gdp's Comments

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 00:21:56 +0000

EmberQuill watches Fate/Zero Had some internet issues which prevented me from watching this on Netflix for the last few days. It's all fixed now. I'm looking forward to continuing the series! Current Episode: Season 1 Episode 8: The Mage-Slayer

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Fri, 26 Aug 2016 02:31:33 +0000

1x07: Dark Forest Caster is so fucked up. So apparently Archibald was inside that metal sphere thing they found in the beginning of the episode? Not sure what that is, but damn it's powerful. I was wondering how they were going to convince everybody to go after Caster. Offering a command seal is a good incentive, even though the overseer guy whose name I can't remember doesn't intend to give that seal to anybody but Tokiomi. I guess after this episode, we'll have to see if anybody but Lancer answers that call. Not that Archibald intends to actually deal with Caster directly, since he's taken the opportunity to go after Kiritsugu instead. And Kiritsugu apparently does know magic, and does something involving using himself as a reality marble to accelerate or decelerate his own personal time continuum or something? I presumably would know what a reality marble was if I'd already seen Fate/Stay Night at this point. I can make a few assumptions though. Anyway, speaking of Kiritsugu, he and Saber have finally started to butt heads. I knew that would eventually happen, and even mentioned their vast differences in tactics and values in a previous post. Saber is an honorable King of Knights, while Kiritsugu is a duplicitous assassin. It was only a matter of time before their fundamental differences would cause a conflict. It'll be interesting to see if that happens again later. I don't mean to say Kiritsugu lacks kindness or anything like that, since he blatantly says he wishes he could just take his wife and daughter away from this mess and live out their lives in peace. But whatever he is planning to do with the Grail, it's important enough that he can't bring himself to do that. There have been vague hints about how he will save the world with the Grail, but I don't know anything concrete yet so I'm still wondering what that's all about. And then Saber and Caster start to fight, and Lancer shows up soon after. This'll be interesting. Meanwhile, Rider. Just... What even is Rider. He is probably going to show up in the next episode to fight Caster all so he can get Waver to buy him a pair of pants.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 02:30:54 +0000

I didn't even notice that blatantly suggestive camera angle, lol

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Tue, 23 Aug 2016 21:39:18 +0000

1x06: A Night of Schemes Here's another one, since I'm too invested in Fate/Zero to do only one episode a day. Once again this show defies my expectations. Iri is apparently kind of an adrenaline junkie, at least when it comes to driving. Saber doesn't seem to appreciate it too much, though. And then they run into Caster. I had to look up the name he gave them, but apparently Gilles de Rais fought alongside Joan of Arc, but was later convicted as a serial killer of children. So now he thinks that Saber is really Joan of Arc and not Arturia Pendragon. Speaking of children, I really hope Caster and Ryunosuke don't last a whole lot longer, because they are seriously fucked up. I don't even really want to talk about the scene between those two. Let's move on. I'm really starting to like Lancer, which is unfortunate because I really don't like Archibald. Also, lol, he and the redheaded woman whose name I can't remember are pulling something similar to Kiritsugi and Iri, though they're sharing mastery over Lancer somehow rather than just tricking everyone into thinking the Master is someone else. I cracked up when Archibald found out someone set a fire deliberately to evacuate the building and he went on and on and on about all these super-awesome magical defenses they had... and then Kiritsugu blew up the building with regular old bombs. I just love the contrast between the magical tactics everyone else is using, and Kiritsugu just shooting and blowing stuff up. It's too bad Archibald and Lancer escaped the explosion, but then again I'd miss Lancer if he was taken out so early in the show. And then Kirei and Tokiomi talk about having everyone else cooperate to take out Caster and Ryunosuke. I was not expecting that to happen. I assumed that most of the Holy Grail War would just be a free-for-all among the seven Heroic Spirits and their Masters. Apparently not. Let's see if everyone actually goes for the idea of an alliance against Caster. I'm not sure if Kariya and Berserker would go for it. Rider probably would, dragging Waver along for the ride. Lancer, definitely, though who knows what Archibald thinks. He'll probably help out of a need to preserve the secret of Magic, I suppose. And finally, Kirei and Gilgamesh have a little chat, and there's this really awkward moment when it sounds like Gilgamesh is coming on to Kirei, lol. "Kirei, you ought to learn what pleasure is... Why not begin by joining me in my entertainment?" And Kirei apparently does have some reason to seek the Grail beyond what he said to Gilgamesh.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 19:37:04 +0000

Yeah, Assassin is a bit odd and not always very sneaky. Just standing out in the open isn't exactly a great choice if Kirei wants everyone to think Assassin's out of the game... Re your ROT13: Yes. Just yes. He is so great.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 19:28:43 +0000

1x05: A Wicked Beast's Roar a.k.a. All hell breaks loose. I freaking love Rider. He's ridiculous in the best possible way. He just drops in on a battle to the death and asks both combatants to just give up and join his army. It's a terrible plan and goes about as well as you'd expect. When Saber and Lancer refuse, he gives a nice speech that basically boils down to a "COME AT ME BRO!" directed at all of the other Heroic Spirits. And of course Gilgamesh answers the call, because Rider's calling himself the King of Conquerors and Gilgamesh is a huge narcissist who can't stand having anybody else call themselves Kings. Which means he's not a huge fan of Saber, the King of Knights, either. He summons his weapons, then Berserker shows up. And Berserker has some really jarring CGI, kind of like Gilgamesh in Kaleid 2wei Herz. What Archibald did, using a command seal to make Lancer help Berserker kill Saber, was just fucked up. Period. But then, he doesn't seem to be a particularly honorable person, so I guess it's not surprising. It's a good thing Rider convinces him to back off. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that the Heroic Spirits are more than just flat characters whose sole purpose is to fight. I'm too accustomed to how they were represented in Kaleid, as soulless copies of the real Heroic Spirits (Gilgamesh excluded). In the main continuity, they're actual characters, capable of shifting their priorities and alliances, and of disagreeing with their Masters, as evidenced by Lancer not wanting to help Berserker, and Rider being... well... Rider. Of course, Assassin and Caster are around too. Assassin is just observing for Kirei, while Caster is... doing something. I'm not quite sure what. He seems to have some kind of fixation on Saber and makes some pretty damn inappropriate comments about her. I don't know what's going on there, but I'm assuming I'll find out soon.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 22:48:17 +0000

1x04: Spearhead Well, that was awesome. And then it was hilarious. So the fight between Saber and Lancer was about as awesome as I expected it to be. Interesting how Saber concealed Excalibur using wind magic, not that it ended up working since Lancer's noble phantasm allowed him to catch a glimpse of her weapon and identify it. So, yeah, not much to say about the fight other than that it was awesome. And I'm a little worried about Saber, since she has a cursed wound that won't heal. Will they be able to heal it after this is over, or is she going to be wielding Excalibur one-handed from now on? Anyway, other stuff. While Saber and Lancer are having an honorable duel of sorts, Saber's master is... pointing a sniper rifle at Lancer's Master. Wow, Kiritsugu and Saber may want the grail for similar reasons, but their tactics are massively different. It's an interesting idea, having Iri pose as Saber's master. It's a good bit of misdirection, since it causes them to assume the Einzberns have two participants in the Holy Grail War and allows Kiritsugu to move freely while everyone's focusing on Iri and Saber. It certainly fooled Kirei. Speaking of Kirei and the things he says about Iri... she's a homunculus? At least according to Kirei and Tokiomi. That's... well, I remember in the previous episode she tells Saber that she was created by the Einzberns for the Holy Grail War, but I didn't take her comment quite so literally. I mean, they mentioned her red eyes and white hair, but weird hair/eye colors are the norm in anime so I never really noticed. Wow, for an episode that is mostly action and fighting, it still threw a lot of curveballs. Like Kiritsugu confirming Assassin's survival. That deception didn't last long. I wonder if any of the other participants will find out too. Meanwhile, Rider continues to be both hilarious and badass, and Waver's just being dragged along for the ride and trying not to get killed along the way. Rider doesn't give a damn about practicality. He doesn't care that he could just wait for either Saber or Lancer to win, then defeat the victor. Nope. He wants to fight both of them, because he thinks it'll be entertaining. To be fair, he's right. It's definitely going to be entertaining. I can't wait for the next episode!

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 21:42:10 +0000

EmberQuill watches Fate/Zero This series is defying all my expectations. Current Progress: Episode 4 Previous episodes are in last week's thread or on my blog.

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Sat, 20 Aug 2016 21:47:57 +0000

1x03: Fuyuki City Yep. I knew it. I knew it wasn't so simple. So Assassin(s) is(/are?) alive. Assassin never really got much screentime in Kaleid so I don't know a whole lot about him. I knew he had clones or something like that, but apparently it's a bit more complicated than just that. So, Kirei is now free to act from the shadows to eliminate other servants, presumably to help Tokiomi win the War. Meanwhile, everyone else (except apparently Kiritsugu) is convinced that Assassin is out of the picture. They're in for an unpleasant surprise later. Speaking of Kiritsugu, check out that armory! Was not expecting to see so much mundane weaponry in a show primarily about magic (as far as I can tell, having only seen three episodes thus far). But then, it was mentioned before that he uses non-magical tactics to take out mages. Makes sense, I suppose. And then he kisses the black-haired woman whose name escapes me. I am now incredibly curious about her, Kiritsugu, and Iri. Are Kiritsugu and Irisviel together out of love or just necessity? Does Iri know about the woman? Does she care? It's all very confusing and I'm hoping to eventually learn more about them, whether in Fate/Zero or later on in Stay Night or UBW. And then on the other hand there's Iri and Saber, which was honestly just plain cute. Saber played the gentleman escorting Iri around Fuyuki City. It's almost like Type-Moon wants people to ship them. Meanwhile, Lancer finally shows up, though his Master is nowhere to be found. Interesting. Can't wait to see the showdown between him and Saber. Oh, and Rider and Waver continue to be low-key comic relief. Those two are perfect foils for one another, aren't they?

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 21:43:13 +0000

1x02: The Fake First Shot Well damn. I said something about trying to prepare myself in my last post, didn't I? So much for that idea. So I forgot that there were multiple different incarnations of each class, and they wouldn't necessarily look like the incarnations shown in Kaleid. There was a brief moment of confusion when I found out that the big, burly, bearded redhead was in fact Rider. Who is awesome. Seriously, that guy is WAY too badass to be Waver's servant. I like the dynamic between those two, though. The "servant" is more like the mentor, while Waver, the "master", is more like the student. It's a neat twist. Speaking of twists... wait, I'll save that for the end. So then we see Kiritsugu and mini-Illya! (At least, I'm assuming she's supposed to be younger here than her Kaleid incarnation is). Also I'm not actually sure about the whole grail thing now. I'm assuming that if she is not already the grail somehow, then she becomes it later? At least, assuming that aspect of Kaleid applies at all. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is tiny adorable Illya! Apparently there was quite a scene when Kiritsugu and Iri realized Saber was female, going by the conversation between Iri and Saber in this episode. I'm kind of sad it was entirely off-screen, because I think that would've been hilarious to watch. Oh, and then there's the serial killer who thinks he's summoning a demon and winds up with a very, very creepy incarnation of Caster. Because he's seriously screwed up he offers the child of his victims as a sacrifice. Caster briefly makes me think that he's a decent person by freeing the child, but then NOPE! He summons FUCKING CTHULHU to eat the kid! At least, that's what I assume it was. Not sure if this is just the Netflix sub or it's what he actually says, but the subtitles say "Cthulhu Fhtagn" so I'm just going to go with the assumption that it was actually Cthulhu. Damn. That was horrifying. And then Kirei sends Assassin after Tokiomi Tohsaka in a twist that I never saw coming. And Assassin fails and is killed. Because apparently I was totally right about Gilgamesh showing up in Fate/Zero. He's Zero's incarnation of Archer. So Assassin's out, and Kirei presumably betrayed the Tohsakas. Except that doesn't make any sense, because he witnessed Gilgamesh's summoning so he should have known Assassin would fail. So I'm assuming that he knew this, that he didn't actually betray Tokiomi, and that Assassin's death is all part of some plan they've hatched up. So far, I'm already loving this series and it's still barely started.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 14:10:23 +0000

Yeah, both watching orders have been recommended to me. I went with Zero first because it just made sense to me to do it in chronological order. Should I have watched Stay Night first instead? I mean, if some revelations are going to be spoiled... Oh well. I've already started Zero and now I don't want to stop. :D

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:27:57 +0000

1x01: The Summoning of Heroes So, before I begin, here's what I know about the series beforehand:

Fate/Zero is a prequel to the rest of the Fate/ shows and movies
Illyasviel Von Einzbern is the Holy Grail? (based on what I know from Kaleid and what people have told me is the divergence point for that AU)
Basically anything about the Kaleid anime that is taken from Stay Night or UBW (i.e. I know there's a character named Rin Tohsaka whom I'm assuming is somewhat similar to her Kaleid incarnation, I know the seven servant classes and some of their abilities, I understand the basic concept of the Holy Grail War, I'm assuming Gilgamesh also shows up somewhere in Zero or the other two series, etc.)
Apparently I'm going to be very disappointed going from Zero to Stay Night due to a huge difference in animation quality as well as Stay Night just being a much older series? Not that animation quality is what makes a good show, but it certainly helps make things more entertaining.

Other than knowledge gained from Kaleid, I'm going into this mostly blind. Let's get started. So, the difference in tone between Kaleid and Zero is pretty obvious right from the beginning. Don't get me wrong, Kaleid has its share of serious moments, but there's so much humor and fanservice sprinkled throughout the series that even at its darkest, it still feels like a lighter sort of show. Zero is obviously different. Holy crap it is very different. And I love it. So, first we see Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern (and let me tell you, it's great to finally see Kiritsugu's face, lol). Kiritsugu is feeling some serious angst, which I'm assuming is due to the upcoming Holy Grail War and their child's part in it. After that, the show introduces several other participants in the War, such as Kirei Kotomine, a priest who is apparently working with the patriarch of the Tohsaka family rather than fighting on his own. Then there's Kariya and holy crap the whole bug thing is creepy as all hell. By the way, hello mini-Rin! Moving on. Mr. Name-I-Can't-Remember Archibald humiliates an upstart kid named Waver, who then absconds with a relic meant to be delivered to Archibald and uses it to take Archibald's place in the Holy Grail War. Guess Waver got the last laugh. Then there's a few more random scenes that all seem to be part of a countdown to the start of the War. Kiritsugu and Kirei learn about other participants, and seem very unnerved about each other. Kiritsugu is apparently a mage-killer who uses mundane methods. And he's so scarily effective that most mages seem to fear him. Waver apparently hypnotized a family to make them believe he was their grandson, which was weird and kind of disturbing. And then he kills a bunch of chickens and hello this is starting to look like black magic. Meanwhile Kariya talks to Sakura and oh man do I feel sorry for that girl. I'm hoping for a happy ending for her but I'm already trying to prepare myself for the worst. Then they summon their servants. I recognized most of them, especially Saber. I think Kiritsugu and Iri were surprised that she was a woman instead of, you know, Arthur Pendragon in the flesh. Not sure who Waver summoned. And then it ends. And I'm already hooked on this series. Can't wait to watch the rest of it!

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:25:29 +0000

Holy crap an actual Runaways adaptation at last?! Please don't screw it up Please don't screw it up Please don't screw it up Runaways is still my favorite Marvel series to this day and I will never stop being angry that they cancelled it.. If we can get a good adaptation, I might actually start to forgive them. Hulu, though? It couldn't have been Netflix? I can't afford another subscription... :`(

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:12:33 +0000

Oh, sweet summer child...

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Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:07:31 +0000

EmberQuill watches Fate/Zero So... Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya was the first Fate series I ever watched, and up until today it was the only one. *waits for Fate purists to stop screaming at me* Yeah yeah, I know. To be honest, I can't even remember why I've been avoiding the rest of the Fate franchise until now. When I first heard about Fate/Stay Night there was some reason why I decided not to watch it, and because of that I didn't ever watch Zero or UBW either, but it's been so long that I no longer remember why, or even if the reason was any good. So I figured it was about time I saw the rest of Fate.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Sun, 31 Jul 2016 06:35:03 +0000

S03E09: Frame-Up HOLY SHIT. I thought this was a typical episode of NCIS. A bit more personal since one of their own was the prime suspect and they were racing to exonerate him, but other than that, rather typical. They found the most obvious suspect pretty quickly (which probably should've clued me in) and, after tracing the evidence trail a bit further, went back to arrest him and proved Tony's innocence. Case closed. Then Abby talked about how he wasn't working alone, and I started wondering if maybe they were setting up for a multiple-episode arc or something, or if they'd catch someone else we'd seen before as the mastermind behind everything. AND THEN IT WAS CHIP. FUCKING CHIP. Even when he picked up the knife, I still didn't realize. Even when he POINTED IT AT ABBY, I still didn't realize. I thought she'd spin around and berate him or something. And then he spoke, and my jaw dropped. Of course, it didn't work out so well for Chip in the end. Abby is apparently far too awesome for that, since she managed to subdue him and bind him up all on her own. And all she says when her fellow agents rush in with their guns drawn is, "Now can I work alone?" Seriously though, my jaw hit the floor when he was revealed as the mastermind behind the frame job and stayed that way through the end of the episode. Wow.

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Sun, 31 Jul 2016 06:22:25 +0000

EmberQuill Watches NCIS a.k.a. I was binge-watching this show and not posting about it here but then I was so blind-sided by a huge plot twist that I feel an irresistible need to talk about it here. Current Episode: S03E09

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Sun, 31 Jul 2016 06:13:05 +0000

Oh I love this game! Bought it during a Steam Summer Sale a few years ago. Really fun.

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'Deep Wizardry': Chapter 8

Wed, 1 Jun 2016 22:31:36 +0000

Nope. I'll be sure to check out her work. Any particular favorites you recommend?

http://markspoils.blogspot.com/ : Weekly Shenanigans

Mon, 30 May 2016 16:55:05 +0000

So... I think the only appropriate thing to say is: Holy Shit. The Sisters Arc was even better than I thought it would be. I knew things would probably get pretty messed up but DAMN, when Accelerator fought Misaka 9982 and tore off her leg I was shocked! I was so unprepared for Railgun S. So, remember when I said "the whole concept of Academy City doesn't sit well with me" after finishing the first season? I didn't expect the second season to be centered almost entirely on the "darkness" of Academy City, and having Misaka confront it head-on. So that was pretty great. And horrifying, too. Misaka's breakdown in episode 13 (after her discovery in the previous episode that Tree Diagram had been destroyed) was painful to watch. I really do love that Railgun S took its time with the Sisters Arc though, slowly building it up and showing how Misaka learned about the Sisters, and how she tried everything she could think of to stop it before she decided to lose a fight against Accelerator. That was one thing that kind of bothered me about Index's adaptation of the arc. Since you only see it from Touma's perspective, it seems like Misaka is awfully quick to decide on a suicidal course of action. But watching it all play out in Railgun S, I actually understand why she felt so hopeless about it and why she thought having Accelerator kill her was the only option she had left. And then, as if that wasn't enough, we jump right into another storyline about the darkness of Academy City, this time dealing with the wide divide between Espers and Level Zeroes. I can't even really say I don't understand the motivations of STUDY. In Academy City, nothing really matters as much as your Esper Level. The Level Upper arc dealt with that a bit, and this arc just expanded on how Level Zeroes feel about the Esper level system. It doesn't justify what they did, but I at least understand why. Academy City is fucked up. And now I'm sad that I've reached the end of Railgun S and have no more Railgun to watch. I haven't seen Index II yet, but I'm not as invested in Touma and Index as I was in Misaka and her friends. I want more Railgun!