I haven’t written much lately. Looking at this front page, I’ve hardly written anything of substance in the past month! Sorry about that. That’s just like me, saying I’m not going to stop writing and then doing exactly that. In my defense Christina and I have been very busy, she’s been sick and those Blogimations that no one watches are a LOT of work.

Rather than spend another day doing nothing and complaining that I don’t know what to write about, here’s a few quick thoughts on what I’ve been up to.

- I’ve been playing the 3DS a lot lately! I got back into Ocarina of Time 3D. I still insist it’s not a good portable game, but man is it pretty. I also picked up Pokémon Rumble Blast and it’s a really good time. It’s really simple and easy to play and it’s something that I enjoy playing for a little while as I’m winding down and getting ready for bed. If you played the WiiWare original and liked it, you’ll like this.

- Thanks for forumite Hexen, we’ve discovered VGCollect.com. It’s a video game database that allows you to keep track of your collection, and if you own something that’s not listed, you can add it to the database yourself! We have a pretty long list of stuff to add and we’re not even close to done, but you can check out our list so far here.

- Ben Paddon (who is the genius behind GameJournos, formerly GJAIF, don’t ask what it stood for) has started a web show called PortsCenter, where he takes a look at games that have been ported to a multitude of systems, how they’re different and which version is the best. The first episode focused on Doom, with the episode going into detail about why the PlayStation version is the best. It was a great episode and I found the original long-box PlayStation version of Doom in near-mint condition at my local comic shop about a week later. I picked it up and it really is the best version!

Check out the episode on their Kickstarter page, and be sure to toss them a couple bucks so we can see more in the future.

- During a trip to our local anime shop I discovered Kotobukiya’s Bishoujo line of statuettes, where they take icons of American comics and pop fiction and render them in a beautiful anime art style. I bought Jean Grey, and with X-23, Liara T’Soni and Jaina Solo on the horizon they’ll be getting lots of my money. I’ll be reviewing the Jean Grey statuette for Christina’s site Otakuholic pretty soon, so stay tuned for that.

- I’ve talked about the Daizenshuu EX podcast a few times before, and I finally got to cross something off my nerd bucket list because I was a guest on episode 277 to talk about the latest Dragon Ball video game, Ultimate Tenkaichi. Give it a listen, it was a really good discussion! Spoiler, I’m the only one that liked it.

- I think I’m a REAL games reviewer now, because I’ve been getting games in the mail from PR companies! It’s kind of funny that the first game I ever received from a PR company is Grease Dance for Xbox 360, but hey, it actually wasn’t a bad game! I’m such a nerd, though; I saved the packing slip and hung it on my fridge FOR NOSTALGIA.

Not every game I’ve been sent is fun, though.

Also, if you never checked out my first review for KINECTaku for Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, you may do so now.

- This past weekend I was in the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta test. Legally, according to the fine print in the non-disclosure agreement all I can say is 1) there was a beta test and 2) I took part in that beta test. So guys, there was a beta test and I took part in that beta test.

On a completely unrelated note, HOLY SHIT.

- Finally, we got Super Mario 3D Land yesterday. I don’t want to say much because I’m taking it slow (the game is short, so I’m limiting myself to only one World a day) and I want to give it its own post in the future, but it’s an absolute blast and that THIS is the game that will make you a believer in 3D games.

That’s all I’ve got! Regular updates to resume soon. I PROMISE.

I’ve made a few references here and there to a project Christina’s been working on, and I’m happy to announce she’s finally finished! Introducing Otakuholic!, the brand-new website for anime and manga fans featuring articles, features and a community for those looking to talk shop.

(If you’re wondering why I haven’t written much over the past week, a lot of it has to do with Christina monopolizing the computer to get it done!)

We both apparently enjoy website titles ending with exclamation points.

ANYWAY. You should definitely check it out, as I’ve seen what she’s got coming down the pike and it’s awesome. She’s got a message board too, but you guys don’t post on mine very often so why would I expect you to break your bad habits for her?

Make sure you like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter as well!

I’m a huge Dragon Ball fan, and I have been for 17 years. You probably don’t know this because I’ve never talked about it. I haven’t talked about it because I don’t know how to do so without sounding like an elitist prick.

You see, Dragon Ball was something that I discovered in 1994, right after I had graduated from fourth grade. My best friend lived across the street from me and he had a teenage older brother. One of his friends brought over a tape once that he had gotten of some Japanese cartoon called Dragon Ball Z. We watched it, not knowing what was going on since it was all in Japanese with no subtitles. There was some guy with yellow hair fighting some big green bug-looking guy. We were hooked.

We watched whatever tapes he could get his hands on, which meant episodes were never in order. My friend imported a Dragon Ball video game for his SNES from one of those mail-order places from the backs of old video game magazines (the game turned out to be Dragon Ball Z Super Butôden 2, which I still enjoy playing to this day). They later went on a trip to Hawaii and came back with all kinds of awesome Dragon Ball stuff.

A few years later, the internet started getting popular so I was finally able to read about the show and figure out what was going on. Around this time, the dub of Dragon Ball Z started airing, and I watched it for a while, happy to be able to understand the characters but knowing something wasn’t quite right.

I’m not going to go into my history much further than this; it’s irrelevant. I’m a huge Dragon Ball fan, but I don’t watch the FUNimation dub. I don’t like it. I don’t care for the voices, I don’t like what they did to the characters’ personalities, and I don’t like the stupid changes they made for no reason other than for the sake of making changes (it’s “Freeza”, not “Frieza” goddammit).

To me, the Japanese version IS Dragon Ball. As far as I’m concerned there is no other version. What I really need to do is stop thinking that everyone needs to be the same way.

I get angry when people make fun of Son Gokuu’s Japanese voice and say “he sounds like a girl!” Well, he sounds like a girl because his voice is performed by a woman, a very talented seiyuu by the name of Masako Nozawa, who has been doing his voice since he was a kid in the original Dragon Ball series. Gokuu’s personality is not done justice with an overly masculine voice. He’s incredibly naïve and, honestly, stupid. He’s an incredible fighter, yes, but he’s an incredible fighter because of his pure heart and unwillingness to back down from injustice. Nozawa-san IS Gokuu to me, and always will be.

I could write a whole essay on Nozawa-san and how great she is, but I’ll cut that part short for now.

Now that I’ve been collecting the domestic “Dragon Box” releases (the DVD sets that contain the remastered video transfer from the Japanese releases of the same name, rather than the harsh “remasters” FUNimation has been doing for years, as well as defaulting to Japanese audio and including neat information booklets) I feel like I can finally stop fighting. I finally have the Dragon Ball release I’ve wanted for years. The picture looks amazing, looking like it did in the late 80s and early 90s (although cleaned up significantly) when it aired rather than having the contrast and brightness cranked up like on FUNimation’s other releases of the series.

I finally got what I wanted. That should be good enough for me to finally relax.

I’ve been reading Daizenshuu EX for years (from back in the day when it was called “Vegetto EX’s Home Page”!) and it’s become THE hub for Dragon Ball fandom on the internet, and not just for American fans. Mike (also known as “Vegetto EX”) has always presented the site as authoritative, but welcoming at the same time. The site focuses, as it should, on the Japanese original, because it’s the one version that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of where they live. The site has a forum that’s bursting with active users discussion just about every aspect of the series and they do so while being respectful and courteous of each other, regardless of which “version” they enjoy (and considering over half of the forum users are from outside the United States, there’s a lot of versions!).

So anyway, I was tweeting about Dragon Ball a bit today (mostly because I’ve been watching a lot of Dragon Ball Online teasers and things… I want to play that game so bad!) and I tweeted “I don’t know how to discuss my Dragon Ball fandom without sounding like an elitist prick.” It’s true. I’ve always prefaced being a Dragon Ball fan with “But keep in mind I don’t watch the dub” like that made me awesome.

I got a tweet back from Vegetto EX (I follow him on Twitter… I’ve tossed a couple of jokes his way and even gave him Pokémon advice once, he was always nice in his responses) and he said “I find that if I simply do not acknowledge other dubs unless I need to and speak enthusiastically, it works out pretty OK. Maybe?”

Then I got an email. He was following me on Twitter.

It was a really cool thing, because a) I got great advice from someone who’s really THE authority on Dragon Ball fandom, and b) because one of my internet heroes was following me on Twitter.

I don’t really think much of “real” celebrities but I definitely hold people I admire in my geekdom in high regard. I kinda geeked out when I met Major Nelson, e, Stepto and lollip0p at PAX East, and I thought it as really fuckin’ cool that Vegetto EX started following me on Twitter. I mean, this is a guy whose website I’ve been going to for as long as I can remember, whose podcast I listen to every week, and now he’s interested in what I’m saying. It was just a cool moment.

I love Dragon Ball and I want to be able to talk about it with you guys. Thanks to some good advice, I think I will finally be able to.

I’ve known for a long time that I would eventually grow up, but I also knew I would never grow OLD, the extent of which I’m still trying to figure out.

I like a lot of things that I’m outside the age demographic for. I mean, c’mon, the only reason I ever go into a bookstore is so I can buy manga. As a 27 year old man, though, I’m also a fan of things I’m outside the GENDER demographic for.

Christina and I have been really hardcore back into anime lately (thanks in large part to how awesome Anime Boston  was this year) and she’s been buying up a ton of stuff from Right Stuf, which has all kinds of series on the cheap.

Right now I’m kinda hooked on K-On!, an anime/manga series about high school girls in a band.

I swear to GOD I’m not a creeper.

But in all seriousness it’s a ton of fun to watch. It’s really wacky and silly in a similar vein as Lucky Star, something else I enjoyed far more than I really should have. The characters are a riot and although they’re largely anime archetypes the way they interact is fun to see. The music is really good too… I must have listened to “Don’t Say ‘Lazy’” (the ending theme) about five or six times on my walk home today.

It’s something I’ve had to deal with as I’ve gotten older; my interests haven’t changed. As a teenager I’d watch Azumanga Daioh with my (ex) girlfriend and it wasn’t much of a big deal, I was 19 years old. Eight years later and I’m still watching the same things.

The other thing is cosplay… I have a great time cosplaying at Anime Boston but I do have to wonder if I’m starting to get too old for it. This year I went as Gin Ichimaru from Bleach (Christina went as Rukia Kuchiki) and the Bleach photoshoot was a ton of fun, even though I was one of the older people there. I was by no means one of the oldest cosplayers there, but one guy was probably in his 40s and hanging out with teenage girls… I don’t ever want to be THAT guy.

All of this will be easier when we have a kid and I can just blame it on them.

We made shirts for the premiere of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World! We’re nerds so we like dressing up for things. We decided to do homemade band shirts for all the bands from the comic, and did them with fabric paint so they would have that real indie band vibe to them.

I went with The Boys!! and Crash! because I love how it completely disregards grammar rules (and AutoCorrect is giving me hell right now). It doesn’t come across very well in the picture, but you can see little extra brush marks on the bottoms and side of the letters from where I had too much paint. I think it makes it look pretty rad.

Christina made the Gideon shirt because she has a crush on him or something. I don’t know. I think it looks great regardless. The white letters have a bold black paint outline around them, which really makes the shirt itself look like it’s from the comic.

Christina’s sister made one for The Clash at Demonhead. I love how the word “Clash” came out and how she worked in the skull from Todd Ingram’s shirt in there.

Christina’s friend Eryn made the shirt for Sex Bob-Omb. There’s official Sex Bob-Omb t-shirts for sale now, so I like how she made it very different from the ones you can buy from Hot Topic or wherever.

Dressing up for things is like some kind of geek calling. It’s hard to resist! If we’re in a situation that calls for it, we can’t help but want to show off our enthusiasm for the event. We go to Anime Boston every year, and in ’09 we went as Dawn and Ethan (then still called Gold) from Pokémon. We got a lot of good feedback, and a ton of people wanted pictures of us.

Last year we didn’t really have the time or money to put together a cosplay, but we made hoodies based on our favorite Bleach captains. Christina did Squad 6, Byakuya Kuchiki’s squad, and I did Squad 10, Toushirou Hitsugaya’s squad. Christina even wore barettes and a scarf like Byakuya does.

Do any of you cosplay? Or are you more of an admirer than a participator?