Category: Amish Otaku

All the stuff I published when I ran a nerd blog

Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Viper

A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea #2

Guest Post

It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote a review for A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea, but I was given an opportunity to check out issue number two in advance, so I figured I would dust off the cobwebs on my keyboard and give the second issue a mini review. The second issue in the mini series continues the trend of mixing humor and mystery with an assorted gang of interesting characters that is hard to put down.

I won’t go into the general plot in this review since I covered that in first review. The first issue leaves you on a cliffhanger and this one picks right up from there. But if you can’t find the first issue at your local comic shop, you won’t be too lost since it was written in a way that you can pick it right up.

One thing that I will give the writer, Jason Burns, credit for is that he knows how to set up proper cliffhangers in each issue. The first issue leaves you with one, and the second issue continues that. Having good cliffhangers is very important in comics and I think Jason agrees with me in that regard. The end of this issue leaves you in a place where you just have to march down to your local nerd den and plop over the money that Big Oil was expecting that week. Continue reading “A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea #2”

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Amish Otaku, Bargain Reviews, Features, NES, Nintendo, Video Games

Bargain Review: Ninja Gaiden and Strider

We’re bringing back the Bargain Review with two NES games that first saw the light of day in arcades in the 80s. And since this is the NES we’re talking about, you already know the arcade version of each of the games was better than its console counterpart. Grab your swords and cover your face because today Bargain Review is looking at the first console appearances of Ryu Hayabusa and Strider Hiryu.

Ninja Gaiden
Tecmo, 1989

The first thing you notice about Ninja Gaiden once you start playing it is that it’s nothing like the arcade game which was very similar to Capcom’s early brawlers. In fact, it’s very much like Castlevania. While the physics of the game and the hero’s weapon are different, the core mechanics of the games are nearly identical. Continue reading “Bargain Review: Ninja Gaiden and Strider”

Daniel Allen
Amish Otaku, Comics, Marvel

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born

This comic born of some of the best talent at Marvel and the dark mythos of Stephen King’s Dark Tower is one of the most visually stunning series I’ve seen in a while. It’s obvious a lot of work goes into the art and the story is lifted directly from King’s novels, so we’re given an impressive and expansive world to explore.

King works as creative director on the series with help from his long-time research assistant Robin Furth, so it has been held to a higher standard than some of the more notorious movie adaptations of his works (think Langoliers or Cujo). The script was adapted by Peter David, who has been writing for print, television and comics for years now, including work on Incredible Hulk and Babylon 5.

Considering David has worked extensively on expanding the ideas of others, it’s no surprise that he captures perfectly the dark tone and oppressive mood of King’s Midworld – the primary setting for The Dark Tower. Continue reading “Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born”

Daniel Allen
Amish Otaku, Nintendo, Video Games, Wii

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Wait is Over!

After nearly two years of waiting, the most anticipated Wii title to date has finally hit store shelves across America. Now that almost two weeks have gone by since it launched, everyone who wants to be playing it is.

For some people (myself included) the chance to play Super Smash Bros: Brawl came a little over a week after its initial release due to what Nintendo claims is a dirty lens. However, their top-notch repair team had my Wii back in my hands exactly seven days after it left and everything is running smoothly.

The first thing to mention about the newest member of the Super Smash Bros. franchise is that nothing of the general game mechanic has changed from Melee. In fact, the mechanics are so similar that you can play the game using your standard Game Cube controller with the same button set as the previous game. Continue reading “Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The Wait is Over!”

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Amish Otaku, PSP, Video Games

Patapon: March to the Rhythm of War

If Patapon had to be pigeon-holed into a genre, I suppose it would be considered a rhythm-based near-time-strategy seasoned liberally with devices from role-playing games such as customization, creation and item collection.

You play the leader of the Patapons, essentially black and white eyes organized into a tribal structure. As their leader, it’s up to you to guide the Patapons out of their exile and into “Earthend.” Who exiled the Patapons? The Zigatons, of course. And what exactly is at Earthend? “IT,” of course. The Patapons live in a very simple world. Continue reading “Patapon: March to the Rhythm of War”

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Amish Otaku, Manga

Pumpkin Scissors: They March Among the Midnight Glow

Ryotaro Iwanaga’s Pumpkin Scissors takes place in a war-torn and crippled world, in the wake of a cease-fire with little food, infrastructore or hope for a better future. Now that the long war with the Republic of Frost has ended, the Royal Empire has set up a special army unit dedicated solely to war relief and reconstruction – Imperial Army Section III: Pumpkin Scissors.

The unit is little more than an agent of propaganda run by a nobleman’s daughter, 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin, until she stumbles upon Corporal Randel Oland. Oland was once part of a group of secret military units called “The Invisible Nine.” His specific unit was the 901-ATT Anti Tank Trooper, the Gespenster Jägers – or Death March Troopers. He’s seen more combat than the whole of Section III combined. Continue reading “Pumpkin Scissors: They March Among the Midnight Glow”

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Amish Otaku, Anime

Ghost Hound

Production IG’s currently running anime, Ghost Hound, may start out slow but it more than makes up for this in its well-timed plot and cerebral story line. Interestingly, this story takes place in the present, more precisely the date in the episodes are congruent to the date they are currently being aired on Japanese television station Wowow.

The idea for this story came from Shirow Masamune, of Ghost in the Shell fame, over 20 years ago. Production IG announced the show to the public only last year, and it went to air this past October. You won’t find any cyberpunk in this story, although it’s still going to throw some science at you in the form of psychology and psychological terms, as well as a dose of Japanese folklore.

The story centers around three teenage boys – Taro, Makoto and Masayuki – with troubled pasts that allow them to leave their bodies and travel the Unseen World, and a girl – Miyako – who can see the creatures that reside in the Unseen World. Continue reading “Ghost Hound”

Daniel Allen
Amish Otaku, Manga

Hellsing Vol. 1

I first came across Hellsing at a game convention displayed next to uncountable other mangas outside the game room. I knew what type of stuff I liked – Crying Freeman, Sanctuary, Blade of the Immortal – and I wanted a new series to sink my teeth into (heh). This is what was handed to me.

The story revolves around the shadowy organization known as Hellsing. Their primary mission is to protect the Protestants of the United Kingdom from the armies of the underworld. Their primary weapon is an ancient and powerful vampire named Alucard who now fights for the Anglican Church. Continue reading “Hellsing Vol. 1”

Daniel Allen
Amish Otaku, Comics

World’s Finest: Superman and Batman WB Stores Exclusives

By Ahmad Chaudhary

For a little background information on why these DC top dogs are referred to as World’s Finest, they were the stars of the DC Comics series of the same name that ran from 1941 to 1986.

Nonetheless, these were not packaged together – or packaged at all, for that matter. All they had was a cardboard tag with a plastic tie around one of the appendages. Shortly before the global demise of the Warner Bros. Studio stores’ chain, I picked these up at the King of Prussia Mall back in 2001. They also had a Barbara Gordon Batgirl, a Robin and the Joker, all of which I was an idiot for not picking up, especially at only $9.99 each.

Of course at the time I wasn’t aware of any events that would cause the chain to implode almost overnight, those events being the merger of media titans Timer Warner (which owns Warner Bros, DC Comics and related properties) and Turner Broadcasting. Continue reading “World’s Finest: Superman and Batman WB Stores Exclusives”

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Amish Otaku, Features

Yakuza: more than “Gungrave” and “GTO”

What do you think of when you hear the word Yakuza? Many people on this side of the Pacific kind of get a blank look – the concept goes right over their heads until you say, “You know, the Japanese Mafia…” and then suddenly: recognition! Explaining the Yakuza as the “Japanese Mafia” is also apparently an acceptable way of describing the crime syndicate in the American press; I don’t know why. It could just as easily be argued that the Italian crime syndicate (most commonly associated with the word mafia) is the “Italian Yakuza,” except the Italians “were here [in the USA] first” (or whatever); but, I digress.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Yakuza than GTO, Gungrave, Gokusen, Texhnolyze, and Black Lagoon can give you, or if you’ve played Yakuza and are curious about the tendency toward full-body tattoos, I suggest starting with Wikipedia and working your way up from there. (The Yakuza 3 game trailer is here, by the way.) Continue reading “Yakuza: more than “Gungrave” and “GTO””

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