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	<title>91.8 The Fan</title>
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	<link>http://918thefan.com</link>
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		<title>Live From Kami-con 2012</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/live-from-kami-con-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/live-from-kami-con-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:18:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kibs</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Convention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cosplay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crispin Freeman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cristina Vee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kami-con]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LittleKuriboh]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29104</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re back at Kami-con for 2012! For those of you unlucky enough to not be here, watch as Kibs and Siege man the booth and interview your favorite guests, we may even have a special guest appearance by the Birthday Boy, himself. Watch live streaming video from 918thefan at livestream.com Please be aware that we [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/kamicon2.png" alt="" title="kamicon2" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29105" /></p>

<p>We&#8217;re back at Kami-con for 2012! For those of you unlucky enough to not be here, watch as Kibs and Siege man the booth and interview your favorite guests, we may even have a special guest appearance by the Birthday Boy, himself.</p><span id="more-29104"></span>

<p align="center"><iframe width="550" height="340" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/918thefan?layout=4&amp;height=340&amp;width=550&amp;autoplay=false" style="border:0;outline:0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><div style="font-size: 11px;padding-top:10px;text-align:center;width:550px">Watch <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&amp;utm_medium=embed&amp;utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="live streaming video">live streaming video</a> from <a href="http://www.livestream.com/918thefan?utm_source=lsplayer&amp;utm_medium=embed&amp;utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="Watch 918thefan at livestream.com">918thefan</a> at livestream.com</div></p>

<p align="center">Please be aware that we are unable to control con-goers actions. While someone at the booth will be watching for any misbehavior, be warned that people may do things above the PG-13 level. We&#8217;re sorry for the inconvenience.</p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29104&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Bargain Gaming Special Review &#8211; Saints Row: The Third</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/bargain-gaming-special-review-saints-row-the-third/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/bargain-gaming-special-review-saints-row-the-third/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:12:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bargain Gamer</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bargain Gaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GTA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GTA 4]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Johnny Gat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Birk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saints Row]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saints Row The Third]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shaundi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29083</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Wooooooo! This review marks one year since I first started writing for The Fan, with my first game review for the site about Devil Kings first being posted back on February third of last year. It&#8217;s been an awesome year writing for you guys, with lots of fun reviews and fun side content just for [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/saintsrow.png" alt="" title="saintsrow" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29098" /></p>

<p><strong>Wooooooo!</strong>  This review marks one year since I first started writing for The Fan, with my first game review for the site about Devil Kings first being posted back on February third of last year.  It&#8217;s been an awesome year writing for you guys, with lots of fun reviews and fun side content just for you!  I think this calls for a bit of a celebration!<span id="more-29083"></span>  So brace yourselves, as we&#8217;re going to take a look at a new game that came out over the holiday season every week for the rest of the month, plus one or two pieces of side content just to top it off!  But enough of me blathering on, let&#8217;s get to the real reason why you guys are here: the review.</p>

<p><strong>For the first week I want to take a look at Saints Row: The Third,</strong> the latest and almost certainly silliest entry into the franchise.  It&#8217;s kind of hilarious how a game with a mature rating can have so much unabashedly childish humor in it.  From the preposterous dildo sword weapon to the Tank Skydiving mission ala The A-Team (the movie, not the show), everything about this game is totally over the top and ridiculous, to the point where I&#8217;ve heard many critics complain about how absurd it is, saying that the game is a step backwards from its predecessor.  And you know what, in a cynical sort of way, they&#8217;re right.  Whereas Saints Row 2 felt more like a different take on the Grand Theft Auto games, The Third lacks their emotional depth, trading out meaningful character relationships for cheap gags and over the top stunts.  Heck, one of the main characters from the previous games is killed off within the first mission just to give the characters motivation to take out the other gangs.  I can fully understand why some fans of the original series might be upset by the direction this game has taken, as it has thrown all sense of reality out of the window in return for a bit more preposterousness.  But as for me?</p>

<p><strong>I loved every freaking second of it.</strong></p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Saints-row-the-third-300x231.jpg" alt="" title="Saints-row-the-third" width="300" height="231" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29084" /></p>

<p><strong>Don&#8217;t get me wrong,</strong> I love a good story.  If you read my Mass Effect reviews from last month you&#8217;ll know that I place a lot of value on character interaction and how it can drive a narrative.  Heck, a large part of the reason why I like RPGs so much is because I place so much value on a game&#8217;s story.  But even I have a reptilian part of my brain that enjoys the simpler humor that Saints Row: The Third represents.  Riding a civilian like a skateboard down a sidewalk where I transition into a nut punch to rival gang member, before taking out a cop with a giant purple dildo and jacking a passing limo with a flying kick through the windshield is a preposterous scene; but dang if it isn&#8217;t fun!  This game has embraced the ridiculous, and it is glorious in its idiocy.  From the over the top weaponry, to the awesome luchador wrestling moves at your disposal, to the fact that you have a designated nut shot button, everything about this game is designed for you to have as much perverse pleasure as is physically possible.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Saints-Row-The-Third-Cherished-Memory-2-Trailer-300x157.jpg" alt="" title="Saints-Row-The-Third-Cherished-Memory-2-Trailer" width="300" height="157" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29095" /></p>

<p><strong>But what makes this goofiness so much fun</strong> isn’t just the over the top antics in and of themselves, but the fact that they’re executed flawlessly.  I don’t often talk about controls in reviews unless they actively sabotage me during game play, but suffice to say that the controls in Saints Row 3 are both incredibly tight and easy to pick up.  I had a friend come over who had never played a Saints Row game in his life, and within minutes he was reveling in the game’s hijinks, each button press representing a new fun way for him to interact with his surroundings.  I actually found the driving controls to be superior to its Grand Theft counterpart, with more intuitive drifting and turbo controls along with tighter steering all around.  Even the boat and flying controls were acceptable, to the point where I actually found myself flying around the world map a lot despite my normal dislike for any sort of aerial vehicle in these games.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/saints-row-the-third-gamescom-2011-300x157.jpg" alt="" title="saints-row-the-third-gamescom-2011" width="300" height="157" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29086" /></p>

<p><strong>Then again,</strong> this was probably helped by the fact that the game lacks the sense of scarcity that seems to permeate the start of most Grand Theft Auto games.  What I mean by this is that in GTA you have to earn your equipment; anything more powerful than a pistol is an investment, and if you are unfortunate you can lose all of your equipment at any time due to an accidental arrest.  This forces you to ration your supplies, only busting out the big guns in situations where they are necessary until later in the game.  Saints Row 3 says eff that noise, and immediately starts you off with an airstrike as one of your three starting weapons.  And once you have picked up a piece of equipment you can never lose it due to the game’s upgrade system, meaning there’s no additional fear of death holding the player back.  Ammo is incredibly inexpensive, to the point where I went on a killing spree right after I got my first hand gun outside a weapon shop and actually made more money than I spent on supplies by a large margin (not to mention the huge cache of guns I gathered.  What was that game?  Use the pistol?  I’m sorry; I was too busy using my sniper rifle I jacked off of a rival gang&#8217;s helicopter.)</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Saints-Row-The-Third-Cast-Image-300x120.jpg" alt="" title="Saints-Row-The-Third-Cast-Image" width="300" height="120" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29087" /></p>

<p><strong>This brings us to another interesting point:</strong> the game’s upgrade system.  It’s actually kind of amusing as to how they set this system up, as for the first seventy percent of the upgrades it’s really not too game breaking.  Sure you can boost your health and ammo capacity amongst a variety of other things, but it never really renders the game too easy.  No, it’s not until you reach the end of your level up cycle, level 50 in particular, that you can well and truly break the game.  I don’t know who decided that the jump from twenty percent damage reduction to invincibility was a good transition, but it breaks any challenge the rest of the game had almost immediately.  Fortunately it takes a while to reach such heights, so the main story is safe so long as the player doesn’t go around rampaging on the side too excessively.  Still, it would’ve made more sense to keep a gradual upgrade system to the end in my opinion, as once you reach level 50 the game no longer offers any sort of challenge to the player, meaning no replayability outside of starting a new save.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/big3-300x168.jpg" alt="" title="big3" width="300" height="168" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29088" /></p>

<p><strong>On another note,</strong> the game’s visuals are actually rather well done, with a clean, almost cartoony style that only serves to emphasize the game’s lack of emphasis on realism.  It still takes advantage of the current console generation’s graphical abilities, giving the game world a crisp presentation without any sort of slowdown or obvious pop ins.  This is great, as many of the longer missions have you traversing a large chunk of the world map, and due to the lack of popping in you can really get a sense of the game world’s scale as you explore.  Throw in a few exotic locales such as the always amusing virtual world taken straight out of a Tron parody and the Gangsters in Space set and you have enough going on visually to keep the player engaged at all times.</p>

<p><strong>This visual aesthetic is only complimented by the game’s excellent audio.</strong>  As always the game provides a fun selection of radio stations for when you are travelling around, with a wide variety of musical genres and amusing sketches available for your listening pleasure.  But the game actually goes farther than just this, using music in order to build a sense of atmosphere during key scenes.  The most obvious example of this is the game’s prolific use of Kanye West’s “Power” at dramatic moments, but another great example comes towards the end of the game, where during a potential rescue mission the game starts blaring “I Need A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler.  These moments really stood out to me, as in the later case it actually influenced my choice during said mission!</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Saints-Row-The-Third-Statue-300x168.jpg" alt="" title="Saints-Row-The-Third-Statue" width="300" height="168" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29089" /></p>

<p><strong>For once I’d like to finish this review by looking at the game’s story,</strong> as while the game may not take itself too seriously I still enjoyed the story a great deal.  Watching your character rise up against the gangs of Steelport and take over, dealing with each of the faction’s leaders as you progressed through the game was truly satisfying for me, as I felt as though I was making tangible progress each time I took out one of the gangs.  Something about taking over a world&#8217;s map really strikes a chord with me, and seeing it included in this game after its disappointing absence in GTA 4 pleased me greatly.  Long story short, I was intrigued enough by the story to not only go through and complete it, but I enjoyed my experience so much that I then went out and achieved one hundred percent completion on my save file before finally calling it quits.  Heck, my biggest gripe about the game’s story isn’t about how ridiculous it is, but the fact that it’s too short!  I should not be able to reach 100% completion of an open world game in less than 30 hours.</p>

<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GP_Saints-Row-3rd-Characters-610b-300x168.jpg" alt="" title="GP_Saints-Row-3rd-Characters-610b" width="300" height="168" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-29090" /></p>

<p><strong>Yet despite this criticism I highly recommend this game</strong> if you’re looking for a fun open world title where you can turn your brain off for a bit and just relax.  I had a blast playing it, and if you enjoy these sorts of games I can pretty much definitively say that you will as well.  And hey, at the very least it’ll serve to tide you over until the eventual release of GTA V!  The co-op mode alone has the potential to provide players with hours of additional content, and the main story mode is worthy of at least a rental.  Easily one of my favorite games released in 2011.</p>

<p><strong>Next week we’ll take a look at yet another new release,</strong> starring everyone&#8217;s favorite nocturnal hero.  But until that time this is Bargain Gamer, logging off!</p>
<img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29083&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Kana&#8217;s Korner &#8211; Interview with Cathy Weseluck</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-cathy-weseluck/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-cathy-weseluck/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>christmas4477</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radio Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cathy Weseluck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Death Note]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friendship is Magic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Little Pony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nate River]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Near]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ranma 1/2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shampoo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spike]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Direct from Canada, Cathy Weseluck joined us in the Korner. With her awesome ability to voice younger males, you&#8217;ve probably heard her in such popular things as Death Note and My Little Pony! Check it out for yourself! How to stalk Cathy Weseluck Official site Wikipedia IMDB]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cathyweseluck.png" alt="" title="cathyweseluck" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29072" /></p>

<p>Direct from Canada, <strong>Cathy Weseluck </strong>joined us in the Korner. With her awesome ability to voice younger males, you&#8217;ve probably heard her in such popular things as <strong>Death Note </strong>and <strong>My Little Pony</strong>! Check it out for yourself! </p><span id="more-29071"></span>

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgumfUgA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgumfUgA" style="display:none"></embed></p>

<p>
<strong><u>How to stalk Cathy Weseluck</u></strong>
<br />
<a href="http://cathyweseluck.com/">Official site</a>
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Weseluck">Wikipedia</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0921699/">IMDB</a>
</p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29071&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Overcompensating with the Owl in the Rafters</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/over-compensating-with-the-owl-in-the-rafters/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/over-compensating-with-the-owl-in-the-rafters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:46:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tyto</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Owl In The Rafters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[4Kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baki Son of Ogre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baki The Grappler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dik dik]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eric Stuart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fist of the blue sky]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fist of the North Star]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jojo's bizarre adventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kinnikuman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Baki the Grappler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Riki-Oh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ULTIMATE MUSCLE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=28938</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome to a special manly compensatory update of the Owl in the Rafters! As promised, in light of two weeks of girly updates and an upcoming lovey-dovey valentines day special, I&#8217;m taking this week to motivate you to man up and muse over some macho manga, manly anime, and virile video games, so step back [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/overcompensating.png" alt="" title="overcompensating" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29063" /></p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/kabuto5-e1327958058652-235x300.jpg" alt="" title="kabuto5" width="235" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28953" /><strong>Welcome to a special manly compensatory update of the Owl in the Rafters!</strong><span id="more-28938"></span>  As promised, in light of two weeks of girly updates and an upcoming lovey-dovey valentines day special, I&#8217;m taking this week to motivate you to man up and muse over some macho manga, manly anime, and virile video games, so step back and watch me flex my biographer biceps, my anime adductors, and my gamer glutes as I tackle all manner of masculine media.  In case I lost you in the alliterative deluge, I&#8217;m talking about covering manga, anime, and maybe a game or two with notoriously over the top &#8220;manly&#8221; nonsense; hot blooded heroes, raw willpower overcoming the forces of evil and physics, and muscles coming out of each ear as far as the eye can see.</p>

<p>Other than giving a little breakdown of the plot and premise on top of a little background as I usually do, I&#8217;d like to grade this week&#8217;s selection of titles on a 1-to-5 scale of manliness based upon manly art, design, characters, story, and of course action.  So, keep an eye out for my flex count at the end of each series overview.  Don&#8217;t worry, you&#8217;ll know it when you see it.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ultimate_muscle_the_kinnikuman_legacy-show-300x225.jpg" alt="" title="ultimate_muscle_the_kinnikuman_legacy-show" width="300" height="225" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-28959" /><strong>So, to get things oiled up, my first pick is the second entry in the gag comedy and international super hero parody series, <em>Kinnikuman</em></strong> (lit. &#8220;Muscleman&#8221;), more likely recognized in America for the localized identity <em>Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy</em>.  The series as a whole and the story of its two major protagonists centers on a world where all popular super heroes are real. (or at least some vague parody equivalents of them)  In such a world there exists a planet of beings from whom all great supermen both Japanese, American, and otherwise are supposedly derived, the Muscle Planet.</p>

<p>In a bizarre parody of Superman&#8217;s origin story, Ultraman&#8217;s iconic head blade, and the costumed antics of Japanese pro-wrestling blended together with the classic comedic stylings of a 1970s gag manga, the original 1979 series began with the first Kinnikuman, son of the King of Muscle Planet, accidentally abandoned on Earth and raised as a (more or less) normal human being before pursuing a career as a super hero.<img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ultraman-211x300.jpg" alt="" title="wrestlers gags &amp;super heroes" width="211" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28966" />  Among all the great heroes of Earth however, Kinnikuman is the one notorious failure, blessed with an Ultraman-like power to grow to enormous sizes and combat giant monsters, yet often unable to defeat even the weakest of opponents.  The early series starts as just a comedy series playing up common gag scenarios as well as a variety of super hero jokes centered around the life of the unlucky, unattractive, and unsuccessful protagonist, but around 30 chapters in shifts gears towards being a sports series with a world wide giant hero wrestling competition filled with hilarious stereotypes representing various nations.
(It may be hard not to mix them up but those are the super heroes on the bottom, the wrestlers in the top left corner, and the joke to the right.)</p>

<p>The plot teeters back and forth between sports competitions, climbing fight ladders, and the occasional return to episodic super heroics but always with a healthy dose of comedy in the mix.  Over three hundred chapters later, the super wrester angle with a comedy twist proved more popular than the comedy angle with the hero twist and the first series ends as an outright action series.  When the second series picked the franchise back up it begins the story of a second generation of intergalactic, international super hero wrestlers training to take the place of their predecessors and defeat an evil wrestling league with a distinctly American pro-wrestling flavor.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/foxbox.jpg" alt="" title="foxbox" width="266" height="203" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-28972" />Some of you may be just a little too young or too new to anime to remember it, but there was a brief time during the early 2000s when the company known as 4kids actually wasn&#8217;t infamous for producing over-localized garbage, but pretty darn reliable for releasing localized comedic gold.  I&#8217;ve mentioned one such instance when I briefly covered <em>Fighting Foodons</em> in <a href="http://918thefan.com/2011/wine-and-dine-with-the-owl-in-the-rafters/">a different themed article</a>, but <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> may be 4kids&#8217; finest achievement, second only to milking the <em>Pokémon</em> franchise half to death.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wrestling-stereotypes-300x225.jpg" alt="" title="wrestling-stereotypes" width="300" height="225" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28988" />Other than just dodging some of the more obvious racial issues, 4kids managed to rework a bulk of the script in <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> to something genuinely funny that managed to not only replace the uniquely Japanese sense of humor with an appropriately Western equivalent, but even managed to shoehorn in an astonishing amount of crude and borderline adult humor, as well as a large number of pop culture references that outright soared over the heads of the intended audience in place of what had otherwise been bland, and generic shounen action series banter.  Quite a drastic difference from the company&#8217;s more recent reputation for excessive censorship.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dikdik-300x222.jpg" alt="" title="dikdik" width="300" height="222" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-28995" />I&#8217;d like to point out most prominently the change of the character Gazelleman, a fairly normal character with no particularly special comedic qualities into Dik-dik Van Dik, combining a breed of tiny deer native to  parts of Africa and the Middle East with American 1960s TV celebrity Dick Van Dyke, effectively creating a joke that no child watching would have understood and so could only have conceivably been intended to solicit giggles over the word Dik being spoken in rapid succession in regular conversation: He was also voiced by Eric Stuart, who I&#8217;ll just assume by this point is best known as the voice of Seto Kaiba. To hammer the point home however, this is 4kids we&#8217;re talking about, ADDING the word &#8220;dik&#8221; to a script among countless other not so subtle word games that get thrown around like the writers were playing a game of monkey in the middle with their audience.</p>

<p>Considering that the final product of the American <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> that ran on the Fox Box was filled with random wacky slapstick, outdated pop culture references, deliberately goofy voice acting, some liberal use of meta-commentary, and all around nonsensical and crude humor, <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> was basically a &#8220;Kinnikuman the Abridged Series&#8221; 4 years before LittleKuriboh was ever a name anyone knew, and 5 years before Y!tAS actually got around to being any good.  Subsequently that means 5 years before the bandwagon&#8217;s baggage capacity got maxed out as every talentless anime fan under the sun and their little brother decided to grasp the wrong end of the comedic s(ch)tick and started the long long line of god awful &#8220;abridged&#8221; series out there today, most of which STILL don&#8217;t seem to understand the basic definition of the word &#8220;abridged&#8221;.  That&#8217;s also 6 years before Team Four Star got around to making the only other decent abridged series out there.</p>

<p>So, when it all really boils down, I give <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> (That is <em>Ultimate Muscle</em> in particular and not the original <em>Kinnikuman</em> or the Japanese <em>Kinnikuman Nisei</em>) a 3 out of 5 flexes on the muscle scale for manly action, manly character design, and story that shifts between goofy comedy and manly coming of age tale.  The art is acceptable and muscles abound, but when it comes right down to it, nothing special, and while the characters are extraordinarily amusing they tend to fulfill their roles as comedians before their roles as heroes.</p>
<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/35.jpg" alt="" title="3:5" width="363" height="71" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28939" /></p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/26932.jpg" alt="" title="Baki" width="200" height="280" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-28997" /><strong>Inching slowly away from the comedic end of things</strong> the next title I want to cover is <em>Baki the Grappler</em>, a series notorious for its art.  Originally run in Weekly Shounen Champion starting in 1991, the series has been ongoing since but divided into three separate titles: <em>Baki the Grappler</em>, <em>Baki</em> (aka <em>New Grappler Baki</em> to help avoid confusion), and the ongoing <em>Baki: Son of Ogre</em>.  Of the three, only the first installment, <em>Baki the Grappler</em>, has seen animation, one OVA and two 24 episode television series, both of which were dubbed and released in NA by Funimation but as a single 48 episode long series under the title <em>Baki the Grappler</em>.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2215_55389-e1328058736171-265x300.jpg" alt="" title="Baki Hanma" width="265" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28998" />The story follows the titular hero, Baki Hanma, a young man born and raised waist deep in martial arts.  His father is, Yujiro &#8220;The Ogre&#8221;, a man famed as the world&#8217;s strongest martial artist, and the man that Baki has sworn to defeat in combat, take the title of, and ultimately kill with his own two hands.  To that end, Baki has departed from the traditional realm of martial arts and developed his own style that incorporates both existing fighting styles as well as mimicry of animal behavior in the attempt to trump his father&#8217;s wide range of martial arts mastery.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/watch-baki-the-grappler-episodes-online-english-sub-thumbnailpic-300x195.jpg" alt="" title="watch-baki-the-grappler-episodes-online-english-sub-thumbnailpic" width="300" height="195" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-29003" />The plot of the series is expectedly straight forward: Baki seeks out and fights stronger and stronger opponents, going through all the necessary power up and preparation training before each major fight.  As Baki steam rolls his way through fights we also get little glimpses into his personal life, learning why he wants to kill his father, that he has a half-brother with similar goals and aspirations, and just what becomes of Baki&#8217;s mother, a woman caught in the conflict of two inhumanly powerful men.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kuniyoshi_2_demons_driven_away_7d-300x261.jpg" alt="" title="Kuniyoshi_2_demons_driven_away_7d" width="300" height="261" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29023" />Aside from being a popular, long running and ongoing manga series, I did mention that it has built some notoriety for its art style.  Artist Keisuke Itagaki is himself a martial artist as well as a former serving member of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, but his depiction of the human anatomy has very often come under criticism for his wildly exaggerated musculature.  His art style is consistent enough in its bizarre proportions and muscular definition that I can only assume it to be entirely intentional, as his illustrative work in the novel series <em>Ga-Rou-Den</em> would suggest.  Personally I would like to think that his art style is a throw back to the look of classical Japanese Ukiyo-e wood block print and their depiction of samurai as well as spirits and monsters.</p>

<p>What all boils down to is a manly art style, depicting all around manly characters, doing manly things in a manly story, but with just a twinge of unintentional humor as a consequence of the bizarre anatomy.  A hearty four of five flexes on the muscle scale for all around manly excellence.</p>
<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/4-5flex.jpg" alt="" title="4-5flex" width="363" height="71" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29009" /></p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/riki_oh_v01c01p001-e1328069031737-217x300.jpg" alt="" title="riki_oh_v01c01p001" width="217" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-29020" /><strong>Sticking to the unintentionally comedic slant of things</strong> but nudging the manly slider a little away from to totally insane end of the scale, I&#8217;d like to say just a little something on Masahiko Takajo&#8217;s <em>Violence Hero: Riki-Oh</em>.  A fairly popular manga with two English release OVAs <em>Riki-Oh</em> is generally better remembered as the source material for a notoriously bad hong kong live action film adaptation, <em>Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky</em>.</p>

<p>In all adaptations the story follows its eponymous main character and his survival in a post apocalyptic world as he breaks his way out of a high security prison after slaughtering a number of yakuza members in retribution for the death of a child (the role is fulfilled by his girlfriend in the movie), a conflict that leaves him with five bullets permanently embedded in his body.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/riki_oh_v01c02p082-229x300.jpg" alt="" title="riki_oh_v01c02p082" width="229" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29021" />I really wish I could show some of the action of the manga, seeing as it is the best part of the manga, but the whole selling point to the action has always been the absurd and grotesque gore and violence.  Even beyond the villains&#8217; extreme measures in torturing and brutalizing the many innocent victims that Riki tends to avenge rather than rescue Riki himself displays time and time again his own disgustingly inhuman strength as he literally punches holes in people, blowing chunks of bone and guts across the pages.  There are, of course, other less practical uses of bizarre body horror, such as the prison warden who keeps breath mints in his glass eye, so in lieu of any inappropriate gore I&#8217;ll just leave you with that.</p>

<p>Frankly the story is hardly entertaining by itself and the action while fun boarders on too goofy even to enjoy.  Some of the more inventive approaches to the gory action are strangely admirable in their own way, however.  The classically hot-blooded men&#8217;s manga style shows itself not only in the art but in the characters and the many side character backstories of good honest men trying to find a place to live peacefully in a corrupt world.  There&#8217;s really not much to be said about the manga or the film&#8217;s impact or history as there&#8217;s next to nothing to go over.  So, while brief, my assessment of <em>Riki-Oh</em> gives it a flex for character, flex for action, and flex for art and design for another four out of five score.</p>
<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/4-5flex.jpg" alt="" title="4-5flex" width="363" height="71" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29009" /></p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/son-goku-18603-e1328071331259-300x210.jpg" alt="" title="son-goku-18603" width="300" height="210" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29026" /><strong>I think it is fair to say that I can&#8217;t really end this article without bringing up <em>Hokuto no Ken</em></strong>, A.K.A. <em>Fist of the North Star</em>, or <em>Dragon Ball Z</em> in some capacity.  So, considering that more or less every/any anime fan out there worth his/her spit now&#8217;days knows <em>Dragon Ball Z</em>, whether it was something he/she enjoyed or not, between the two of them I&#8217;ll have to pick <em>Fist of the North Star</em>.</p>

<p>Originally run in Fresh Jump as a one-shot by Tetsuo Hara in 1983, and run in Weekly Jump as a serial title that same year with help from manga author Bronson, <em>Fist of the North Star</em> quickly grew to be one of Jump&#8217;s flagship titles during the 80s along side other big hits like <em>Dr.Slump</em>, <em>Captain Tsubasa</em>, <em>Dragon Ball</em>, <em>Saint Seiya</em>, <em>City Hunter</em>, and <em>Jojo&#8217;s Bizarre Adventure</em>. (I will come back to that last one in particular a bit later.)</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2z3xnj6-191x300.jpg" alt="" title="2z3xnj6" width="191" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29029" />The <em>Fist of the North Star</em> franchise and its many spinoffs and side-stories take place in a <em>Mad Max</em> inspired post apocalyptic 199X and generally center around the kung-fu film heroics of the last heir to a deadly, ancient, and mythical martial arts style, Hokuto Shinken, as he wanders the barren wastelands, dispensing brutal justice on the many warlords that have taken control of the grim future as he goes.</p>

<p>Rather than go into any real depth about <em>Fist of the North Star</em> itself, or even the 2004 OVA <em>New Fist of the North Star</em> I&#8217;d like to touch on closely related entry in Tetsuo Hara&#8217;s library of work: <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em>.  As the title would hint at, <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em> is indeed related to <em>Fist of the North Star</em>, a prequel in fact.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fist-of-the-blue-sky-2114489-213x300.jpg" alt="" title="fist-of-the-blue-sky" width="213" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-29036" />Tracing back the lineage of the Hokuto  Shinken martial arts school to 1930s Shanghai China,  <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em> saddles follows the uncle (older brother of the father) of <em>Fist of the North Star</em>&#8216;s protagonist, Kenshiro, also named Kenshiro, Kenshiro Kasumi. (The <em>&#8230;North Star</em> Kenshiro is in fact named after his uncle, the <em>&#8230;Blue Sky</em> Kenshiro.)</p>

<p>Kasumi is a retired assassin once wrapped up in Shanghai&#8217;s elaborate criminal underground as an assassin without peer.  Sick of the callous politics of the Triad&#8217;s gang wars, Kasumi retreated to Tokyo Japan where he settled down as a university professor for a time until he happens upon a chance reunion with an old friend at the start of the story and learns that virtually all of his friends in Shanghai have been slaughtered. Thus begins Kasumi&#8217;s vendetta rampage over the Shanghai underworld.</p>

<p>With the original <em>Fist of the North Star</em>  series having already drawn heavily upon cliches, archetypes, and other elements of the classic 1970s kung-fu film formula, <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em> quite predictably sticks to the same track, but cranks the volume up a few notches.  Like the original series <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em> also hosts a large cast of inhumanly large, muscular, and down right unusually shaped villains on top of its exotic selection of fictional and fantastic martial arts styles.</p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ShiatsuPoints3-202x300.jpg" alt="" title="ShiatsuPoints" width="202" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29038" />If you didn&#8217;t already know, the entire gimmick of the Hokuto Shinken martial arts style is that it takes the concept of qi and bodily energies behind acupuncture to what I&#8217;m reluctant to call the &#8220;logical&#8221; extremities of its use in fiction.  Where as real world belief in qi flow suggests that if the direction and path of flow as well as pressure, and release points of this mystical energy can be understood, they can then be used, and/or abused to promote physical wellness as well as sickness, cramps, paralysis, and other internal effects.  Hokuto Shinken&#8217;s fictional applications force one fighter&#8217;s qi into the pressure point(s) of his opponents, causing an immediate overflow.  The ultimate effect?  Exploding heads.  Exploding heads everywhere.</p>

<p>I assume you would understand as much from what I&#8217;ve said, but I&#8217;ll say it plainly for clarity&#8217;s sake: <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em>, as well as <em>Fist of the North Star</em>, are very bloody, gory, violent series.  I don&#8217;t expect that to dissuade anyone, but it&#8217;s worth saying.  The series might be better known for their manly heroics, and modern audiences may not be the type to bat an eye at a little blood and guts but it really isn&#8217;t a series I&#8217;d expect many parents to be perfectly ok with showing to younger kids.  Still not nearly as absurd as some of what you&#8217;d find in <em>Riki-Oh</em>.</p>

<p>All in all, for continuing the long running franchise&#8217;s reputation for brutal action, manly characters, and general hot-bloodedness, and for adding an extra twist of of genre savvy kung-fu film elements, mobster drama, and of course for Tetsuo Hara&#8217;s iconic, rough, gritty art style, I give <em>Fist of the Blue Sky</em> a 5 out of 5 flexes on the muscle scale for manly art, manly story telling, manly characters, manly action, and of course manly character design.</p>
<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/5-5flex.jpg" alt="" title="5-5flex" width="362" height="70" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28940" /></p>

<p><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20110403_jojo-bizarre-araki-hirohiko-300x204.jpg" alt="" title="jojo-bizarre" width="300" height="204" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29040" /><strong>As a sort of honorable mention before wrapping this up,</strong> I&#8217;d like to point out that I had to really wrestle with the decision of whether or not to include <em>Jojo&#8217;s Bizarre Adventure</em> in this article.  Ultimately I chose against it -obviously since I&#8217;m making this honorable mention instead of an overview- as it would be better saved for a Hirohiko Araki article all its own.  That way I can take the time to give the series and its author due credit as more than just a collection of manly men doing manly things.</p>

<img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/kabuto10-e1328026884928-221x300.jpg" alt="" title="kabuto" width="221" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-28986" /><p><strong>I actually really have to apologize,</strong> other than just dropping <em>Jojo&#8217;s Bizarre Adventure</em> I had initially intended to cover a couple more shows and a game or two (namely the <em>Cho Aniki</em> side-scrolling bullet hell series and the bizarre and flamboyant wiiware title, <em>Muscle March</em>) but at the rate I&#8217;m going this article would be a little too long by the time I finished covering a fifth show.  Instead I&#8217;ve chosen to cut the selection down, omitting all of my video game choices. (But who knows, <a href="http://918thefan.com/category/bargain-gaming/">a certain video game reviewer</a> might be able to cover me with those at some point.)  So, while I hate to cut short our time together, it just can&#8217;t be helped.  I&#8217;ll be back following Valentine&#8217;s day with a romantic holiday special with an extra special twist of geek added to it.  Until then, remember to stay manly, 91.8 fans!</p>

<p>As an important citation: The somewhat bizarre pictures featured above and at the very start of this article are actually part of artist, Yasayuki Sakura&#8217;s <em><a href="http://www.kabuto-project.com/">Power Sculpture: KABUTO PROJECT</a></em>, which uses the iconic horn of the <em>Allomyrina dichotoma</em>, Japan&#8217;s native species of rhinoceros beetle -an iconic emblem of the traditional gambling over insect fights- as a symbol of strength while exploring the power behind the human figure.</p>
<img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=28938&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Kana&#8217;s Korner &#8211; Interview with DC Douglas</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-dc-douglas/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-dc-douglas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:57:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>christmas4477</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radio Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[.hack//G.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albert Wesker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DC Douglas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gabi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Resident Evil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taihaku]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29015</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While fighting off his hoards of zombies, we talked to DC Douglas, voice of Albert Wesker from Resident Evil. He&#8217;s been in loads of other cool games too, so make sure you listen in! How to stalk DC Douglas Official site Voice over official site Blog The Crooked Eye Wikipedia IMDB Facebook Twitter]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dcdouglas.png" alt="" title="dcdouglas" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29016" /></p>

<p>While fighting off his hoards of zombies, we talked to <strong>DC Douglas</strong>, voice of <strong>Albert Wesker </strong>from <strong>Resident Evil</strong>. He&#8217;s been in loads of other cool games too, so make sure you listen in! </p><span id="more-29015"></span>

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgumaCgA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgumaCgA" style="display:none"></embed></p>

<p>
<strong><u>How to stalk DC Douglas</u></strong>
<br />
<a href="http://www.dcdouglas.com/">Official site</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.myvoiceoverguy.com/">Voice over official site</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.dcdouglasblog.com/">Blog</a>
<br />
<a href=""http://www.thecrookedeye.com/>The Crooked Eye</a>
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Douglas">Wikipedia</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235006/">IMDB</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Douglas-Actor-Voice-Over-Artist/120486757436">Facebook</a>
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/DC_Douglas">Twitter</a>
</p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29015&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>iStalk &#8211; 747</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-747/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-747/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[iStalk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Funimation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gokujyo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Haganai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hikaru Midorikawa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hiroshi Kamiya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jun Fukuyama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kenichi Suzumura]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kouichi Yamadera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miyu Irino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ohayocon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Takahiro Sakurai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tomokazu Morikawa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tomokazu Seki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tomokazu Sugita]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29052</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, Japanese voice actors cover Disney, Gokujyo strike two, and Funimation acquires more rights to Haganai. Sources: Story 1 Story 2 Story 3]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/747.png" alt="" title="747" width="550" height="150" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29069" /></p>

<p>
Today, Japanese voice actors cover Disney, Gokujyo strike two, and Funimation acquires more rights to Haganai.
</p><span id="more-29052"></span>

<p align="center">
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgunSVAA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgunSVAA" style="display:none"></embed>
</p>

<p><ul><strong>Sources:</strong>
<li><a href="
http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/01/voice-actors-to-release-disney-cover-album/
">Story 1</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-28/gokujyo-anime-3rd-episode-will-not-air
">Story 2</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.funimation.com/rojas/blog/funimation-acquires-additional-rights-to-haganai/2081021
">Story 3</a></li>
</ul></p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29052&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>iStalk &#8211; 746</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-746/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-746/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:00:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[iStalk]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[[Champagne]]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=29048</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, Kano-Uso compilation album to be released, Dark Horse offer digital versions of some manga, and Funimation discontinues some DVD releases. Sources: Story 1 Story 2 Story 3]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/746.png" alt="" title="746" width="550" height="150" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29067" /></p>

<p>
Today, Kano-Uso compilation album to be released, Dark Horse offer digital versions of some manga, and Funimation discontinues some DVD releases.
</p><span id="more-29048"></span>

<p align="center">
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgunSQQA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgunSQQA" style="display:none"></embed>
</p>

<p><ul><strong>Sources:</strong>
<li><a href="
http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/01/compilation-album-for-aoki-kotomis-manga-kano-uso-to-be-released-2/
">Story 1</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/01/27/dark-horse-brings-the-digital-horror-and-fantasy-with-blood-manga-and-more
">Story 2</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-27/funimation-discontinues-4-dvd-blu-ray-titles
">Story 3</a></li>
</ul></p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=29048&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Merry Melodies &#8211; Persona 4 Opening 2 &#8211; Key Plus Words</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/merry-melodies-persona-4-opening-2-key-plus-words/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/merry-melodies-persona-4-opening-2-key-plus-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:53:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>christmas4477</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Merry Melodies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chie Satonaka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Key Plus Words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lotus Juice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Naoto Shiragane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Persona 4]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rise Kujikawa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shihoko Hirata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tatsumi Kanji]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teddie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yosuke Hanamura]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yu Narukami]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yukiko Amagi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=28919</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was originally going to do a different song this week, but Persona 4 has just been so beary awesome that I had to get this done as soon as I could. Time to fight some Shadows! &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211; For those of you unaware, Persona 4 is a series based off the PS2 game of the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/keypluswords.png" alt="" title="keypluswords" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28920" /></p>

<p>I was originally going to do a different song this week, but Persona 4 has just been so beary awesome that I had to get this done as soon as I could. Time to fight some Shadows!</p><span id="more-28919"></span>

<p align="center"><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</strong></p>

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgumWGQA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgumWGQA" style="display:none"></embed></p>

<p><strong>For those of you unaware, </strong>Persona 4 is a series based off the PS2 game of the same name, which I&#8217;ve been told is pretty awesome, but I lack the PS2 to confirm for myself. I can tell you that the series is pretty awesome, though. It&#8217;s probably because Atlus has a direct hand in it, and they&#8217;ve never let me down before. Unlike the other Persona anime out there, Persona Trinity Soul, P4 doesn&#8217;t really require you to have played the game, from what I can tell.</p>

<p><strong>I&#8217;ve said before that sometimes</strong> I like to pick out individual instruments and focus solely on them. Screw that for Key Plus Words. The guitar and bass just blend together so well, it&#8217;s amazing. It&#8217;s also amazing how they just repeat the same like 3 riffs the entire time, but if it works, go for it. Then you throw in some drums and it gets even better. Like when I first started watching P4, I enjoyed the other songs by Shihoko Hirata. She has a great sound. But if I hadn&#8217;t been keeping up with the series, this is what would have prompted me to watch it. My only true complaint with the song is that a full version of it won&#8217;t be out until May 25th.</p>

<p><strong>There&#8217;s not a whole lot to say </strong>about the animation for this OP. It&#8217;s the main dudes all putting on their awesome glasses, which is apparently how they summon their Personas. Except Teddie. He doesn&#8217;t need glasses to summon his Bearsona. If you played or watched P4, you&#8217;d know he makes bear puns. Anyway, P4 is one of the few things I&#8217;ve managed to keep up with lately, and I highly recommend it. I don&#8217;t want to spoil too much, but I&#8217;ve enjoyed every moment of the series, especially episode twelve.</p>

<p align="center"><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</strong></p>

<p><strong>QUESTION TIME! </strong>Any of you checked out Persona 4? How about any of the other Persona games or Trinity Soul? Let me know in the comments or just talk about how awesome the music is!</p>
-
<p>Check out Persona 4 for yourself, right on the Anime Network, which is conveniently located <a href="http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Anime/Persona-4/Info">here!</a></p>

<br /><br /><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=28919&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>iStalk &#8211; 745</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-745/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/istalk-745/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[iStalk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A Bridge's Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adventure Bar Story]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Anime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Devil King]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dingo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doll the Hotel Detective]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Golgo 13]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hawking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iOS]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Kaoru Mori]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kitty Hawker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muyonosuke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Survival: Another Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Takako Shimura]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tenka Ichi!!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Larceny Log of Zampei the Cloud Snatcher]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wandering Son]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Young-kun]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=28963</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, JManga acquires Doll The Hotel Detective and Tenka Ichi!! into it&#8217;s reserve, American librarian society ranks top ten graphic novels, and own your own bar in a new RPG. Sources: Story 1 Story 2 Story 3]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/745.png" alt="" title="745" width="550" height="150" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28984" /></p>

<p>
Today, JManga acquires Doll The Hotel Detective and Tenka Ichi!! into it&#8217;s reserve, American librarian society ranks top ten graphic novels, and own your own bar in a new RPG.
</p><span id="more-28963"></span>

<p align="center">
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rgumKQgA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rgumKQgA" style="display:none"></embed>
</p>

<p><ul><strong>Sources:</strong>
<li><a href="
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-24/jmanga-adds-doll-the-hotel-detective-tenka-ichi-manga
">Story 1</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-24/u.s-librarians-rank-wandering-son-bride-story-in-teens-top-10
">Story 2</a></li>
<li><a href="
http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/24/adventure-bar-story-makes-you-a-rpg-tavern-owner/
">Story 3</a></li>
</ul></p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=28963&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Kana&#8217;s Korner &#8211; Interview with Mark Crilley</title>
		<link>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-mark-crilley/</link>
		<comments>http://918thefan.com/2012/kanas-korner-interview-with-mark-crilley/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:57:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>christmas4477</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radio Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Akiko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brody's Ghost]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Dark Horse Comics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interview]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Mark Crilley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miki Falls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://918thefan.com/?p=28898</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This one&#8217;s for all you artists out there! Mark Crilley stopped by to chat about his cool manga style series, Miki Falls and Brody&#8217;s Ghost, as well as talk about how he can help you be a better artist. Have a listen! How to stalk Mark Crilley Official site Wikipedia YouTube DeviantArt]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p align="center"><img src="http://918thefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/markcrilley.png" alt="" title="markcrilley" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28899" /></p>

<p>This one&#8217;s for all you artists out there! <strong>Mark Crilley </strong>stopped by to chat about his cool manga style series, <strong>Miki Falls </strong>and <strong>Brody&#8217;s Ghost</strong>, as well as talk about how he can help you be a better artist. Have a listen!</p><span id="more-28898"></span>

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/g69rguj5OQA.html?p=1" width="550" height="338" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#g69rguj5OQA" style="display:none"></embed></p>

<p>
<strong><u>How to stalk Mark Crilley</u></strong>
<br />
<a href="http://www.markcrilley.com/">Official site</a>
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Crilley">Wikipedia</a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/markcrilley">YouTube</a>
<br />
<a href="http://markcrilley.deviantart.com/">DeviantArt</a>
</p><img src="http://918thefan.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=28898&type=feed" alt="" />]]></content:encoded>
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