The Ancient Magus' Bride (2017)

WOW. This anime is only 4 episodes in, but so far it is amazing. In a world where magic exists follow the story of Chise who decides life sucks so bad she will sell herself into slavery only to be bought by a mage who decides she gets to be his new apprentice...and his wife. 

Sounds more like a comedy description. No, this show is very very serious. In an effort to not spoil the smaller details I'll leave out why Chise was tired of life and just why Elias decided to maker her his apprentice. There is a deepness to the series that just pulls you in and keeps you wanting more.

This series starts before the 3ep OVA that came out Titled The Ancient Magus' Bride: Those Awaiting a Star.  Also a very touching tale that shows more of Chise's back story. I'm glad I did not watch the OVA until I had already been introduced to the character personally and I recommend that if you haven't seen it already.

So far I give this show a solid 9 in ever category. It very well may end up a 10 provided there isn't any dumb twists or turns that just causes my interest to be lost. Go check it out.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To be honest I didn't enjoy reading this book when we had to do so during school. I thought it was boring and a rather "stupid" story. Thinking back on it I can understand now why it is considered popular or at least a decent story. I still only give it a 4 because I wanted to not let myself be influenced by the part of me that hated reading it because I was in school and it was "stupid". The concept is unique it is worth the read and I should probably and will probably read it again myself.

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Dracula by Bram Stoker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite reads. So many elements to this story that it is hard to simply look over it. Everyone has heard of Dracula. This is the beginning of all vampire stories and one of our best examples of classical horror. This is literally the bar to which anything vampire related is judged.

While plenty of people will judge it for its gothic feel or thrilling horror or even just the thought of the ever wondering Count stalking about, there is one thing that really sets it apart. I simply love the format of this story. The story is progressed as journal entries/letters. Instead of just being from a third person point of view every single chapter is told from the view point of a particular character. You can feel what they feel but in the end nobody knows exactly what is going on in the mind of the Count.

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book boils down to Hester Prynne being marked an adulteress and being forced to wear a scarlet covered letter A on her shirt. What we get is a story of a woman trying to live in a puritan world while dealing with inner conflicts as well as being just shy of shunned from society while attempting to take care of her daughter.

I had to read this book my junior year of high school. At the time I found it pretty boring but I understood its importance in literary history. It has been about 12 years since reading it and have considered doing so again.

Overall it isn't a bad story and worth reading at least once. If you can get past Hawthorne's writing style your over the biggest challenge in finishing this story. At times it feels as though thoughts will continue forever and that you will never come to an end. Not many books are written like this anymore and people now find this harder to deal with likely due to the ever decreasing attention span.

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Meg by Steve Alten
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Meg is the book that caused me to stand on the beach in Florida as a kid and ask myself if I really wanted to get into the ocean. The book was a thrill from start to finish. If the thought of a giant great white shark ever crept into your brain and disturbed you even the slightest just imagine that same shark but double or even triple the size going around inhaling everything in its path. All the while one man is in an epic battle to put the shark down.

Bruce from JAWS will feel like a goldfish you won at the county fair.

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Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very informative and a great look into Bruce's mind when it came to the martial arts. This would make a great read for anyone that has ever been a fan of his or even had the slightest interest in martial arts.

Learn about Jeet Kune Do. What it is and the idea behind the style. Follow that up with Bruce's views on becoming a better fighter from coordination to power and endurance both body and mind.

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Review of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

I will keep larger spoilers out of the review. If you think something is a spoiler and it upsets you then... oops

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is, as of yesterday, 27 episodes into the Anime. While the show hits you with plenty of nostalgia and throwbacks to Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, Boruto so far has felt rather underwhelming for myself as a fan of the Naruto series that came before it. By episode 27 of the original Naruto we were already watching the start of the Chunin Exam. In Boruto we are on a field trip.

 The basic idea is the show takes places years after the end of Naruto: Shippuden in a period of peace, technology advancement, and Naruto as the Hokage. His son is at the age that he will start attending the ninja academy. Along with him is the daughter of Sauske and Sakura as well as the new Ino-Shiko-Cho trio.

The ninja academy feels very much like it did in Naruto with the rivalries and the antics but lacks something that I personally like from a character in a show. Naruto was striving to be recognized and get friends. No easy task when you harbor a deadly unstoppable force of destruction in you. He had no family and lived on his own from the beginning while being shunned by the entire village. Boruto has pretty much everything. A family that loves him and the recognition of being the son of the 7th Hokage and grandson to the 4th. He is literally ninja royalty. Instead of just being humble about it he decides to be a gigantic prick constantly complaining about how bad his life is. I don't feel as though a real connection is being established between the viewer and the character.

 That said however, I think it has potential to be a pretty good show. The last several episodes have felt as though we are about to take a step into a new direction. I believe that once the peace that the shinobi world has been experiencing is disturbed we will really get to see the characters shine. Just as Naruto's Rasengan hitting the water tower in Naruto ep 108 there is much more there than what is being seen.

We are still early in a show of this style. I will try to revisit around episode 50. 
Story: 6 Not much really going on yet.
Art/animation: 9 crisp and clean
Sound: 8 No problem with the ost and the voice actors (subbed) are all fitting
Characters:7 Needs more development but it is coming.
Enjoyment:  7 with the Nostalgia factor may be holding it back or pushing it up hard to tell.

Hello Everyone

Hello and thanks for visiting the blog.

I plan on using this blog to, as the title says, review stuff, and yes even some things.

Topics will include anything from Movies, Shows, Books, Anime, Gadgets, and really anything I just want to bring up and talk about. 

If your still reading then you have stuck around longer than I figured most would and I appreciate it.

-James