Genesis

The monumental, iconic Neon Genesis Evangelion is a vital part of my anime history. A true classic, this 26-episode series had it all; everything that is good with anime. Awesome action, a complex plot with sinister conspiracies and gripping mystery, likeable and deep characters and quite a bit of fan service. Unfortunately, I can say that I only truly liked this series from the start to the middle; the ending started killing off characters seemingly without sense and the psychosis that gnawed at each cast members' minds seemed to just eat them into destruction; soon, beloved characters were dying left and right, and everything literally being broken down into a wet mess. The endings of both the actual TV series and the resulting 2 'movies' were inconclusive at best, horrid and messy collision crashes at worst. What the fuck was the point of it all? Was Shinji one spineless jerk-off after all?

Well, the series gets another try in the near future. Apparently the NGE franchise will be revived in two ways- one, of course, is via the still-in-development live-action film (of which I have absolutely no idea of the condition of). The other way, which I just found out about, is through FOUR new feature animated movies.

Of the four, the first two will supposedly re-tell the classic original series, re-using the old footage but with slick editing and perhaps new backgrounds to make all the old stuff look new again.
The last two anime movies will supposedly be all-new, and will give a more decisive and FINAL finale to this title.

So, who will still die or live at the end of the next Evangelion? We'll just have to wait and see.

Pinoy Big Brother

"The Animal", Dave Batista was here in Manila for a few days to promote the upcoming WWE Smackdown Survivor Series Tour in Manila. The big but soft-spoken superstar no doubt captured the hearts of Filipinos with his friendly demeanor and his pride in his motherland, shown by his recent tattoo of the Philippine flag, added alongside the Greek flag tattoo on his left shoulder.
It's really a shame for me that Batista's rise to face had to slow down due to injury months ago; he was really on a roll then and could have, in another world, become a truly memorable WWE Heavyweight Champion (currently, the WWE title holder is King Booker). Still, his fame is strong among fans, and hopefully he'll continue to rise once again in the WWE's power ladder.

I don't think I'll be watching the WWE show in Araneta this October- it's a bit late to get tickets and I really don't have anyone to go there with, but I'm sure it will be a cool show and Batista will be embraced fully by the local wrestling fans. Take care, Big Dave! I'll be watching Jack TV on the meantime as always for my WWE fix.