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Join sisters NinJaSistah and Pandalicious and the rest of the ESH Crew each day as they discuss video games, tech gadgets, anime, manga... pretty much everything within the geek chic lifestyle.

From Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC game reviews, previews, news, and gushings to audience questions and rumor mill seeding galore you'll find it here at ESH!
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    Wasting Time: Toss the Turtle

    posted @ 9/06/2009 07:11:00 AM by Vichus Smith
    I found this odd game one day and I had to know how the game worked. Toss the Turtle, found on Newgrounds, isn't the type of game I'm used to playing, and it has a style that really stands out.



    The internet has no shortage of cute meets scary (I'm betting that somewhere out there is a picture of a cat holding a little M-16) but this wacky world of a turtle being shot through the air does a tremendous job between being gross and gosh-darn cute.



    Your objective, as cannon owner, I guess, is to shoot the titular turtle as far a distance as you can, gaining power-ups and avoiding enemies as you sail. As you fall, you will bounce off the floor, giving you a chance to snag power-ups that are lower in the atmosphere. In a game, taking damage usually isn't a benefit. For Toss the Turtle the turtle is the target of punches, shooting and explosions. The more the turtle gets beat up, the more he'll stay afloat. As you gain points, you can buy upgrades, allowing you to punish the turtle even more.




    If you started playing games in the 80s, the uppercut the banana throws is familiar to you, as is the squashing you give one of the brown creatures that are scattered along the level. The creators of Toss the Turtle are classic game fans, without a doubt. Toss the Turtle is a pretty good cure for what bores you, but it isn't quick enough of a fix. That turtle can stay in midair for quite some time, so you'll have to set aside a few more minutes to wait for your shelled target to come to a stop.

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    A Splash In a New Direction- A Look at Hayao Miyuzaki's Ponyo

    posted @ 8/26/2009 08:14:00 AM by Pandalicious

    Pandalicious....LOVES.....Hayao!


    We thought that we had seen it all in Hayao Miyuzaki's film "Howl's Moving Castle", well we were WRONG. I personally take responsibility for my own stupidity in this matter. Once again Studio Ghibli along with their friends over at Walt Disney Pictures have come together to bring Hayao Miyuzaki's "Ponyo" to life!

    Now since I seem to be in a spoiler kind of mood [Once again I apologize for that!] I will do my very best to not do it now.

    When I think of Hayao Miyuzaki films, the first word that enters my mind is Love. He loves love....and frankly who can blame the man?! It is always a focal point in his captivating visual masterpieces. In honesty, I think this is done because everyone can relate to love. We have all experienced the positives and the negatives that can come from it! [I know I have!] He likes to play around with the concept of balance too. Nature and its way have to stay in sync or the world will revert to chaos.

    Many have found that this movie is one of his oddest in his career. This is because he took his setting and put it underwater! This story has to do with the ocean and the lives beneath the waves. Miyuzaki tends to do a lot of stories that have the element of air in them. As an element, Air is seen as a pure substance and a universal power. Water on the other hand has been very important to life and it is time we gave it the respect it deserves.

    With a voice cast including the acclaimed talents of people like: Cate Blanchett, Lily Tomlin, Liam Neeson, Cloris Leachmen, Betty White, Tina Fey and Matt Damon, who would doubt this movie's success! Now what about the newcomers to this facet of entertainment? Well the two chosen for the lead roles are in fact not new to fame...their last names are drenched in it...Cyrus and Jonas. Now I know what you are thinking, and you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that it isn't Miley or any of the older Jonas brothers. The leads are the younger siblings of the teeny bopper music sensation [Note: Pandalicious got immediately ill after typing those words.] So going into this movie without the knowledge of cast selection, one would never know of the Cyrus/Jonas collaboration...that is until the ending song which is a techno-bastardization done by them. However at that stage of the movie you have the magical ability to get up out of the chair...and LEAVE [I recommend you do that! since it is truly the worst point of the film!]

    Ponyo will be added to my collection of Hayao Miyuzaki films once it is released on DVD. I know it will be a while before we see his influence again on the big screen but this story will hold my imagination for quite sometime.As an aside to all your families out there with young children, this is definitely a movie for young people. In fact this just might be the kind of movie you would hope who inspire your up and coming daughters and sons. When I enter into that stage of my life, by which I mean marriage and children, I will definitely be showing this movie to my offspring. Go check this out-- you will not be disappointed...maybe a little disoriented...but not disappointed.

    [Look guys NO SPOILERS!!!]

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    A YouTube Screening: The Big Empty

    posted @ 1/26/2009 11:08:00 PM by King Baby Duck
    YouTube has begun showing some very interesting short films in their "Screening Room." One film that caught my attention was "The Big Empty."

    The Big Empty


    The premise of this film is simple: Selma Blair (Hellboy movies) plays Alice, a woman suffering from pain. No doctor can truly figure it out, until she meets The Specialist (Elias Koteas); who discovers that Alice has the Arctic Circle in her vagina. Yes, you read that right. Will he be able to discover a cure for Alice, or will he just exploit her for popular gain?

    It's funny, interesting, and -- at times -- touching. Also, look for Hugh "Dr. Motherfucking House" Laurie in a cameo.

    This is King Baby Duck: "Ain't born to lose, baby, I'm born to win. I'm so Goddamn slick, baby, it's a sin."

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    King Baby Duck's Anime Calamity: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

    posted @ 9/03/2008 07:20:00 PM by King Baby Duck

    Today's Anime Calamity looks at the motion picture "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time." And like time, this review waits for no one.


    Makoto is having the worst day of her life. She loses her pudding to her sister, falls asleep during a surprise test, almost burns down the school kitchen during Home EC, and is crushed by a student that lands on top of her. While bringing her fellow students’ notebooks up to the lab, she hears a noise coming from the back room. Makoto looks inside, but sees nothing. A sudden noise causes her to trip and fall on top of an acorn-looking object, sending her and her brain through a series of trippy visuals. After she returns to the real world, Makoto heads home. Unfortunately, she learns that her bicycle brakes have been shot; and she is sent flying into an oncoming train. When she is just about to die, Makoto is sent back just a moment’s time before she hits the train. In a state of shock, she runs to her aunt; who tells her of the concept of “time-leaping,” where a person literally leaps from the present, and lands in a past moment.

    After learning this new trick of hers, Makoto uses the power of time-leaping to her advantage; such as grabbing the pudding before her sister gets it, singing in a never-ending session of karaoke, acing the surprise test, and avoiding adverse incidents involving her friend Chiaki, who starts thinking of Makoto in another way. Eventually Makoto finds that this new power of hers is limited, so she starts to use it to make things right with everyone, like helping her friend Kousuke to notice a girl that likes him. However, an incident occurs where Kousuke steals Makoto’s broken bike; and is about to be killed with his new girlfriend in the same accident that would’ve killed Makoto. Just as it is about to happen time stops again, and Makoto goes face-to-face with someone who is very familiar to her. Who is it, and how is it related to time-leaping?

    To call this film a prime example of animation at its best is an understatement. The characters and the settings are as bright and beautiful as many top-notched Disney flicks. The storyline is whimsical, and it teaches a valuable lesson on how one can spend time correctly (as it is commonly reminded that “Time waits for no one.”) The voice actors and actresses -- like Riisa Naka’s Motoko and Takuya Ishida’s Chiyaki -- are played so well that it even outshines a lot of the real-life teenage stars. The music, composed by Kiyoshi Yoshida, is written so beautifully that if Claude Debussy were alive today he would have tears of joy running down his face. Finally, the movie was told so astoundingly that anyone, from the youngest child to the eldest person, could follow it without confusion.

    However, what makes me upset about this film is the fact that it was not given a chance here in America. There should’ve been no reason why “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” couldn’t have been picked up by a major film studio, or even a small independent one like Focus Features or Fox Searchlight. How a movie like this was easily brushed away -- and movies like “Disaster Movie” and “Mamma Mia” are given inexcusable amounts of promotion and screen time -- is beyond my comprehension. Granted it’s an anime from Japan, but this is the first time I’ve ever watched an anime that could easily draw anyone’s attention in. Kids, teenagers, college kids, adults, and senior citizens will leave a movie like this with a lighter heart and a thoughtful outlook on life. In laymen’s terms, this movie was made to make anyone feel good; and it does the job perfectly.

    “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a five-star movie, hands-down one of the most amazing animated flicks I’ve ever seen. The real tragedy of this flick, as I’ve said, was that it didn’t get the wide release it most definitely deserved. If it comes to your town, I heavily urge you to go see it with your friends and family. If not, look for it on DVD sometime this year from Bandai Entertainment; who should be given a medal for bringing a gem like this to our shores.

    This is King Baby Duck: Ain't born to lose, baby, I'm born to win! I'm so Goddamn slick, baby, it's a sin!


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    King Baby Duck's Anime Calamity: Kappa no Coo to Natsuyasumi

    posted @ 7/24/2008 11:20:00 PM by King Baby Duck
    King Baby Duck here, making his first post as an official brother of the Electric Sista Hood (meaning my Blogger account is now linked with the site)! This week's Anime Calamity is not a TV show, but rather a movie that caught my eye. It's called "Kappa no Coo to Natsuyasumi," or "Summer Days with Coo."

    A young kappa (a Japanese mythological water creature) witnesses his father murdered by a samurai, and then falls down a hole made by an earthquake. Almost three hundred years later a young elementary school student named Koichi finds the kappa fossilized in a stone. After bringing it home and washing it, the kappa comes back to life. Koichi gives the kappa the name Coo, which is one of the first things the little creature says. Coo adjusts to the lifestyle of Koichi and his family, and quickly becomes a member. However, the changed outside world makes Coo worried about his other kappa comrades. Koichi and Coo set out for the countryside to find more kappas, but to no avail. However, when Coo’s existence becomes apparent to the public, he comes face-to-face with the challenges of the outside world; which leads to Coo meeting with an ancestor of his father’s murderer. What the ancestor has in his possession freaks Coo out, and his actions lead the outside world to think that he is a danger. Will there be a happily-ever-after with Coo, or will he have to face the fact that he will never be accepted into today’s society? And what of his kappa comrades? Are they still alive, or have they disappeared with much of the nature?

    The first thing I thought of after watching this film was how wonderful the storytelling is. The tale flows gracefully, even at its almost 2 ½ hour timeframe. Although a fantasy (despite many incidents of kappa being seen in Japan) the anime has a real feel to it. It has a lot of emotion, and it also teaches a lesson about not just fitting into society, but also about how nature must be preserved. Plus the humor in the film is top-notched, especially when it deals with Koichi’s little sister. She is the most realistic of the characters, with the jealous brat thing down to patch. One scene that pops into mind is when the sister brings home pet snails, which Coo eats; thinking they are food. This freaks the little girl out; especially when she discovers that some people eat snails, too, leading her to inspect every morsel of food on her plate to make sure she’s not eating little escargots. The soundtrack to the film, composed by Kei Wakakusa, almost sounds like a score written by top American country artists. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing depends on your taste in country music. Finally, the animation is also really good, almost up there with the quality of Miyazaki films. Its director, Keiichi Hara, who also directed some of the “Doraemon” and “Crayon Shin-chan” movies, knows how to appeal to both kids and adults of all ages, and this film will surely entertain anyone; even with its long running time.

    Now speaking for the kids, in Japan this is considered a family film; but because our standards here are a lot more strict than Japan’s it wouldn’t be for younger children. There’s a lot of blood in the first couple minutes of the film, and the scenes dealing with death might be too traumatic for children. Plus, you see Coo’s yarbles throughout the entire film; which, in a country where the mindset is “nudity is bad!!!” might leave parents uneasy. However if parents can look past the violence and kappa nudity, kids will be able to learn a valuable message from this film. I’d say this film should be PG here; but if your younger kids (who are, like, four or five) are okay with a little blood then I’d say they can watch it, too.

    Since this is a movie review, I’m going to give it a star grade: 5 stars. It’s a wonderful tale that the folks at Disney should really look at to see how to properly do a family movie that is for anyone in the family, and not just the young tykes.

    This is King Baby Duck: Ain't born to lose, baby! I'm born to win! I'm so Goddamn slick, baby, it's a sin!

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    Are You Ready To Play the GAX Game?

    posted @ 3/07/2008 09:30:00 PM by Douceswild


    It’s always been a dream of mine to have a place where gamers and like-minded individuals as myself could hang out share thoughts and opinions. Well that dream has come true!!

    Myspace has dominated the online social community for a long time. Although, it’s a good place to hang out, meet people, and share life experiences, it has always been hard for me to find a group that I fit into there. Even with the few gaming, anime, and technology groups that exist on Myspace, I’m very limited to what I can do once I join.

    Well there’s a place for you and me now at GAX. GAX is a social community for gamers, movie enthusiasts, anime-lovers, etc. The site is named after the late Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008), the author of the well-known fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). GAX allows members to created and decorated their own page, invite friends, create and join member-created groups of various topics, create blogs, and much more! There’s also an active and live chat running on every page.

    Sign up. It’s free! Who knows? Your blog may be featured on the main page of GAX!

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    Bleach: The Movie...

    posted @ 10/26/2007 12:22:00 PM by The Admiral
    ...700MB / 1hr32m58secs: Worth the download? (Synopsis at the end)

    Let me first say, I <3 Bleach. As this is my first post so I'll make it short and sweet especially since it's on a topic near and dear to my heart.

    It’s one of the best anime series I’ve gotten addicted to in long, long time. However, I felt completely let down from this so called “movie”. If any of you have seen the Pokemon movies you know the feeling. Both series are adventure series where you’re following around the protagonist while he figures out how to handle his new gained powers / responsibility and attain growth both mentally, socially, and spiritually. (Yes! I did it! I compared Bleach to Pokemon and I apologize if I’ve just offended a ton of people by comparing the two but get over it - its the boiled down truth of it all.) These types of story lines are fantastic to watch and the anticipation from the cliffhangers are half the fun. But there were no surprises or growth for the storyline, just as there are never were for the Pokemon movies.

    On a side note, this movie came out in 2006 so most likely it occurred after the first season or so. I have to say it tried; It played like an extended episode and simply reinforced the idea that Ichigo has a lot to learn and the Soul Society still treats him as a child to be told what to do. Since I’m currently all caught up on Bleach Episode 144 (Thank You Dattebayo.com for all your hard work on getting those translated!) I can say that the characters are deeper, richer, and more meaningful all around. This movie shows none of that, even though it does show Rukia using Sode no Shirayuki. (Maybe she does more so in the manga, but I like to be surprised by the anime too much to go there.) It's a very isolated movie and you barely get to see any of the other characters.

    What does this all boil down to? Well, I’m not going to say don’t watch it... its always fun watching Ichigo stumble and get back on his feet and do something honorable. You get to see his softer side and right now the series is very focused on him getting more powerful. If you’ve got the spare 700MB and time to download and watch it, do it. If for nothing else the animation is of a slight higher quality and is very pretty.

    ***Synopsis***

    Ichigo has been running around doing the Shinigami thing around town along side Rukia. When suddenly a new trouble comes to town in the form of "blank souls" who can't have a soul burial. During the first encounter with these "blank souls" we meet Senna who looks like a Shinigami but is actually more. Senna ends up causing Ichigo a whole bunch of problems, but she's nothing compared with the group of renegade Shinigami that are after her and the destruction of the world. Can Ichigo save Senna and the both Soul Society and the Real World? Only way to find out is to watch the movie...

    Yours Truly,
    TheAdmiral

    "play it like you stole it!"



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