Ariel

And to anyone who might look at pictures of J-Rockers and other visual kei bands and say, "She's cute," I invite you to take a second glance. I'm looking at you, Ludwig.

And fine play with the Gackt jab, JC. Fine play.

I call bullsh*t on Toriyama for his remarks. Having completed the game myself, I can firmly say that this game is not simply linear; it's practically a straight line from point A to point B. Anyone who's on here saying otherwise obviously hasn't played the game. I LOVE "linear" games, and I've never faulted a game, especially a JRPG, for being so. Final Fantasy XIII is the sole exception, and you'll understand why soon enough even if you don't end up agreeing with me.

As a side note, I should mention that overall, I still enjoyed the game despite the shortcomings on its script, uber-linearity, and mediocre soundtrack. The characters were well-developed even if they weren't necessarily likable, the visuals can be breathtaking, and the battle system is a blast. I am definitely no FFXIII naysayer.

As someone who owns the game, I have to say that's this is what you would expect from a team who has never made a fighting game before. It's nothing really special. That being said, the Japanese voice work is pretty amazing, and it will hopefully be included on the American release as well for those interested.

This is absolutely ridiculous, but I'm definitely not surprised by it. While it's true that not too long ago in Japan women like her wouldn't have continued working after having a baby - yay, progress! -, they're still about 20 years behind the US in terms of attitudes of women in the workplace and the greater role of women in society. Sexual harassment? Check. A much greater salary gap between the sexes for the exact same position (even more so than the US)? Check. As a working woman in Japan myself, this is a sad truth that may very well have me moving back to the US eventually.

The bottom line is a pure and simple fact: if she were a man, this situation never would have happened. For all of the nay-sayers who think women should belong in the home OR be the primary care-takers of children, can it not be argued that having a father traveling all over the world without spending much time with his children might also be suboptimal? Yet Konami would never do this to a working man in the exact same position, ipso facto this is sexual discrimination. Regardless of personal beliefs about what is good or bad for children, that is the sole truth to this mess.

For all of the working women in Japan, thank you Sekiguchi-san!

"Gaijin smash", huh. I thought that really deserved a mention of a little story hearkening back to Tokyo Game Show 2008. Remember the time when Andrew Yoon didn't know he was supposed to push the button on the semi-automatic doors outside the MacDonald's to open them? Instead, he pried the doors open by hand with so much force that he removed the glass door from its frame. This was, naturally, accompanied by a cry of "Gaijin smash!" Oh, those were good times.

For shame. You missed the best RE4 line ever:

"I knew you'd be fine if you landed on your butt."

Can I join the Church of McElroy too, please? I might not have any testicles, but I'm sure I pitch in something to join the effort.

How'd you get stuck with a post about Dragonball? Please don't tell me you're really just a closeted fan!

I really didn't want to believe the Japanese scan when I saw it. The caption proclaiming that his afro is a nest for baby chocobos caught my eye, and sure enough, after reading the find print, it became apparent that he walks around with chocobo chicklets living inside his 'fro. For serious?!

24-hour wicker stores.... I was so moved by that, I felt the need to comment.