Steins;Gate – First Empressions

    Steins;Gate is about a group of friends who have customized their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them. (Source: VNDB & Wiki)

Recommended Manga: Kamisama Hajimemashita

Kamisama Hajimemashita

     Also known as Kamisama Kiss, this manga is about a girl named Nanami Momozono who finds herself homeless because her father skips town to avoid the debts he built up from gambling. After being kicked out of her apartment, Nanami realises she has nowhere to live, so when the man she rescues from being chased by a dog offers her a place to stay, she doesn’t hesitate in saying yes. Little does Nanami realise that the man she rescued was a god and the place where she will be staying is the shrine he abandoned. Unknowingly, Nanami gets given the powers of a land god and is left with caring for the shrine with the help of Tomoe, her new familiar. As she meets a host of supernatural characters, Nanami learns the responsibilities tied to being a god while also trying to deal with being a teenager and figuring out love.

Sacred Blacksmith – Full Review

Sacred Blacksmith – Full Review

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Impressions: Battle System

    The battle system for Final Fantasy XIII-2 is based off of the one featured in XIII with a few improvements added in. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system is largely the same with players waiting for the attack gauge to fill so that they can select a series of moves corresponding to the amount of attack slots they have, or the player can pick the auto option which will automatically fill the slots with available attacks. The Paradigm Shift system also remains with the same role options.

    You still only control the party leader during the battle, however, whereas before if the party leader died it was game over, XIII-2 allows you to switch to the other party member to keep the battle going. You can also switch the leader in the middle of the battle. There are only two main characters you control in XIII-2 and so in order to make up a three member team for battles, Serah is able to control monsters. After fighting some battles, you receive a crystal that allows you to tame that monster and use it to fight in battle. The monsters you tame have the same role options as normal (com, rav, med, syn, sab and sen) and you can use materials to level them up. The Feral Link feature also allows you to use special moves when the feral link bar fills up.

Sacred Blacksmith – Short Review

Sacred Blacksmith

No. of Episodes: 12

OP Song: “JUSTICE of LIGHT” by Mayumi Gojo

Closing Song: “Miracle Happy Day (みらくるハッピーディ)” by Aki Toyosaki

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Drama and Fantasy

Synonyms: Seiken no Blacksmith

Cecily Campbell, whose grandfather was one of the founders of the Independent Trade Cities has recently become head the important Campbell household. As head of the family, she must follow tradition and become a Knight Guard like her father and grandfather in order to protect the city. However, one day while in the market, Cecily clashes with a veteran knight gone mad and due to her inexperience in real battle she is easily defeated. She is saved by a mysterious blacksmith named Luke who later reveals that with the help of his assistant Lisa, he has the power to forge katana able to defeat demons, and all in the heat of battle. Impressed by this, Cecily finds Luke and tries desperately to get him to make her a sword and so begins their adventures together.