Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax

This tuesday will be the season finale of the Shannara Chronicles on MTV, and while I've been watching it I decided to read ahead in the series and start with Antrax, the second in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy. Set five hundred years after the events of the original triology including the current TV series, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara tels the story of an expedition aboard an airship named after the famous elf king who gives the entire series it's name. I chose this book because it features cyborgs called wronks and I wanted to know how it fit into the otherwise magical world. The entire series takes place in a post apocalyptic world where technology has been lost, and the knowledge to get it back is held by an artificial intelligence known as Antrax which was created to preserve the knowledge that was feared to be lost in the impending apocalypse. Ultimately one of its creators was desperate enough to give Antrax a final command to protect its secrets at all costs, which unfortunately translated into it destroying anything that came near, meaning the information is protected, but absolutely nobody can ever get to it, so it's a bit counterproductive. Worse still, Antrax has gotten more desperate, especially since its original power source started to fail, and it discovered that it could replace its power source with magic. It also discovered that it can combine machines with flesh to create servants, though it generally prefers to use full machines known as creepers. It hunts humans and has actually masterminded the voyage of the Jerle Shannara specifically to find magic sources and it hit the motherload when the unfortunate crew reaches its destination. Antrax had been drawing energy from Kael Elessidil and his elfstones, but as Kael started to die, it sent him out to find a replacement, baiting the Druid Walker Boh to collect the treasured knowledge who unwittingly brings more magic users to feed Antrax.

This book begins with the Ilse Witch remembering her origins as Grianne Ohmsford and how she believed her brother Bek died. Confronted by Bek she struggles with the realization that her whole life since has been based on a lie. This plotline switches back and forth between the perspectives of Grianne and Bek. Grianne hunts down Bek, trying to deny the truth with such determination that she will not rest until she hears him retract all that he said to her. Grianne's power is the Wishsong, an Ohmsford/Shannara family trait that allows certain members of the family to sing anything into being and Grianne uses it to transform a wolf into a monster that tracks down Bek. Bek has recently discovered that he also has the power of the Wishsong and tries to persuade Grianne to come back to him, while a shapeshifter named Truls Rohk tries to protect him and teach him how to use his magic.

Meanwhile, Rue Meridian is the point of view character regarding the Jerle Shannara itself. The airship itslef was taken over and Rue is the only one who has a chanc of taking it back. She succeeds, but since they were attacked by the Black Moclips, a federation airship, that becomes her primaary focus.

Meanwhile a handful of the crew made it to Antrax's base Castledown and they want to complete their journey. Walker Boh was the first to be cut off, and Ahren Ellesdil, an elf prince seeking the elfstones and all but doomed to take his uncle's place runs away in fear and ends up paired with the seer Ryer Ord Star to try and find Walker, only to find out their magic was the problem and try to rescue Walker.

Meanwhile, Quentin Leah, the Highlander, Bek's adopted cousin, desperately tries to survive the wronk of his former mentor Ard Patrinell. Antrax determined that while Quentin and his sword have magic, but the only one who has a chance of capturing him is to attach Patrinell's head and sword arm to a cybernetic body, preserving his tactical and muscle memory respectively.

The book is actually these four stories told seperately yet intertwined. All four came from the Jerle Shannara, and all must return so they can go home. This book is in the middle of a trilogy, the first book being the journey to the distant realm of Parkasia where this all takes place, west across the sea from the Four Lands. The next book is about their journey home, but Antrax is all about the destination, the knowledge of the old world and the one who protects it.

This is a good read, and it will help you understand Steel Golem, my story of events in Parkasia five hundred years earlier, concurrent with the events of Elfstones of Shannara/Shannara Chronicles season 1. So read this story, read my story and watch the finale of Shannara Chronicles this tuesday!

Final Fantasy XII, or Star Wars Squenix edition

Okay, I don't know how most people feel about Final Fantasy XII, I know a lot of people consider it to be the turning point of the franchise where things went downhill, but for me this game was pretty awesome, some of the best graphics, a fairly smooth interface, and a good story, and my favorite part it takes place in Ivalice. For people who don't know, Ivalice is where the Tactics spinoffs take place, so this marks the one time the setting is used in the numbered series and makes it canon. But back to the story, it is pretty cool, but it seems that they pretty much ripped off Star Wars, one of the best rip offs I've ever seen, but...okay, let me just use the next paragraph to describe the story purely in the form of similarities.

The main character is a blond orphan living in the desert who gets mixed up with a rougue with a non-human companion who co-pilots his ship and an old veteran knight mentors the hero while they protect a princess who leads a rebellion against an evil empire. The rogue is pursued by a bounty hunter and at one point a major villain reveals himself to be the father of a main character. Did I mention the ship looks suspiciously like the Millenium Falcon? Or that the desert looks like Tatooine, especially when you run into guys who look and sound like Tusken Raiders? Oh and I almost forgot, the evil empire's plot includes a giant ship that can blast away an entire kingdom, and theoretically the entire planet if not kept in check. And boy does the final dungeon inside of that ship look an awful lot like the Death Star.

Despite the obvious influence suggesting a complete ripoff  (and no, it is most definitely not a coincidence, ever since FF6 Biggs and Wedge revealed that Squenix are Star Wars fans) This is still a solid game. Now, let's review the story a bit more objectively.

The game revolves around the conflict between the kingdoms of Dalmasca and Arcadia. It begins when Princess Ashelia of Dalmasca is going to get married and live happily ever after, but then the invasion begins and her wedding is ruined, not only because of the worst party crashers ever but also because the groom is a casualty. This prologue focuses on a soldier who fights to protect Princess Ashelia, and he's successful in saving her but dies in the process. The story picks up with that soldier's brother Vaan, the main character of the game a few years after the invasion. He's grown up as an orphan street rat, trying to act tough, but he's been in the care of a Bangaa merchant along with his best friend Penelo, so he's had a relatively comfortable life for a peasant and Penelo sees right through his tough guy act. As Vaan tries to prove how awesome he is, he manages to get into the palace and gets mixed up with Balthier and Fran a couple of thieves who were stealing a priceless royal treasure. As they attempt to escape, they meet a girl who needs help getting back to her allies in the resistance, who later turns out to be Princess Ashelia. Meanwhile, Vaan, Balthier and Fran get into more trouble and end up in prison and as they make another escape, they meet Basch, a former Dalmascan soldier who's been put away for treason, only it wasn't his fault, it was his twin brother. All six characters end up working together to help Ashe reclaim her legacy. Apparently the Dalmasca legacy is divine and includes magicite, not one but two mystical swords and most impressive, the espers, which are not quite gods, not quite demons, they're just really powerful beings who have been bound into service first to the gods who created them and now to whoever can overcome them where they were left, meaning Ashe is now capable of commanding them. Some of the espers will be out of the way, but five are completely unavoidable(don't worry, these five aren't much harder than any other average boss) and one, Belial actually has to be summoned in order to open a gate in a required area (again, don't worry, this is all pretty easy, they won't give you any required stuff that's really borderline impossible). Along the way, the group meets a few allies that work as temporary party members, the most significant being Larsa, the brother of the emperor of Arcadia who is against the violence and wants to end the war. Eventually they find out that the emperor has been influenced by a rogue god who is basically trying to destroy the world.

You can pretty much guess how this one ends, the same way every Final Fantasy ends, with our heroes engaging in a final battle with a god of destruction wannabe. Mechanically, the definitive traits are the gambit system and the license system which are both daunting until you figure them out then they are ridiculously easy to make the entire game simple. The battle system doesn't involve the usal turn based freeze frame of other games, but rather allows you to move around like an MMORPG. This is confusing until you realize most battles can be handled by allowing two characters to use gambits to auto attack with at least one tanking the target and you just take control of the healer/buffer to hold him/her back and use whatever spells are needed. The license system is ultimately very simple and user friendly so I wouldn't bother wasting my time on explaining it, there are plenty of help guides, but often just tracing the abilities the characters already have by default do the trick.

I highly recommend this game for any FF fan, especially Tactics fans, but you probably already played it, and ifyou haven't you should.

Akame Ga Kill

I have heard some people actually complaining about this show, but I really like it. Of course I'm biased because I love RPGs and it's been clear since Tatsumi made his first appearance holding a sword with those slightly oversized gloves. Sorry folks, but I'm so used to seeing those in JRPGs, from FF Tactics to Wild Arms 2, I can't help but assume it's an RPG. And then there are casual mentions here and there of experience and leveling up. If there's anything to complain about it's that it's a messed up harem anime, and by messed up I mean, all the girls in the harem die. Well, everyone dies, it's in the name for crying out loud.

So here's the deal if you haven't been watching, Tatsumi has been a big fish in a small pond who gets so full of himself he heads to the imperial capital to make something of himself only to find out thta he is less than nothing there and almost gets killed by some sadistic bastards who prey on vagrants like himself. But then he gets rescued by Night Raid, well, maybe rescue is a strong word. Night Raid is a group of assasins who happened to assasinate the people who would have hurt Tatsumi before they can hurt him. Tatsumi decides to join Night Raid when they give him the option that he join them, be their little house bitch, or die. Night Raid are a very special group because they have Imperial Arms, special items made by an ancient emperor who founded the emipre they live in and are fighting against right now. Right now the empire is ruled by a young emperor who is being manipulated by a very evil man who wants the power of the Imperial Arms to himself. Night Raid is mostly composed of women, but they are deadly badass women with their own reasons for having become cold ruthless killers. There's also two guys, one of whom is gay, but in a cool way, and a pervert who was most likely recruited simply because he likes being surrounded by hot women no matter how deadly.The gay guy has an Imperial Arm that is a special suit of armor that can be summoned through a sword, so you can fight with the sword as the sword, or trade it for armor of invincibility and a spear. Sadly this guy dies, but on the upside, Tatsumi inherits this Imperial Arm and becomes th newest badass in Night Raid. As for all the women, they all seem to be hot for Tatsumi, but show it in different ways, from tsundere to yandere. Tatsumi seems to be most attracted to Akame, but she's scared to love because everyone she loves dies. Aside from this basically the emperor hunts Night Raid and brings in ever nastier assasins of his own. Right now the wierdest assasin is Esdeath, some crazy ice witch who is a sociopath but loves Tatsumi.

So yeah, anytime you want to check this story out, tune in  to see what happens next.

Oh and also, Waking Dream is now available on Amazon, so check it out, it's a great Valentine's Day gift.

Jackie Chan Adventures

Once upon a time there was an awesome action hero actor named Jackie Chan who had an awesome action hero show named after him. The premise is sort of Indiana Jones with martial arts and Asian mythology twists. The story revolves mostly around Jackie and Section 13, a government agency that is tracking international crime and stumbles upon some really weird stuff. Jackie is also joined by his Uncle, who is only referred to as Uncle who runs an antique shop and seems to know everything about magic necessary to fight evil and Jade, Jackie's niece who is the kid viewer's way to relate so she's super cool. The show was on for five seasons and each one was different enough that it's easier to breakdown from here by season.

Year of the Talisman - The first season revolves around talismans representing the Chinese Zodiac that are being sought after by a crime syndicate led by a man named Valmont who is actually collecting them for a dragon named Shendu who needs them to be restored to power after he was turned to stone. Some talismans make sense, (rabbit for speed, ox for strength, rooster for flight, dragon for fire) some are a bit more of a stretch (horse for health, snake for invisibility, sheep for astral projection) and some don't make any sense at all (pig for...laser eyes?). Twelve animals, twelve talismans twelve episodes, plus some filler and Shendu succeeds in collecting all of the talismans, regains power, but is finally defeated by our heroes with help from Tohru, one of Valmont's henchman, who has a change of heart. Highlights include talisman of the ox with El Torro, a Mexican Wrestler who never removes his mask, talisman of the snake with Viper, a female thief who is sort of a love interest for Jackie, and easter egg prize goes to talisman of the rat which animates Jade's toy Gnomekop, which is funny when you actually see it's spelled Pokemon backwards (plus a G) which was just booming at the time the episode aired, on the very same network.

Year of the Demon - After the defeat of Shendu, his spirit seeks out seven other elemental demons to get another shot at taking over this world by helping them escape form their prison in the astral plane. He again enlists the help of Valmont and his gang. The demons were exiled by eight immortals, each with their own symbol that can send them back. Of course, Uncle helps with the exorcisms one by one. It all goes off without a hitch, but then they manage to alter the Akhashic record to make a demon world where the J Team are enslaved by the demons, but Jade manages to beat the curse and helps set things right.

Year of the Animal - Everything seems normal, until an evil wizard from last season's filler tries to steal the talismans from Section 13 and they are destroyed, their power transferred to actual animals. They have to be tracked down before the wizard gets them, and he has enlisted Valmont's gang, though he's cutting out Valmon himself. The final talisman is the dragon which has no host until Shendu is summoned in an ill-concieved attempt to make a host just to draw out the power, but Shendu just decides to take all of the power for himself, leading to Uncle drawing out the talismans and turn Shendu back to stone, bringing everything back to where we started. Easter Egg highlight of the season, the snake of invisibility episode, when Jackie gets bitten by a viper and while coping with the venom fights in Drunken Master style which otherwise never would have made it into a kid's show, big thumbs way up to whoever figured this one out.

Year of the Oni - This season went in a different direction focusing on the shadow kahn  ninjas that served Shendu, but turn out to be the army of the Oni, nine generals serving their master Tarakudo, who were turned into masks. The same three gangsters are back serving evil again as more weirdness ensues, they wear the masks and gain the power over the shadow ninjas, but run the risk of being possessed by the oni. Highlights include an episode where a mask actually attaches to one guy's butt, an episode where th mask is broken in half and shared between Jade and Valmont, and my personal favorite, an episode where El Torro's apprentice wears the mask and there is an emotional moment when to convince him to remove it, he removes his own mask.

Year of the Dragon - The show's final season wasn't that great and I can't blame the WB netowrk for cancelling it. It revolves around the biggest plot hole yet, which is never resolved, Shendu's son Draco. Where did he come from? If Shendu is is his father, who is his mother? We will never know. Draco wants the powers of the demons from season 2 which are tied to the symbols that banished them back then. He enlists Valmont's gang at first, but finally realizing how inept they are replaces them with another gang from an old filler episode and gives them dragon powers to fight the J Team. Ultimately these efforts are stopped the same way the demons were, but Draco end up with everything and the only way to stop him is a gambit of releasing Shendu to deal with his son and both are banished to the astral plane.

So there are some weak spots in the story, but the animation and inside jokes are totally worth it, so check it out if you can find it!