Early Gift ideas and begging for your requests

The holidays are coming up and already there are stores putting up the supplies and armaments (which is what I call gifts for the holidays) in October when Halloween candy was still being churned. It's at this time where I get active in helping people find what they need. Anything at all, but not many requests at this time. I'm sure it'll pick up. So I'm here to give you recommendations on what to get your special someone. You don't have to follow what I say, I'm just giving clues to what you want.

First off the gamers. I'm a gamer, we are all gamers regardless of age, nationality, generation, if we play something it's going to be a game. It's basic logic. For the video gamers out there, you have a lot of your plate. Normally I would go for the fall lineup that's already out. New Vegas, Black Ops, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, etc, since most gamers these days don't care for nostalgia.

However being a little different than your average gamer I would go for the original experiences and other games that were somehow overlooked. Like Trauma Team on the Wii. Who cares if it has blood showing, surgeries show blood, but in this case it's not real. But what you do see is one of the best games of Operation ever. Also you get to play as 6 different doctors: Surgery, EMT, Forensics, endoscopy, diagnostics, and Orthopedic. Give it a shot, it's very engaging and well worth the low price. If you are slightly advanced and into romhacks and emulation, A Super Mario Thing is the best collaboration hack I've ever seen and it's as weird and surreal as the person it was inspired from. There's also Hyper V if you like hard romhacks from Japan and the Second Reality Project which is very unforgiving at worst times, but still fun for that savestateless challenge.

For the readers out there and movie goers it's a win win situation with Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Normally I wouldn't give recommendations since your taste is different than mine, but this is one instance where I would say go buy the comic book and the movie. For one the source material is very very good, Brian Lee O' Malley brought out something different from the comic book side and the movie is a visual treat. The blu-ray is the one I would recommend, not because I don't have a blu-ray, but it comes with a DVD so it counts. From what I hear there's 22 hours worth of extra content on the blu-ray. A day's worth of stuff that was cut out of the movie. Other blu-ray movies would be just previews or standard commentary, but a full days worth. That's why I would say get it. And there's a downloadable beat-em-up/rpg which is pretty much a love letter to River City Ransom. $10 bucks gives you a great experience and $2 more gives you Knives. Edgar Wright is three for three in my book. Nice job, sir.

Music is a very vast and different market, especially for me who has adapted to Japanese pop and rock during the last 5 years or so. Mostly, it's based on what you like. People seem to like what they hear on the radio. There's a guy I know named TITS (Todd in the Shadows) who reviews pop music. Yeah he pains himself and is a bit arrogant and snarky to tell you whats good and whats sh*t, I would go listen to him. If your the gamer/token anime aficionado, Elisa,Fripside, Abingdon Boys School, TM Revolution, Larc en Ciel, Kawada Mami, are all good. Hell even my friend Tommy Tallarico has a bunch of albums you can check out. He did the music for Earthworm Jim for crap's sake. In fact what I would recommend is getting the blu-ray for Video Games Live. That's right, I'm going to plug his concert which is what I do on the side. Video Games Live has a bluray/DVD that lets you see the concert that tours around the world showing more than video game music awareness. It's in the hearts of gamers and neophyte retro gamers, and is an amazing experience to check out. Who knows, it might come to a city near you. Check out www.Videogameslive.com to see if it's coming near you.

Speaking of anime aficionados (otaku is a derogatory, but still shows who the anime fans are), last I heard a lot of people in the states are showing their Hetalia love and I would check it out. It's an acquired taste on an anthromorphization of WWII. Hetalia or Idiot Italy is who we see. And Germany is his brother. America likes hamburgers like we do, and it's generally fun. For the drama out there, Toradora is also very good. Don't tell anyone I said that, they would tear you up for it. Instead, go for Clannad. Yeah I'm a little behind, who cares? This is probably the best show I've ever seen because it really pulls you in and tugs on your emotions. After Story the continuation is where it truly shines. Sure the ending was an asspull and whether you believe in the Second Reality (project) or the actual reality, it is an emotional roller coaster and you'll really feel for the characters and the relationship that they build. But I warn you, it gets really bad around episode 16. Not bad bad, but if you lost someone recently and you watch this, it will really screw you up. And yes, I'm normally a guy who is not fazed by anything sad . It's a part of me, but when ep 16 came around, I just wanted to cry more, but couldn't push it out. Oh crap, now I'm crying, thanks a lot! Wagnaria recently picked up by the guys who brought you Disgaea will bring it out next year. Well worth a clue that I would like that kinda gift.

Manga wise theres alot of titles and series out there to pick up now. Haruhi and Lucky Star are a couple of guilty pleasures, Higurashi When they Cry is horror and will whet your appetite for that genre. Yostuba is alway recommended for a pick me up, she is too innocent to sully. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is rather hard to follow, but still funny to look at because of the detail in the manga and how the jokes are drawn and written. Within the Light is a very sweet series about a mother raising a son with autism. There are alot more titles to check out and it's really up to what you like to read.

If your a streaming person the latest fall lineup in japan is so far churning out some really good stuff. Panty and Stocking is great if you want a contact high. Seriously, watching it will make you question Gainax's prescription or else what the crap they are taking to top what previous episode you saw. Ore no Imouto or as I call it Little Fangirl Otaku is the best manga to anime adaptation I've seen so far. If Kyosuke is as plain as he is stupid in his relationships, then it'll end up as a harem end. Can't say for sure though. Ika Musume is a Squid girl and that's all you gotta know about it, but it's fun. Heartcatch PreCure is a guilty pleasure, sure Erika kinda bugged me, but it's pretty good. Arakawa under the Bridge is more wtfness for Ko and the bridge dwellers. This time I saw an amazon and theres more to Nino and her relationship with the former rich son guy.

Movies side, again Scott Pilgrim. However there are some movies that have received some good reviews like Inception and the Social Network when it comes to DVD. Expendables which is older actors blow shit up real good...and no I'm not correcting that, that's how you best describe the movie. if you are of a fangirl who likes crappy badly written "Harlequin" romance novels, then I wouldn't recommend getting Eclipse. Seriously. I don't care if it's a chick flick or that there are fans, big fans, and devotees, Twilight sucks and I felt less than a man for being dragged to it.

These should be well worth seeking out (except for Twilight) and should give you an idea on what to give that special person. I've also learned that some people like gifts that were handmade by you. There's someone I know who made me a scarf, a cap, and wrist warmers (gauntlets) out of yarn. It's pretty sweet. In return to that nice and waifu gesture, I made a DVD box set of her favorite series. The feeling is mutual, but again that's what I did. Ask that person you wish to give something what they like and you'll think of something related to it. If someone likes baseball and they are San Francisco Giants fans, give them a world series t-shirt and hat, cause they won this year.

With all that, I leave the shopping and gift ideas to you, and if you have any requests at all to find anything, let me know @ Rarefindit@gmail.com.

Rare's Random Thought: Evil Exes. Misunderstood.

Theres been something kinda bugging me. Ever since I fell head over heels over Scott Pilgrim vs the World, I've been watching the movie countless times and finding lots of differences with each runthorugh. This time however I just thought about the Evil Exes and who the characters are besides the people that Ramona wronged. I started asking questions to myself about these people.

Who they are, what do they do, what other interests do these people have and even after being defeated for the sake of someone who wronged them, and have they tried seeking out other people after being dumped?

I'm going to try to see if I can figure out these people and how they are related besides being an ex.

The first off the bat is Matthew Patel. So far I haven't seen anything from him besides his basic elemental fire magic and summoning his demon hipster chicks. Why does Matthew want Ramona back after he hears that Scott started dating her? What does he do in the downtime before he fights the socially retarded slacker kid? All i know is he goes Bollywood and summons his demonic harpies just for show. Theres nothing else other than a childhood crush gone worse. Moving on.

Secondly Lucas Lee is an actor, and also seems to be a nice guy. I see that if he wasn't obsessed with his ex dating someone he is reasonably decent. Plus as an actor he hangs out with his stunt crew. Lucas seems more interested in showing off in front of girls with his grinding (symbolic entendre)! What does he want to do to persue his career as an actor and his skating company? Or is he just a jerk?

Todd seems to be the intolerable as the third. Hes a jock, hes "psychic" and he's annoying. Not only was he cheating behind Envy's back with the drummer, but still insisted that he was better than others. He plays bass and bangs the drummer. What other interest does Todd have other than music? Just because he is vegan, does it really mean well to screw with someone behind another person? The answer is no. I know this for a fact, but I don't really scream my head off because of it. Why, what I did when that happend once was I went outside and went in a trance to let off steam. Anyway, does Todd want to persue a vegan cooking career, or else, since he went to Vegan academy, what will he do with the knowledge that he persued there? And Todd, guy, banging the drummer slowly as your lead singer weeps is NOT a good relationship! Go back to Vegan academy and learn about the word adultry!

Roxy is an interesting one being the fourth. For one, in this 21st century it's ok to persue people of the same sex. To me it's ok, however what strikes me as curious is besides being a ninja with a weapon that makes Ivy from Soul Caliber jealous, what else does she do? Are there any students you are teaching how to be ninjas? What about the other ninja abilities like flash step or Shunpo or in a stretch sonido? Is there an occupation that she has or any other interests in other people before hearing Ramona was dating the titular jerkass? Besides that, whats up with the black lines under her eyes? Is it some kinda football player thing? Finally, I noticed that she dresses like one of the Heartless, but really are you that Heartless to the point of being a Nobody, or have you repaired what was broken and persued other people with similar powers?

Katayanagi Ken and Kyle are by far the most interesting pair. Not because of the fact that they are twin Japanese DJs, but rather talkative in pairs to even the most ridiculous of topics. Whether it is them who I talk to on Twitter or not, the fact that they can say that they were amused to Panty and Stocking of all things show that they are the most human. Though their mechs are impressive, their personalities are polarizing. Not because they are symbolising yin and yang, but both of them have some kind of good and bad side that both fascinates and irks me. Kyle seems to be the decent person of the pair. Ken isn't too bad either. And from what I hear they can switch their personalities, but I haven't seen it. I've seen many a pair of twins to be befuddled that I was talking to the other, but Ken and Kyle don't seem to switch from light and dark and vice reversa. I do enjoy speaking to them briefly, even if they are just there. I am curious to know what do they do in their spare time as DJs besides work on mechs and robots? Do they persue an interest in video games? Do they go to university? Are they persuing a business as mechanics for mechs? What is it about them that keeps them coming back for Ramona? Are they trying to find similar girls who are also Idols? Theres alot of them who I respect in the seiyuu lands. Why not try showing off your mechs to them?

Finally theres Gideon. This guy just pisses me off. Not only was he pretenious in trying to get Ramona back, but persued to be a total dick in fighting someone who had no reason to fight for the love of some mysterious woman who moved to Toronto to avoid the GUILT she has formed trying to seek out him. His weapon is probably the most ridiculous with the digitana. A digitana! It doesn''t exist, you might as well clap your hands together and make an alchemic blade from your arm. Hell me holding up two fingers together make a better weapon than his digitana. Seriously, this guy is not monster, but he just seems to be more than a dick, but less than an asshole. Plus, you can't do a Sonic Blade and Shining Fang or Shining Dragon Swarm or any sword attack that requires a 1h sword like the Seraph's Soul or the Hybrid Sword with just a blade as long as the Masamune made from your hands. Gideon besides being a jerkass who wants to use people against people or even worse freeze your exes to date them or make girl clones from human tanks is the worst. What the hell does Ramona see in this guy?

I hope any of this will shine more light on the league of evil exes. In the end, they are not really evil, just not getting used to the breakup. But if theres one rule I want to say to the League it's this: Don't mess with the taken. Let them try out for themselves a relationship. If it doesn't work out, they'll come back and think about you. Thats all I got to say. You guys stay gold and keep your relationships healthy. And don't bang the drummer behind your girlfriend's back! You jerk jock. P.S Yuri's Savage Wolf fury is better than your digitana Gideon!

The Legend of Scott Pilgrim - A Game to the Movie

As a gamer, I'm obligated to try out something new in case the routine gets old. Sometimes playing the same game gets tiresome and you play it to death. That game sadly commonly gets sacrificed or shoved aside like a raggedy toy. In this case it's a game and it gets sold or trade in for little of what it's worth though you paid extraneous amounts of money for it. I don't know what I'm getting at, but I want to tell you about some games that get passed for something more black and more dakka like. That game I'm talking about is Scott Pilgrim vs The World the Game.

Now hold your horses and don't you dare think about clicking the close button. Let me at least get this out of the way: I love this series. It's like a love letter from someone long ago. That would be from the beat em up genre as he introduced his cute meganekko sister. Scott Pilgrim the game is that cute meganekko sister.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World the Game is as it is, a game based on the graphic novel to tie in with the movie. Normally that is a disaster waiting to happen as the cardinal rule of video games is: Games based on movies suck! It's a fact. Just take a look at the remote landfills of Alamogordo, New Mexico. Underneath it's desolating lands lie millions and millions of unsold E.T cartridges on the Atari 2600. In fact, the landfill there would be considered the Video Game Wasteland. So yeah, movie games have a bad rap of sucking. It's a type of curse or something. Scott Pilgrim however, is a cures than a curse as it's very very good. So much so that as you play it, it hearkens back to an older golden time when we were blessed as kids and gamers to enjoy a beat em up without the consequence of being realistic or mothers complaining about how games are too violent just because some poor bad guy turned into a pile of money. Won't somebody PLEASE think of the money morphing bad guy?! Those were simpler times.

Sorry, I got off tangent. So yeah, this game is awesome. As I said it's based on the graphic novel and it's look almost has that same style. The premise is simple. Beat Ramona's 7 evil exes in order to date her. Sound simple, but dating a chick with emotional baggage isn't easy. Believe me, I tried. The music in the game is a hearing to behold. Chiptune legend Anamanaguchi (yeah I never heard of them) brings to the table a plethora of catchy tunes that you will listen to constantly to how great they are.

Scott Pilgrim is basically a beat em up RPG in the same way as River City Ransom. You kick ass, you take names, people turn into coins, it's as simple as that. But this time around it's much more deeper than you can imagine. You gain better stats by buying attributes. That's right, the brutally murdered monetary remains of your enemies are used to make you stronger. It makes sense to me in a hilarious way. Also, there are chances to gain more money in the subspace highway from flying piggy banks. That one not so much. The more experience you get from kicking ass, you unlock more moves. Those moves will be used to your advantage against the 7 evil Xs that form the League. In other words, kick some evil ex ass with your skillz (Z in skills is relevant).

Speaking of X, your opponents are tough, really tough if your not powerful enough. Matthew can use fire pulse and summon demon hipster chicks, Lucas hits you with his doubles and skateboard, Todd is a psychic vegan which pretty much kills any suspension of disbelief, with an AT Field, and electric attacks, bastard; Roxy is a ninja, Ken and Kyle are twin Japanese Djs, Nega Scott is Nega Scott, and Gideon is one evil bastard. He turns super, gets a one winged angel form and attacks you with a digitana. No, I'm serious, that's his weapon: a sword made from hand movements. There's not enough drunken jutsu in the world to see that weapon is stupid. Once you beat these poorly misunderstood punks you get the girl... or do you?

The graphics look like it's novel counterpart, and the backgrounds and stages look like it's in Toronto. From the snowy streets, to the eerie forest, to even the top of a building with dark smoke covering the sky. Within each stage there is a shop run by a different person. I won't get into detail about it, mostly because I can't remember the other names of the people running the shops other than Wallace and Mobile (yes, his name is Mobile). It just looks great, I can't tell anymore about it.

Whats unique about Scott Pilgrim vs the World (the movie) the Game is that it's not like your ordinary beat em up. For one I haven't played a great beat em up like this since Godhand. Plus, it's on the cheap side. For only $10 to download on the XBLA and PSN there's a lot of meat on this platter. Sure you can't play online, but these kinds of games are meant to be played with local friends. You know, to join in and steal all the money for yourself and hit each other with baseballs by accident. I'm sure there's some of you who would want online co-op, but then again who wants to play with hackers huh? I know some of the online community would put countless hours and figure out a way to TAS (Tool Assisted Speedrun) it even though it's only a downloaded game. The plus side of this is in honor of the release of the movie based on this on bluray/DVD, there is going to be DLC already for a downloadable game where you get to play as Knives and a patch to fix the difficulty on Average Joe. I admit I was a bit frustrated in the elevator at stage 7. The hit detection just went bonkers and lost everything before arriving at Gideon. Seriously you guys, it's not that hard to do a little training before you take on the big boys! But give me some space without pushing me into the pit! Finally, the game is half off, that's right. You can download this game for 5 bucks to coincide with the DVD/bluray. How can you not pass this up?

With the value your getting for this game, the content included, battle system, music, graphics, and game play, I'm glad to have bought this game based on a great series. Even though my cardinal rule is movie licensed games suck, my exception to that rule is this game. Brian Lee O'Malley, your a genius. This game deserves my Suzaku's Seal of Awesome. Good going, Ubisoft.

9 out of 10