John Zeitler

…yeah, so here’s the explanation for the title, and let’s just move on.

I’ve been reading through Negima this afternoon (in between doing a TON of other things, meaning I’m a damn liar when I said I wasn’t doing anything interesting this weekend), and in all honesty this is a pretty good series. Granted, it’s a bit more chaotic than Love Hina was, but that’s a natural consequence of having thirty-three main characters as opposed to, what was it, ten? Not even that many, I’d guess. Anyway, everyone knows by now the story about how the series wound up being a gigantic revolt on Akamatsu’s part, trying to get him to do another romance series when he wanted to do something with a bit more action. Both of those descriptions I think, are wildly off the mark– Akamatsu is a comedy writer, first and foremost, and his editors could have forced him into writing an epic manga about table salt and he’d still wring it for every laugh it was worth. It also helps that the characters are likeable, and none really seem to be redundant or useless (except to service a gag). Many Hollywood writers could stand to learn a lot from this series.

Then we get into how today wound up lucky. I managed to snag a copy of Wii Sports Resort. Not just a day early, but for $10 off as well. To say that I am satisfied with the purchase would be as much of an understatement as it would be to say that oxygen is sometimes beneficial for the proper functioning of a human. Seriously, the games included control very well, table tennis in particular, and while they’re not exactly too tricky, they have a LOT more depth than the original Wii Sports does. Bowling in particular is greatly improved through the use of an “easy” control mode option, which obviates the need to hold a button down– it’s simply just a swing now. And the swordfighting game, while it may seem simplistic at first, winds up being one of the most fun and cathartic uses of the remote possible, particularly once you unlock the “showdown” game (six words: “Night Of A Million Zillion Ninjas”). Heck, even “Frisbee Dog” is fun, in its own way (though a less silly frisbee golf game is unlocked after a single play of the dog game). My only complaint, really, is that golf hasn’t improved much; though they did add a second set of holes, making a total of eighteen, who’d want to play it when it controls so twitchily? Really, golf was the one game that cried out for an easy control option. Still, it evens out quite a bit: each and every game, and by that I mean every single sub-mode of every game, has five “Stamps” that act as Achievements. Some are easy– nail three bullseyes in a row in archery. Some are bloody insane: survive the final level in the swordfight showdown without taking a single hit. I mentioned on the Twitter feed that this was Game of the Year material, and I mean it… it’s going to land on someone’s list, without a doubt, simply because as simplistic as the games are or can be, they’re fun. Which is all that really matters in the long run.

Ciao, folks– tomorrow, more reading. Probably going to read through some more One Piece by then.