away. same for ellie. same for you. 

i’m so excited to get jeanne alter’s bond CE. i know exactly who i’m going to Bond 10 after jeanne alter, too! tamamo! i’m gonna grail tamamo to 100, too! because i have that option. i can just pick characters i love and break the game’s rules to make them more powerful. the game gives us mechanics to demonstrate how much we love our favorite servants, and then the ability to show off how devoted we are to them and how much we are willing to invest into them. it fosters a community of celebration and excitement that heroes does not and probably never will have.

yeah, heroes is riddled with problems; pvp is a bad idea for gacha games, the power creep is literally ridiculous, event hero design is bad especially when children are involved, gross pandering dialogue, event heroes almost ALWAYS remark about how uncomfortable they are in their event outfits and people apparently LIKE that, the writing is forgettable at best… but all of those things are secondary to the core failure of fire emblem heroes, which is: it’s heartless. it’s a black hole for you to throw money into in the vain hope of feeling like you’ve done something for your favorite characters. 

maybe they’ll get better at that over time, but honestly, i don’t think it will make much of a difference, and i just don’t think they care enough.

[dipulb3]

Polk React soundbar review: Built-in Alexa for your TV speaker

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/polk-react-soundbar-review-built-in-alexa-for-your-tv-speaker/

Polk React soundbar review: Built-in Alexa for your TV speaker

I’ve had a voice assistant in my house for the past few years and it’s hard to know how I ever did without it. The whole family uses it to turn off the lights, ask for the weather or, to my horror, listen to endless amounts of Spotify-skewing pop music. The Polk React brings the convenience of Alexa into a TV-friendly, soundbar form. The essential question is: Do we really need a TV speaker that’s also an assistant? 

Like

Amazon Alexa onboard works well.

Excellent sound quality for the price.

Smart looking design

Don’t Like

Only one HDMI input

Optional sub and surrounds are costly.

The new React follows up Polk’s original almost-but-not-officially-an-Echo soundbar, the Polk Command Bar. The React differs from the Command because it doesn’t include the wireless subwoofer — it’s just a single bar. The React sounds very good and is equally comfortable with movies and music, and its integration with Alexa is even slicker than before. The result is a well-rounded package for your money.

But back to that essential question. Honestly I prefer keeping my assistant in a separate, dedicated speaker. Ask Alexa a question on a hybrid device like the React and the audio grinds to a halt while the assistant does your bidding. That can be annoying, especially when you have to interrupt your The Nevers session to ask a related question.

Then again, you might prefer an all-in-one solution, in particular if you don’t already have an Alexa speaker in your living area. And the React is a better value than the $400 Sonos Beam, another Alexa-powered soundbar, although it lacks Sonos’ multiroom chops. At the time of publication the React is available for $200, and if you want to improve the sound you can add an optional sub ($180) and/or the SR2 surrounds ($180), providing a nice upgrade path for the future.

What’s in the box?

The Polk Command Bar lacked the stylishness of the Sonos Beam, but the React smooths out the awkwardness with touches like its soft, woolen grill. The distinctive central ring section remains — with volume, action and on/off buttons set in a circle that looks like the top of an old-school Echo — but the activity light is now an illuminated bar across the front edge. 

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

The bar itself measures 2.2 inches high, 4.76 inches deep and 34 inches wide. The soundbar is wall-mountable by way of keyhole keyhole mounts on the back. The audio section consists of two midrange drivers, two tweeters and two passive radiators underneath for added bass.

Inputs run to a single HDMI (ARC) output, an optical input for TV audio, Bluetooth, and a USB that’s strictly for firmware updates. I do wish it had the Polk Command Bar’s second HDMI port, which is a boon for users with multiple devices. The unit also offers Wi-Fi connectivity, though not Ethernet, for connecting the voice assistant to the Internet. 

Ty Pendlebury

The React includes Amazon’s Multi-Room Music compatibility in addition to Spotify Connect, but sadly no AirPlay or Chromecast built in. I did appreciate that song requests via Alexa can be played through Tidal by default, though.

The React can work with an optional Sub and/or surround speakers.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

The optional wireless Polk React Sub is hefty, akin to the one I saw on the JBL Bar 2.1 Deep Bass, and it costs a pretty penny, too, at $180. The large 16.5-by-8.6-by-13.7-inch box has a 7-inch woofer onboard. 

Meanwhile optional rear speakers come in dedicated Left and Right versions and feature 10-foot long power cables. The speakers, shaped vaguely like a glasses case, are finished in gray marle and measure roughly 8 inches long by 4 inches square.

For a relatively inexpensive soundbar, the remote control is pretty comprehensive. It’s chunky but in a functional way and it offers plenty of control capabilities — even for the levels of the rears and the sub. These latter controls could also be seen as a not-so-subtle upsell attempt.

Interacting with Alexa

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

In the time since the introduction of voice assistant-enabled soundbars, I have some second thoughts on the technology, as have seemingly many manufacturers. There are two major reasons. First, people probably already have a digital assistant in their living room by now, because they’re reasonably cheap. Second, the sound from the main speaker “ducks” or mutes whenever you issue a command, meaning your show or movie is interrupted. 

Those caveats aside, the Polk React was relatively painless when it came to issuing commands, hearing my “Alexa” wake word even when at the highest volume. The speaker doesn’t mute completely when it ducks, meaning you can still sort of hear what’s going on. Queries were quickly resolved and so the interruption wasn’t as great as with other smart soundbars I’ve tested, such as the Yamaha YAS-209 or JBL Link Bar.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

If you don’t want to use the remote you can also use your voice for all of the controls, including the ability to alter the sub and rear volumes. In a related fashion, the only thing that irked me during setup was that neither the soundbar nor the subwoofer manual tell you how to sync the peripherals. Hopefully the company can fix this for its May release, but if you’re stuck you need to press the sync button on the soundbar for 4 seconds, then the synching device’s for 4 seconds, and then touch the soundbar’s button quickly again.

A night on the couch

As with the excellent series of TV speakers before it, the Polk React is equally at home with movies as it is with playing music. The array of quickly-changeable sound modes means that you can ask Alexa on the fly if you want to boost intelligibility (voice volume) or bathe in pseudo-surround sound (movie mode).

Sadly, I did not have the Sonos Beam on hand for direct comparison, but I did have two subwoofer-less soundbars, the Vizio M21D-H8 ($150) and the JBL Bar 5.0 Multi Beam ($350), that bookend the Polk in price.

I started my testing with one of the most memorable sequences from a superhero movie — up there with Superman flying around the world backwards — which is Wonder Woman going “over the top” of the World War I trenches (1:14:00). Bullets fly as our hero strides confidently through the mud before bracing herself with the help of her shield for a machine gun assault. The scene brought me chills.

The Polk was able to capture the movie’s epic sweep, the soundtrack swelled and bullets zinged, but I did miss some of the oomph and immersiveness a larger system could bring. In comparison, the Vizio wasn’t as clear and didn’t have as much bass. It simply felt a little underpowered for this scene, even with the oft-reliable DTS Virtual:X processing employed.

But it was the JBL Bar 5.0 which sounded the most majestic in this test. With the JBL’s Smart Mode turned on, dialogue was still clear but bullets whizzed around the room in a way that they didn’t with the other two bars. There was also plenty of bottom end for the shells that exploded around our friends as they approached the German line.

With this and other material I found that the Polk offered the best compromise of sounding full for a reasonable sum, but the JBL was the better home cinema speaker. Maybe it could be worth the extra $100 for movie watching, but not if you want to listen to music.

Like other Polk’s before it, the React is able to tap out a tune very convincingly. Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand sounded natural and balanced on the Polk at every volume level. While the JBL can go much louder than the Polk, its musical performance came with sonic artifacts. The bass line started to distort and become synth-like beyond only halfway up the dial.

When I added the optional sub and rears the Polk was at its best, as you would expect from a system that now costs $650. The benefits of the sub and rears could be felt whichever kind of material I was listening to, sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, Dead Can Dance’s Yulunga Spirit Dancer, especially in Movie mode, was as enjoyable as ever — the world-music-tinged tune sounded huge, and it was hard to believe it was coming from a soundbar system.

Should you buy it?

With the Polk React the manufacturer has given users a clear upgrade path, a rarity in this category, by offering the optional sub and surrounds. If you have to choose between the two it’s a tough call. If you mainly watch TV sports or dramas, then the surrounds will make the most difference as they give the listener the greatest sense of immersion. On the other hand if you like your music loud or your action movies explodey, then it’s the sub you should get. 

Without the optional speakers, the Polk React offers excellent sonics for a single bar with a smattering of great features for the money. For people who want a hybrid Alexa speaker, it’s another satisfying system that lives up to the smart soundbar legacy created by the original Polk Command Bar.

[moosterrecords]

In the firmament of rock 'n' roll's first-generation creators, no artist looms larger than Chuck Berry. In a consistently innovative recording career that spanned more than 60 years, the iconic singer-songwriter-guitarist, who passed away on March 18, 2017, laid much of the groundwork for modern rock 'n' roll, while creating some of rock's most distinctive and enduring anthems, from “Johnny B. Goode” to “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Rock and Roll Music” to “Reelin and Rockin’,” and many more. Geffen/UMe are paying tribute to the immortal spirit of Chuck Berry with the ultimate vinyl version of his landmark greatest hits compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight, with The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition. Available today, the five-disc vinyl box set housed in a textured box, complements the original two-LP, 28-song compilation with an additional LP, More Great Chuck Berry, containing 14 more hits, rarities and B-sides missing from the original, as well as a rare live album, Oh Yeah! Live in Detroit, available on vinyl for the first time. The collection also include a newly created bonus ten-inch EP Berry Christmas, featuring four holiday-themed classics on "Rudolph-Red" vinyl, with one song on vinyl for the first time as well. A limited edition version on “Chess Blue” vinyl, limited to 500 copies, is available exclusively via UDiscoverMusic.com. Order The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition now: https://lnk.to/Great28SDE Berry's recordings for Chicago's seminal Chess label have been extensively anthologized in the CD era. But for many Berry devotees, the two-LP vinyl collection The Great Twenty-Eight remains both a sentimental favorite and a definitive document of Berry's musical genius. It's no wonder that The Great Twenty-Eight was ranked number 21 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," the highest-ranking hits compilation on that list. For those interested in the original 28-track edition of The Great Twenty-Eight, it is now back in print in its original two-LP format for the first time since its initial release in 1982. Order The Great Twenty-Eight here: https://UMe.lnk.to/Great282LP The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition also includes a handsome 12" x 12" book featuring a special introductory essay by Keith Richards, a new essay by best-selling author and SiriusXM host Alan Light, complementing Michael Lydon's liner notes from the original version of The Great Twenty-Eight, and reminiscences from DJ Lee Alan, plus complete U.S. single, album and EP discographies. The text is enhanced by reproductions of Berry's original LP cover art and rarely-seen photographs. As Light writes, "When The Great Twenty-Eight was released in 1982, it was immediately recognized as one of the essential albums in rock 'n' roll history... Enter this edition of The Great Twenty-Eight, with thirty more Chuck Berry recordings—the Great Fifty-Eight, as it were—fleshing out the story of rock 'n' roll's poet laureate while also demonstrating, through the addition of a riveting live album from 1963, his power as a stage performer...  The opportunity to spotlight additional facets of his music is the greatest contribution to his history that this collection offers." A survey of Berry's first decade of recording on Chess, the original The Great Twenty-Eight contains 21 singles along with six of their b-sides and one album track from Chuck Berry in London. Of those singles, eleven were top ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart and ten were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. During his Chess years, Berry created a massive—and massively influential—body of work that includes countless beloved classics, from "Maybellene" to "Roll Over Beethoven" to "Johnny B. Goode" to "Memphis, Tennessee" and beyond. Indeed, Berry's music is so deeply ingrained into our culture that NASA launched "Johnny B. Goode" into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft as a representation of the sounds of the human race for the benefit of our cosmic neighbors. All of these songs are included on The Great Twenty-Eight, which also includes the ubiquitous hits "Rock and Roll Music," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "No Particular Place To Go" and many others that have become part of the collective consciousness. More Great Chuck Berry comprises 14 classic Berry tunes not included on The Great Twenty-Eight, including the sultry, simmering number "Wee Wee Hours," the original flip side of "Maybellene"; "My Ding-A-Ling," Berry's only No. 1 pop single; "Too Pooped To Pop (Casey)," the top 20 R&B A-side of "Let It Rock"; the Top 10 R&B hit "No Money Down"; the celebratory "Promised Land"; and the rollicking "You Never Can Tell," which earned cinematic immortality as the accompaniment to John Travolta and Uma Thurman's twist in the film Pulp Fiction. Oh Yeah!: Live In Detroit is a thrilling, rare concert performance from October 1963, celebrating Berry’s return to the stage after a break from performing. With support from local DJ and TV host Lee Alan, Berry, backed by Motown's Funk Brothers rhythm section and horn players, recorded the live album during a series of performances at Detroit's Walled Lake Casino. Returning to the spotlight after a year-and-a-half brought out an energy and intensity in Berry that can be heard clearly in this historic 12-song set, which launches with "Guitar Boogie" and includes "Let It Rock, "Too Much Monkey Business (available for the first time in the U.S.)," "Johnny B. Goode," Sweet Little Sixteen" and a lengthy, edge-of-chaos medley, as Berry feeds off an audience that sings along with nearly every track. Throughout the show, Berry tells jokes that slyly address racial tensions. But the record was scrapped at the time and has been previously only available as part of a limited-edition CD set; this marks its first time on vinyl, and as any kind of standalone release. The bonus EP Berry Christmas collects together four Christmas classics on "Rudolph-Red" vinyl. The 10-inch disc features Berry's chestnuts, "Run Rudolph Run" and "Merry Christmas Baby" along with "Christmas" and "Spending Christmas," the latter making its vinyl debut as it was previously available only in a limited-edition CD box set. Bob Dylan once called Berry "the Shakespeare of rock 'n' roll." John Lennon stated, "If you tried to give rock 'n' roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.'" As Keith Richards writes in the booklet intro, "Chuck Berry is the gentleman who started it all.” And if those testimonials aren't convincing enough, one listen to The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition will make the case for Chuck Berry's singular, timeless rock 'n' roll brilliance. LP 1 & 2: The Great Twenty-Eight The original classic 2-LP compilation Side 1 1. Maybellene 2. Thirty Days (To Come Back Home) 3. You Can't Catch Me 4. Too Much Monkey Business 5. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man 6. Roll Over Beethoven 7. Havana Moon Side 2 1. School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell) 2. Rock And Roll Music 3. Oh Baby Doll 4. Reelin' And Rockin' 5. Sweet Little Sixteen 6. Johnny B. Goode 7. Around And Around Side 3 1. Carol 2. Beautiful Delilah 3. Memphis, Tennessee 4. Sweet Little Rock And Roller 5. Little Queenie 6. Almost Grown 7. Back In The U.S.A. Side 4 1. Let It Rock 2. Bye Bye Johnny 3. I'm Talking About You 4. Come On 5. Nadine (Is It You?) 6. No Particular Place To Go 7. I Want To Be Your Driver LP 3: More Great Chuck Berry Side 1 1. Wee Wee Hours 2. No Money Down 3. Drifting Heart 4. La Jaunda (Español) 5. Blue Feeling 6. Vacation Time 7. Joe Joe Gun Side 2 1. Too Pooped To Pop "Casey" 2. Our Little Rendezvous 3. You Never Can Tell 4. Promised Land 5. Little Marie 6. Dear Dad 7. My Ding-A-Ling (live single version) LP 4: Oh Yeah! Live In Detroit Recorded at the Walled Lake Casino, October 25 & 26, 1963 First time on vinyl *First U.S. release Side 1 1. Guitar Boogie 2. Let It Rock 3. Almost Grown 4. Chuck Berry Dialogue 1 5. Too Much Monkey Business* 6. Johnny B. Goode 7. Introduction / Instrumental 8. Sweet Little Sixteen Side 2 1. Wee Wee Hours 2. Chuck Berry Dialogue 2 3. Maybellene 4. Medley: Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite/Johnny B. Goode/Let It Rock/School Day Bonus: Berry Christmas EP Side 1 1. Run Rudolph Run 2. Merry Christmas Baby Side 2 1. Spending Christmas (first time on vinyl) 2. Christmas

[inazuma-eleven-translations]

@lady-eris you asked about some Kirino and Kazemaru ages ago and I’m only too happy to oblige! Kirino is best boy after all~

“I see Kazemaru’s chivalrous spirit hasn’t changed!”

An Interview with Nishigaki Yuka about Kazemaru’s role in the Best Eleven

Kazemaru Ichirouta: Inazuma Best Eleven. DF. Shirt Number 2. Raimon Junior.

Q First of all, a few words about your character being chosen for the Best Eleven.

Even though a it’s been almost three years since Kazemaru played an active role, so many people were supporting him and I'm so full of gratitude. Thanks to everyone, Kazemaru and his friends can once again dash around together at the same time. Thank you so much!!

Q Please tell us your impression of this series and your character.

With his flowing blue hair and chivalrous smile, that’s how he appears onscreen and in the script. Even though it’s been a while since I’ve played him, when I stood in front of the mike it was like nothing had changed. I think that’s because everyone involved with the Inazuma series still think fondly about the characters. And because we have so many people supporting us we’re able to have this wonderful opportunity. With all the thoughts of everyone together, I think the contents of the series will become very passionate!

Q Please tell us about your favourite scene and dialogue.

The scene where Endou and Tenma are just so enthusiastic that they arrive at the stadium super early was very interesting to me. And then the scene where the both of them have fallen asleep and their faces are very close together is very cute. Ahh, they really love soccer and being able to play soccer with everyone makes they really happy! I want them to have more opportunities like this and see their faces light up with happiness. When they’re talking about who is late, along with Kidou Kazemaru deduces it’s Gouenji. I was happy at how well they understand each other. I personally also appreciate how Fudou was his usual Fudou self. That cheeky face! Finally, Kinako is so cute! An angel! I’m glad we got to play a match together!

Q Tenma says ‘Next time I wanna play soccer with everyone!’ so if there’s another project like this, who would you like to play soccer with?

If we really could play with ‘everyone’ that would be fun! Since I’ve never really got to play a match with players who appeared in GO I’d love to battle them next time. There’s too many characters, that if all the teams participated in one tournament it would be enormous. But a match with ‘everyone’ is everyone! It will take years and years to decide the winning team. But first of all, I pick the Raimon team - Endou, Kazemaru, Kabeyama, Kurimatsu, Kageto, Handa, Gouenji, Someoka, Megane, and the others! All of the members who were involved in scoring that first goal against Teikoku. Of course the opponent would be Teikoku!

Q What scenes would you like to highlight for people to rewatch in the DVDs?

Kazemaru’s highlights… When Tenma was sent flying from Zanark’s rough play, a shocked Kazemaru said 'That bastard!’ I saw his sense of justice is the same as ever. Other than that, after he heard the strategy from Kidou he smiled while making a joke, which felt quite surprising from Kazemaru. I’d be happy if you could watch that part! There are a lot of highlights with a lot of different characters so you can’t just watch it once or twice.

“He got to work together with his idol Kazemaru!”

An Interview with Kobayashi Yuu about Kirino’s role in the Best Eleven

Kirino Ranmaru: Inazuma Best Eleven. DF. Shirt Number 3. Raimon Junior.

Q First of all, a few words about your character being chosen for the Best Eleven.

I’m really full of so much gratitude to be chosen for the Best Eleven. To everyone who voted - thank you so much. I can really feel everyone’s warm support. Since as a defender, Ranmaru-san worried about his role within the team, I think he himself would also feel very happy.

Q Please tell us your impression of this series and your character.

I was honestly so happy to play Kirino Ranmaru-san again. When I was standing in the studio after recording that was truly how I felt. And not only did I get to play the role of Kirino Ranmaru but it was thanks to everyone’s votes that he was chosen for the Best Eleven and I truly want to express my gratitude for that.

Q Please tell us about your favourite scene and dialogue.

There’s s many scenes I like I can’t chose but it was truly amazing to play a match standing shoulder to shoulder with the senpais we look up to so much. I bet Ranmaru-san couldn’t believe he actually got to defend together with his idol Kazemaru Ichirouta-san. When I first read the script I had a lot of thoughts like, is this really okay? And when it came to recording I gave 100% of my effort!

Q Tenma says ‘Next time I wanna play soccer with everyone!’ so if there’s another project like this, who would you like to play soccer with?

I think if he can play soccer with everyone Ranmaru-san will feel very happy. Tenma-san and Tsurugi-san, as well as his best friend Shindou-san and his honorary little brother Kariya-san, and starting with Sangoku-san all of his senpais, everyone on the team, all of the rivals they’ve played against until now, oh and Jeanne-san and everyone they’ve met up to now - playing soccer with absolutely everyone would be the best! In addition, personally I would love to see these members aim for the World Cup - I think it would be wonderful.

Q What scenes would you like to highlight for people to rewatch in the DVDs?

A To everyone who came to see the movie, please watch your favourite scenes as many times as you like on the DVD! And for new fans I’d be really happy if you could support our best efforts! No matter how many times you watch it, it’s full of highlights! I think it would be wonders if you could watch it not only alone, but with family, with friends too and have a great time! Even from now on if the Inazuma Eleven series could always have a place in everyone’s heart, I would be so happy. Thank you so much!

Director’s Comment I was thinking that 'Kazemaru and Kirino are guys who will look cool even when unsuccessful. Even when they’re losing, you want to support them. The scene where Kazemaru and Kirino are rapidly and elegantly dashing forward was fun to make. In any case, the scene I most wanted to see was these two running parallel to each other. I wanted to make a special cut of all the popular tag teams. It would have been cool if they had unleashed Fire Rooster, but they’re not the type to make shoots. Also, Kirino makes a pass to Shindou so he can use Kami no Takuto, Fire Illusion! Originally it was gonna be Kazemaru who made the pass, but if Kirino doesn’t make a pass to Shindou it just doesn’t seem right, don’t you agree? I wanted to include a little bit of their close relationship.

[ghostfantasyart]

7 Reasons Why Anime Characters Have Such Big Eyes

You might not have noticed that anime characters have big eyes when you always watch animes. But when you pause and look at the facial structure of each anime character, you will see that most of them have eyes that take up almost 60% of their faces.

What does this mean? Is it just an artistic choice? If that is the case, then why do a lot of anime characters have big eyes? Is it the norm?

Anime characters have big eyes because it makes it easier to convey their emotions. Their big eyes can also easily display what type of character they are. Unlike western cartoons, anime strive towards bringing emotion even if the characters do not look perfect, proportional, and realistic.

As you can see, the fact that anime characters have big eyes has a specific reason that ties in with the general theme of the anime. Does this also mean that the Japanese prefer to have bigger eyes? To know the answer to this question, keep on reading!

Why Do Anime Characters Have Big Eyes

The simplest answer to this question is that having big eyes can easily convey emotion. However, there are also different reasons as to why this is the case on most, if not all animes.

This style can also be a product of history as well as trade and business. You might also be surprised that this is done for efficiency. Take a look at the following reasons.

1. Convey Emotion

This is the reason that takes the primary position. The person who is considered as the “father of manga” is Osamu Tezuka and he is the creator of Astroboy. His style is to make characters have bigger eyes.

As his style is so influential, it was later taken on by manga and anime artists. According to him, this style was also influenced by western cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, and Donald Duck.

He realized that the eyes were done in such a way to exaggerate facial expressions. At first, not a lot of artists mimicked this style, but they soon realized that emphasizing the facial expression as well as the face is extremely beneficial to the art of sequential storytelling.

This makes a lot of sense because as the saying goes, “the eyes are the window to the soul.” If you emphasize the eyes, you can easily tell what is really happening with the character—even without the appropriate dialogue.

2. International Audience

On the opposite side of the spectrum, it is believed by a cultural anthropologist that this style was done to appeal to a wider international audience. According to this anthropologist, artists chose to make their characters’ eyes bigger so that they will look less Asian.

Needless to say, there was a lot of backlash to this thought as first, this observation is definitely racist. Second, the Japanese are not even concerned about spreading anime to an international audience.

In fact, even the earliest days of anime have a lot of characters that have such big eyes. This is the time when Western fans did not even know a thing about anime. If this is truly the case, then probably, it was just an afterthought on the part of the artist.

Further, Japanese anime and manga artists are not known to cater to other audiences more than their own Japanese audience. It may sound harsh, but they will surely not change their style just to tap into a wider audience.

3. Business And Trade

This anime character style may also be attributed to the fact that it was influenced by business and trade. During the Meiji era or the Victorian era, there was an open trade between Western countries and Asian countries.

In this time, the trade of porcelain dolls to Japan was very high. A lot of the Japanese gravitated towards those cute porcelain dolls that have round and big eyes.

These dolls that have a western-style was so popular to a lot of Japanese women and girls and may have influenced shojo mangas and girl mangas.

The influence in anime, on the other hand, was a bit tame, wherein they still have the big eyes but the overall design of the character is purely Japanese.

4. Looks Cuter

This may sound superficial but bear with us for a bit. We promise you, the reason is not that shallow.

It is a given that artists tend to lay on the cutesy side of things when creating their anime characters. However, this is not only because of their perceived appearance, but it is also done to serve as a “mediation form” when it comes to dark and heavier anime sequences.

Anime has a lot of types, but in general, it was made to entertain and at times move the audience. Therefore, there may be times when there are dark scenes that can be too much, and this is tamed by having a cute-looking character with such gorgeous and big eyes.

The tone of the scene can also be controlled using this style. For younger characters, they have bigger eyes than adults.

Further, if there are intense scenes, you will notice that their eyes become smaller, only to be uplifted by another lighter scene that features an anime character with big eyes.

5. Easier Transition To Chibis

This is the part where efficiency takes the center stage. A lot of animes nowadays transition a scene into characters that are chibis.

When you already have a character that has huge eyes, these eyes can easily be translated into their chibi counterparts which will be easier for the audience to comprehend.

You will notice that while watching an anime with a cut scene with chibis, you really do not look at the small body of the chibis. Instead, you focus on their eyes and their eyes serve as their distinction over other characters in chibi form.

In a way, having big eyes distinguishes them from another character. In this case, it is not a form of style, but a form of identification.

6. Do The Japanese Prefer Bigger Eyes?

We mentioned previously that there was a time when the Japanese adored dolls that have big eyes. This influence was later on exhibited in anime and manga. Does this mean that the Japanese prefer bigger eyes?

That is definitely not the case. Yes, you might ask a Japanese girl this question and she might answer how she wishes that she had bigger eyes. However, the reason is not about aesthetics. It is actually about adding character and emotion to one’s face.

As the Japanese consistently consume manga and anime, they are used to seeing emotions displayed simply through the eyes. This explanation is backed up by some artists like Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, among others.

His characters have a more realistic face. Their emotions are conveyed with other actions, cinematography, and the sudden burst of music.

But then again. when the need arises, he cuts into a close up of a character’s normal-looking eyes and zooming in on them to make them look bigger than they actually are.

7. What Do Big Eyes Entail In Anime?

You now know that an anime character’s big eyes are not just there for show. So what are the instances when these eyes are put into work? Take a look at the following.

Age

Younger anime characters have such huge eyes that there may not even be a space for their noses. Their eyes are also so detailed to make them look soft and loving. By just looking at their eyes, one can immediately say, “Awwww.”

On the other hand, adult anime characters still have big eyes, but their shading is a bit darker. Also, unlike younger characters, when they change emotion, there will be times when their eyes will become small.

For the younger ones, even though they laugh, cry, get mad, more often than not, their eyes remain huge.

Type Of Character

You will notice that the eyes of the main characters are usually in a color that is easy to the eye. They can be black, brown, blue, and even pink. On the other hand, villains have peculiar eye colors. Some use green to convey seriousness and black for an evil character.

Characters that have a light personality have such huge eyes paired with sparkles. For characters who have low self-esteem, they still have big eyes but they do not have much detail to them.

Change Of Scene

This is the best way to convey emotion with the use of big eyes. You will notice that when the scene is happy, their eyes are bright, sparkling, and has a lot of detail.

When the scene switches to one with a darker theme, you can easily see how the character and the scene changes as their eyes are now a darker shade of their original color. Usually, the artist makes the big eyes look empty when there is death in a certain scene.

Completed Character Arc

When you have been watching an anime with over 100 episodes, you might not notice it at first, but the characters change eyes as they go through their adventures. You can see this in animes like One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Bleach, etc.

When a character goes through such an emotional stage where they lost someone or gained strength, they have a certain glint to their eyes that shows that they are burning through their character arc.

The artist will then stick with this eye style, up until the next arc in the story. Sometimes, the artist will defer to the old eye when there is a situation in the story that shows the character’s weakness. This is done to remind the viewer how far the anime character has changed.

[ezatluba]

How Native American tribes are bringing back the bison from brink of extinction

The Age of Extinction

The continent’s largest land mammal plays crucial role in spiritual lives of the tribes

Jeremy Hance

12 Dec 2018 

On 5,000 hectares of unploughed prairie in north-eastern Montana, hundreds of wild bison roam once again. But this herd is not in a national park or a protected sanctuary – they are on tribal lands. Belonging to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck Reservation, the 340 bison is the largest conservation herd in the ongoing bison restoration efforts by North America’s Indigenous people.

The bison – or as Native Americans call them, buffalo – are not just “sustenance,” according to Leroy Little Bear, a professor at the University of Lethbridge and a leader in the bison restoration efforts with the Blood Tribe. The continent’s largest land mammal plays a major role in the spiritual and cultural lives of numerous Native American tribes, an “integrated relationship,” he said.

“If you are Christian and you don’t see any crosses out there, or you don’t have your corner church … there’s no external connection, [no] symbolic iconic notion that strengthens and nurtures those beliefs,” said Little Bear. “So it goes with the buffalo.”

Return of the bison: herd makes surprising comeback on Dutch coast

Only a couple of hundred years ago, 20 million to 30 million bison lived in vast thundering herds across North America. They were leftover relics of the Pleistocene and one of the few large mammals to survive the Ice Age extinction.

But less than 400 years after Columbus’ direful voyage, white settlers pushed their way west into Native American territory in so-called manifest destiny. And the US government made the fateful decision to cripple the Native Americans through whatever means necessary. One of these was the bison: the government viewed slaughtering the great herds en-masse as a way to starve and devastate Native American tribes.

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Within just decades, the bison went from numbering tens of millions to within a hair’s breadth of extinction. “Fort Peck was the first to stand up and say we want to help. We want to restore these important bison back to their historic Great Plains home,” said Jonathan Proctor, Rockies and Plains program director with NGO Defenders of Wildlife, who has worked with the tribes for years to bring the bison back.

To do so, the tribe looked to Yellowstone’s bison herd. After the slaughter of the 19th century, 23 bison survived in a remote valley in Yellowstone. Today, the herd is 4,000 strong and is seen as a vital population because it has never been domesticated or interbred with cattle, maintaining genetic purity. While so-called pure genetics of the bison are often important to scientists and conservationists, Kelly Stoner – who heads the bison program at the Wildlife Conservation Society – said the issue is more complicated among tribal groups.

“You’ll find that amongst Native Americans … the predominant attitude is ‘if it looks like a buffalo and smells like a buffalo, it’s a buffalo’. The deep, personal relationship between Native Americans and buffalo exists, and is relevant and important, whether or not a particular animal has 8% cattle genes or not,” she explained.

Bringing back bison – and more tales of animal hope

Still, in 2007, Fort Peck Reservation eyed Yellowstone’s herd as a potential source to build a cultural herd. Fort Peck, and many other tribes, already had a commercial herd – used for economic purposes – but now they wanted to build a second herd with conservation in mind.

But getting bison from Yellowstone national park would prove far harder than Fort Peck initially thought. Although pure bred, Yellowstone bison carry the disease brucellosis. The Yellowstone bison originally contracted the disease from cattle in the early 20th century and now ranchers and state officials fear a return. Although scientists have never recorded brucellosis jumping from bison to cattle, it is theoretically possible according to lab research.

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“It’s really difficult [to pass]. It’s passed through the placenta,” explained Proctor. “You’d have to have cattle mix with bison in the spring when the bison would potentially abort their calf because of brucellosis and the cattle would have to lick [the aborted placenta]. It’s not likely.”

Still, cattle ranchers so fear the disease that they have pushed for hundreds, sometimes even more than a thousand, bison to be slaughtered every year in Yellowstone national park to keep the animals from roaming outside the park boundaries and potentially mixing with cattle. Yellowstone elk also carry the disease, but are spared slaughter since they are seen as less of a risk.

The brucellosis panic almost stopped Fort Peck from ever getting Yellowstone bison. Over six years, the tribes had to battle anti-bison legislation from the Montana congress and legal battles. The case went all the way to Montana supreme court, which the tribes won unanimously.

“The biggest roadblock is the politics in Montana,” said Robert Magnan, director of the Fort Peck tribes’ fish and game department and the buffalo program. “They don’t understand what we’re trying to do out here.”

The first Yellowstone bison finally arrived in 2012: around 60 animals in all. “There was a huge celebration; many, many people from the community came out,” said Proctor. “It was just thrilling to see.”

Two years after their arrival, Magnan said that the bison had already begun to rejuvenate the land.

“We’ve seen the ecosystem revive. Grassland birds have returned, native grasses are thriving. We welcome and look forward to the buffalos’ continued benefits to our tribal lands.”

Since then, several more deliveries have been made and the Fort Peck herd – at 340 – is among the top 10 conservation herds in the US.

But the work has only begun. In 2014, two years after the bison came to Fort Peck, 13 tribal nations – representing eight reservations both in the US and Canada – signed a ‘Buffalo Treaty’. The treaty outlined the importance of bringing back free-roaming bison to both the US and Canada. “We used to always have an empty chair for the buffalo, for the spirit of the buffalo [at the dialogues], in our talking circles,” said Little Bear, who facilitated the dialogues. “It’s hard to explain but the buffalo was basically asking us, ‘you know, I’ve been gone for 150 years, why do you want me to come back?’”

By the end of the dialogues, the tribes agreed why. “The concern was the young people hear only stories, they hear the songs, they see the ceremonies, but they don’t see the buffalo out there,” added Little Bear.

Return of the bison: new American national symbol tells story of strife

The treaty is already making good. Last year, Blackfeet Reservation, also in Montana, received 89 genetically pure bison from Elk Island in Canada. Although the Blackfeet’s Iinnii Initiative – their name for buffalo – is the youngest, it’s also the most ambitious.

The tribe is negotiating with state officials to allow these bison, which are free of brucellosis, to range freely into Glacier national park and even, hopefully, one day as north as Waterton Lakes national park and Blood Tribe Reservation Canada – which would make it the first international bison herd in over a century.

Little Bear said they are also working with the Y2Y Initiative, which aims to create a massive wildlife corridor from Yellowstone to the Yukon for wildlife such as bears and wolves.

“We talked to the Y2Y people and said ‘hey, what about buffalo?’ And [they said], ‘we never thought about it but we can include buffalo.’” This year, wild bison returned to Banff national park after being gone over 100 years. Little Bear said the tribe’s Buffalo Treaty acted as a “catalyst” for the re-wilding in Canada’s first park.

“Tribes of the northern plains are the lead in wild bison restoration right now,” Proctor said. In 50 years’ time, the conservation community hopes to have at least 10 bison herds that number 1,000 animals – the minimum, he said, needed for the bison to fulfil their ecological role (currently only Yellowstone has a herd of more than 1,000 animals).

On top of that, Proctor hopes there will be a few herds of more than 10,000 animals, a herd size which hasn’t been seen since the mass extermination in the 19th century.

“Well never see bison roaming the entire Great Plains again,” said Proctor. “We’ll never see 20 million to 30 million bison again. No one is trying to go back in time. We’re trying to go forward. We’re trying to restore this important animal where we can, where people want them, and to the level where they will help restore the natural balance.”

For any of this to happen, Native American tribes will be key. They have the land and the desire to bring back the continent’s largest land mammal. And it’s not just bison, Proctor said. They have been instrumental in conserving wolves, grizzly bears, swift foxes and black-footed ferrets among other species.

Magnan said Fort Peck’s “dream” is to have 2,500 buffalo in their conservation herd running on more than 40,000 hectares. Already the tribe has passed a resolution to purchase more land.

“It’s amazing … with limited budgets and widespread poverty, [Native American tribes] are the leader in wildlife restoration when compared to the state wildlife agency,” he said. “In reality, it was not the buffalo that left us, it was us that left the buffalo. So we have to do something.”