Pause

Now that K.I.A. is going to print (saw the paper stock we're using last night), I'm here at a bit of a calm before the storm. I think I have a bit of time to rest, but that's probably wishful thinking. Still gotta think of the K.I.A. website (though someone else will be doing it- I'll just be writing the text), posters and display materials for use at Comic Quest, and the inevitable need for PR and exposure in any and every anime, comic or hobby event there is from March onwards to the end of the year. And I STILL want to hold that Grand Launch with all the creators and contributors (well, almost all) together. And I want T-shirts. We'll see what we can pull off.

But for now though, I think I can spare the weekend for some recharge time. New comics are due tonight (latest Fallen Angel and Shanna the She-Devil), and I gotta catch up on some reading, some more hours of Tekken 5 playtime (It made me remember why I love the franchise) and anime watching. Lots of things, so little time. Story of my life. Oh well.

Oscars

This year's Academy Awards came and went. Didn't see any of the featured movies, 'cept maybe for minor entries like Spiderman 2 (which won for Best Special Effects... Yay!) or The Incredibles. The best parts for me were the Edna Mode cameo- though I wonder if they did it to compensate for Pierce Brosnan's raspy throat- and the 'In Memoriam' segment (kinda morbid, I know). I miss Billy Crystal. I miss Lord of the Rings. Oh well. Next year, I hope Kung Fu Hustle makes it in for any award. Heh.

MAD About Tacos


Tacos to make you go 'Ariba!'

The best taco in town isn't found at Taco Belle, despite what the billboard along Katipunan says. Nope, in the rare times that I was actually able to taste the fare at the popular Gateway Mall branch, it was really nothing special. If you want great tacos, you don't have to crowd with the throngs that clog TB in Cubao. Just head on over to any Pancake House- they've been serving great, delicious tacos for years and years. And they make good side dishes to a plate of flapjacks. Or, you could try the tacos at Magoo's pizza, which is actually quite good. For me, it's all in the mix of the shell, the veggies, cheese and savoury meat, and how they all remain distinct as you crunch into the snack.
But really, my best discovery in tacos recently just has to be the delicious fare at Kamicos, a snack kiosk at Shoppesville Plus in Greenhills. They say they've got the 'Best Tacos in Town', and what can I say? After tasting one a couple of weeks ago, everytime I go to GH I am compelled to buy a couple. The meat is juicy and savoury, the veggies crisp and the cheese plentiful on top. Heap on the hot sauce and enjoy! Better yet, the shells they use are crispy but firm, and eating is not messy. Have a couple or one with a pasta dish- it's great!
So if you got a taco craving, no need to go to those big-name Mexican places. There are other places for to sate that crispy craving. Just have a try and crunch away.

Iron-Fisted


Namco saves the best for last.

Got Tekken 5 for the PS2 a couple of days ago, and it's pretty awesome. I've also played the arcade version, and all I can say is that the conversion is spot on. Graphically, it's almost identical- save for stuff that only a hardcore Tekkenhead would miss. As for gameplay, it's tight and pretty cool... it takes off the unwelcome additions made in the unpopular Tekken 4, giving it a bit of the old school feel from the better past games.
Anyway, the gang's back, including some oldies like Wang Jinrei and Bruce Irvin, and the offspring of the original Roger the Kangaroo. There are three totally new competitors; power-hungry, amoral kung fu badass Feng Wei resembles an oriental Paul Pheonix with his hard, brutal hits, while ninja superspy Raven enters the fray with his deceptive moves. Finally, teen dream Asuka Kazama is the spiritual successor of Tekken 2's Jun Kazama, with her graceful moves and counters.

The PS2 version gives the customary home extras, but revs up the juice with stuff like the arcade versions of the first three Tekkens, playable in the disc in the game's Arcade History mode.
Playing through Story Mode is now a lot cooler thanks to new and improved voice acting for all the characters- Namco did a great job, and the characters sound great, some even speaking in their native languages. It helps a lot that the Story mode has some nice extra scenes along with the opening narration and ending CG... you CAN actually make heads and tails of what's going on... though often what's going in is pretty crazy.
The best part of the Story Mode is of course the CG endings, of which every character has one. Despite the serious storyline shown in the Opening CG, any of the endings are pretty funny... if not downright comedic. My only gripe is one ending- which shows off a couple of the Tekken MEN in skimpy skimpy thongs(!). Now, Namco has resisted putting their babes in bikinis... but WHY oh WHY do they have no compunctions in putting Heihachi in a thong? EH? Gah, my eyes.

Aside from all the fighting, there's an action side-game starring Jin Kazama called The Devil Within. where you guide Jin through various corridors, fighting guards and the occasional boss. It's pretty repetitive and kinda boring, but worth a shot for some extra goodies.
Another great new thing is the ability to accessorize your characters and buy new colors and stuff for your fighters with money you earn in the various modes. It's a page borrowed from Virtua Fighter, though hopefully in the future they'll add more stuff and more costumes (take a hint from Dead or Alive too, Namco).

Aside from a few little nitpicks and the inclusion of a totally cheesy and cheap end boss, Tekken 5 PS2 is the BOMB. It's loads of fun and totally cool. A great way to cap the PS2 with perhaps the last and best fighting game on the console. A MUST-buy for any gamer. Get. NOW!

New Anime

Got some new Japanimation to check out. There's Sanbouzou, which is quite unusual to say the least. It's an ecchi-laden action-comedy set in the future, when man's deeds have reduced the world to a desert wasteland. Even in this day and age, evil men still prey on their fellows, and trouble is commonplace. Enter Sanbouzou- a diminuative little bounty hunter who is feared among the outlaws and lawbreakers. The odd thing here is that Sanbouzou isn't exactly your usual anime hero. In fact, you apparently never see his face. The character seems perpetually wearing his bulky gas mask and straw hat- making him kinda look like an oriental jawa. Anyway, he kicks butt with a shotgun that fires explosive rounds and a wealth of gadgets and traps. Oh, and Mr. Sanbouzou loves the ladies... something that's pretty much a part of the show's copious fan service as various sexy babes cross the Japanese Jawa's path, for better or ill.
If you asked me, this looks like your anime surrogate for ecchi-loving viewers. Sanbouzou is faceless, so particularly imaginative otaku can picture themselves as the little hero- kinda like how usually the faces of guys in porn vids aren't shown. But then again, so far Mr. Sanbouzou hasn't gotten any, but we'll see how it goes in later episodes.

Also got several episodes of the new Oh! My Goddess TV series, which isn't as nicely-drawn and animated as the original OAVs from long ago, and seems very leisurely in it's pace (it takes the series three episodes what the OAV did in one). Looks kinda cool... we'll see.

Finally, got some episodes of the controversial Gantz, but ARGH I'm missing the first two eps. I guess I gotta set them aside until I fill in that gap.

Ah. Lots of shows to enjoy and see. That and I still haven't touched Casshern, Cutie Honey the Movie and Wonderful Days yet. Well, with K.I.A. out of the way I should have time to watch now. At least, I hope. Heh.

Out of my Hands

That's what K.I.A. is right now. I've given it off to the printers, so now it's a matter of production. Crossing my fingers in the hope that the book comes out as great as it should look. I can't wait to have a freshly-printed copy in my hands. DARN. A couple of weeks to go. Sigh.

Retro Gaming Part Deux

WOOHOO! I struck gold yesterday. Though I failed to get a copy of Tekken 5, I did get my hands on an ultra cool Xbox game disc which contains an archive of literally dozens and dozens of games from the Sega Genesis. This includes games from the early to mid-nineties, which enthralled our generation back in the 16-bit era, when the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis were THE gaming consoles to have. There are tons of games on the disc, including adventure titles, action games, run and jumps, shooters, rpgs, beat 'em ups (including the cool Eternal Champions and Namco's classic pre-Soul Edge hack-and-slash fighter, Weaponlord) and more.

The ability to just play these retro classics is just awesome, I'd say. A good chunk of gaming history right there, and what a coincidence- right after the gang talked about holding a retro-gaming tournament in the near future. Coolness. Or should I say, groovy? Next time, I should get that Atari Games Anthology disc too. Heheh.

Fighting Games

It's funny, I think, how there are factions of gamers that are polarized between games like Tekken, Virtua Fighter and DOA. Tekkenheads say all other games are shit. VF claims to be the deepest and the most technique-heavy. DOA says that theirs is the best.
I pretty much like all three games- Tekken is flashy and has that comic book-feel. VF is great because of the realistic techniques and the hardcore feel of martial arts. DOA is fast and fluid and the most visually impressive, and the sex appeal doesn't hurt at all. In my opinion, Tekken could do without the constant down-hits, and it could look nicer. VF is hard to learn and a bit on the mundane side in terms of flash and coolness. DOA could do with more tactics and toning down of elements like too-strong counters and the inclusion of more throws and throw-counters.

They all have their flaws and strengths- the best way is just to enjoy them all for what they bring to your table. But I guess, some people out there have very narrow tables.

Anyway, a recent interview with Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki has him doing his customary Tekken-bashing, which is pretty funny. Predictably, Tekkenheads over at various Tekken websites and forums are up in arms. Itagaki has been a very vocal opponent to Tekken, and Namco's team are equally as venomous in their comments about DOA. It's perhaps one of the most icy rivalries in gaming. Perhaps someone should hold a boxing tournament and put these developers in a ring to settle their differences.

Whatever. I enjoy my DOA Ultimate, have a copy of Virtua Fighter Evolution and am getting Tekken 5 soon. I'm happy. Can't we all just... get along?

Retro Gaming

Tonight, after a Japanese dinner and over fudge sundaes at McDo, the gang's talks went to stories of the lovely, lovely games we used to play in the 24-bit era of the original Playstation. Those were the days... the days when videogaming started to become 'cool' instead of being just geek entertainment... when games arrived weekly for the taking at Virra Mall, and when the games were GREAT overall instead of often just looking great these days.
We reminisced about our common favorites... Final Fantasy, Streetfighter, Suikoden, Bushido Blade... darn, the mid to late nineties were THE time for gaming. These were the days that set the foundation for our generation's love for interactive entertainment. I honestly see myself playing games years and years from now. These games will keep my mind sharp and alive, hopefully, even when I'm retired and in my golden years.

Playtime

FINALLY got to play Tekken 5 at the arcade. There was FINALLY a gap where none of the hardcores were there on one of the two machines, and I was able to play a couple of games. Someone challenged me using Ling Xiaoyu. Even though I was still pretty much a newbie using my chosen character Asuka Kazama, I won pretty easily (HEY! Someone worse than me). Alone again after that, I played a couple more games until my Powercard ran out of juice.

That's probably the last time I'll play Tekken 5 in the arcade... I'll hopefully be getting a copy of the PS2 version soon, maybe even as early as tomorrow, and then playing to my heart's content in The Sanctum from then on in.

Darn. Winning is fun. Heh...

Battling Babe


Maki Aikawa AKA The Air Master, packs a nasty kick.

Just watched several episodes of the fighting anime Air Master. The series is all about the embattled life of streetfighter Maki Aikawa, a former competitive gymnast who now finds her only true joy while engaging in brutal, hand-to-hand combat. Maki is so skilled in the use of aerial attacks and techniques, she can almost fly, hence the name 'Air Master'. As yet undefeated, Maki continually searches for stronger and more dangerous opponents. Can anyone defeat her? What is her purpose for fighting?
That's pretty much all that Air Master is about- well, the series is no Serial Experiments Lain. There is a wealth of sidecharacters though, ranging from the obnoxiously bratty little Renge (who looks like a ten year old child but is actually in HIGH SCHOOL), the innocent and HUGE boobed Mina and Maki's continual loud-mouthed nemesis, Saeko. Maki herself is similar to most fighting game heroes- usually taciturn and silent, slightly naive but turning into a totally different beast when she engages in combat. Thankfully, she's not unlikeable, and is perhaps the most likeable person in the cast of airheads in Air Master.
One thing that you will notice first off though in Air Master is the art style; the characters look reminiscent of Go Nagai designs. Maki herself looks a bit on the mannish side at times, and can hardly be considered kawaii thanks to her standing over six feet tall and having slitted, small eyes (something usually reserved to slinky, evil characters in anime). Still, I watch wrestling so I actually find her attractive, so no big- viewers who enjoy the cute battle babes of titles like Variable Geo, Aika or the recent Ikki Tousen might find Air Master's female characters unattractive, or even ugly. To me though, Maki LOOKS the part of being a tough gal, and DAMN is she bad-ass.
Which brings us to the best stuff in Air Master (aside from the frequent panty flashes)- the fighting. Maki goes up against a variety of enemies, and so far the battles are brutal kick-and-punch heavy affairs that are both hard hitting AND graceful.

This series isn't for everyone; I would say that if they prettied up Maki a bit (though I like her as is) and took away some rather risque elements (constant boob jokes, the lesbian angles), this would be more accessible to more people. However, as it is, it's a pretty cool fighting anime- which means it delivers on the blows and the blood without resorting to power blasts and super attacks, and quite a bit of spicy fanservice as well. Those looking for deep plots and rich characterization should look elsewhere though. In other words, Air Master is pro-wrestling class anime. Heh. Anyway, I like it, and maybe some of you out there will too. Maybe.

Holiday

It's the day of the EDSA Revolution. I'm pretty glad that we have this break and all, but I really think they should stop holding the celebratory events. Every year the people who actually attend the 'festivities' grow fewer and fewer- and even then, most are probably just hired for appearances' sake... it's just embarrasing. The EDSA Revolt was a great milestone in our history, but politicians should stop trying to milk it and hype their roles in it. Let's remember the past, but stop wallowing in the past glory. Filipinos have this incredible flaw for resting on their laurels. Onward, ever onward people. Anyway, the three-day weekend's cool, in any case. Yawn.

K.I.A.

It's final. I'm giving out K.I.A. Volume 1 for submission to the printers out tonight. It's been over a year in the making, and now it's done. Now, all the work will be for getting the word out about the book, putting up the website and so on. Here's to a print production process with no problems, since this is the first time I'm doing a book this thick, with perfect-binding; that means the usual binding for most books with spines, instead of 'saddle stitching' for phamphlet-style comics with staples. Well, all I can do is hope for the best. We have a great printer, and they've done great work on a previous comic book publication, so everything should go well.

Anyway, here are the final images of K.I.A's exteriors.


Look for K glaring at you from the comic racks this March.


Back cover art by Jennyson. Awesome, isn't it?

Still haven't set down a cover price yet, but we may settle on something like Php180.00 for the 160-page book. We'll set down everything once everything's final, soon.

Tekken Home

Starting today, the PS2 version of Tekken 5 will already be in the hands of some lucky bastards. I'm hoping to find bootlegs already, but I'll be getting an original copy whatever happens. Anyway, from the many reactions online, the game looks spot on- perhaps one of the best home conversions ever. The included versions of the first three Tekkens are reportedly direct ports from the original arcade versions- which shouldn't be a problem for the PS2 since they were built on System 11 hardware (glorified PS One). It'll be really cool to have all the coolest Tekkens in one disk, since Tag Tournament was kinda blah and Tekken 4 is pretty much something we all want to forget.
A nice surprise are the extra costumes made specially for the home version. These fancy duds were designed by various artists in Japan, and some are pretty slick. In particular are the 3rd costumes of new girl Asuka and veteran Yoshimitsu. Asuka's can pretty much be described as a Yakuza mistress, with a revealing, high-slitted black, spiderweb motif-kimono and cloth wraps/tapes around her torso. Not quite the costume you'd expect... awesome! Yoshimitsu, known for having bizarre, alien-like appearances, is given a black, fanged look which makes him appear as a blackened dried zombie from Brendan Frasier's Mummy movies.

Can't wait to get my copy. Lots of Iron Fist fighting's coming. And with K.I.A. finally going out of my hands, I'll actually be able to have some time off to play. YAY!

Brutal Anime

I've been seeing a lot of the new anime known as Gantz recently. This series has raised a lot of controversy in Japan because of truly horrific violence and bloodshed- enough so that the episodes had to be extensively re-edited, cropped and censored to be allowed to air.
Of course, on dvd or vcd we don't have to worry about any cuts, so anyone wanting to see the brutal glory of Gantz need only get the series for themselves. I haven't seen this around yet, but I am intrigued. However, the write-ups about Gantz have stressed that the violence may be offensive to some viewers. I've seen a lot of bloody anime before, and I've yet to see truly stomach-turning stuff... let's see how Gantz revs up the meter.

Also, the series is produced by Gonzo (Last Exile, Gatekeepers), one of my favorite anime production houses, which is another reason why I want to see it. Let's see if Gonzo truly can do no wrong...

Gantz is the story of Kei Kurono, a Japanese youth whose life is prematurely cut when he is run over by a train. But instead of the afterlife, he finds himself in a strange room, in which dwells a strange black sphere known only as The Gantz. Soon after, Kei and many other recently-deceased resurectees are sent on a deadly game- to exterminate various alien beings in human guise throughout the world. If they fail, they die again. So if he's to survive, Kei's gotta do a whole lot of killing...

I'll post my comments once I pull a copy from someone's bloody hands...

Cramping my Style

There's nothing more irritating than waking up in the morning, stretching your leg and then suddenly feeling the muscles in your calf KNOT UP harder than a piece of gnarled wood. Like what happened to me this morning. AAAAAEEEEHHHHH!!!! This probably happens to me every several months. Maybe I should try limbering up gently before going to bed. Sigh.

Future Fighters


The Streetfighter Series Four lineup from SOTA Toys.

SOTA Toys has finally announced the lineup for their fourth wave of Streetfighter action figures. Series Four will consist of Bruce Lee-lookalike Fei Long from Streetfighter II, moody Goth-guy Remy from Streetfighter III, fan favorite evil master Akuma, chain-wielding bruiser Birdie and last but not the least, Ibuki the ninja schoolgirl from Streetfighter III!
I don't really know if my little e-mail campaign helped since Ibuki was pretty much of a shoe-in given her popularity and the relative obscurity of her competition (Rose and Rainbow Mika from the Streetfighter Alpha games). But just the same I'd like to thank everyone who answered my call and voted for my favorite Streetfighter character. WOOHOO! Ninja action figure on the way! Heh.
The fourth wave of SOTA Streetfighter toys should hit by late 2005.


SF fans wanted her and they got her.

Movie Villain

On the way to work, I heard that former congressman and actor Dennis Roldan has been arrested on suspicion of heading the Kidnapping Gang that abducted a 3-year old Filipino-Chinese boy. The family of the child couldn't pay the more than 100 million peso ransom, and eventually turned to the police after the kidnappers threatened to wound the boy and let him 'bleed to death'. One rare unbotched rescue later, the gang was taken into custody and Roldan fingered by the suspects as the mastermind.

Wounding a 3-year old kid and letting him bleed to death.

A couple of things come to mind. The kidnappers' heads and a that big honking morning star Mel Gibson used to cave in a traitorous noble's face in the movie Braveheart.

Back

I haven't been able to update recently since all I've been doing for the past several days was scrambling to finish everything K.I.A. in time. Despite having over a year to develop, gather together people and material for this project, it still eventually came down to me sprinting the final lap to get everything done finally. In the end though, I am really happy with how the pages are now composed.
Anyway, long story short, K.I.A. Book One is pretty much done. All that remains are some finishing touches- a couple of text materials and one page of extra stuff that I'll finish today or tomorrow. Then it's off to the printers to simmer for a couple of weeks.
The numbers are impressive. 19 contributors. 12 hot pinups, 13 cool stories, 160 pages and one deadlysexy femme fatale. It's been a ride, and I'm just so glad it's coming to fruition. Yipee!

Now, back to our regular scheduled blogging. Heh.

Tekken Ultimate

I'm probably one of the biggest Dead or Alive fans around, and I totally LOVE DOA Ultimate for giving me videogame bikini battles... but this time, it seems that Namco's Tekken 5 for the PS2 really IS an ultimate package for videogame fans.
Aside from a very close translation of the recently-released arcade version of Tekken 5, the PS2 version will come with a TON of extras and bonuses.

Arcade-perfect translations of Tekken 1, 2 and 3 are coming in the disc. The arcade versions (sans any home extras from the PSOne translations) will be included in Tekken 5's History Mode. Not only do you get the latest Tekken, you get the first three games (and the best games, actually) free! Is that COOL or what???

An action minigame starring main character Jin Kazama entitled Devil Within. Similar to the previous Tekken Force modes, you control the fighter as he brawls, jumps and battles his way past various oppoinents. Ala Devil May Cry, you can turn into Jin's diabolical self when a special power meter fills up. Too bad you can't choose the other fighters, but what the hey?

The classic arcade shooter Star Blade will be playable during loading screens, similar to how Galaga played while the classic PSOne Tekken loaded.

Taking a cue from DOAU and Virtua Fighter 4, there will be new accessories to heap on your characters, as well as several all-new costumes designed especially for the home game. We're hoping to see Nina Williams or Asuka Kazama in bikinis, but we're not holding our breath.

New CG cinematics for each character in Story Mode will be available, so you can understand the whole convoluted Tekken 5 storyline. Okay, at least we can TRY. Heh.

That's a whole lot of stuff. And best of all... Tekken 5 for the PS2 will be out later this month! The best Tekken yet is coming home, so make room on your PS2. WOOHOO!!!!