Anime Review #11: Death Note

For my 50th post, I'm going to do an anime review on Death Note. I told people I wasn't gonna do this one, but I'm doing it anyways. Why? Because there are unfortunate children in the world who haven't even heard of anime. Actually, I'm just bored. Today was really stale.

Death Note, Death Note, Death Note. You've either watched it, or have no clue what it is. I don't know anyone who knows what it is, but hasn't watched it yet. Except for Leslie the Hentai Master. Just kidding, Leslie.

A good length of anime, running at 37 episodes. A little longer than your average anime, but it's all good. But before we can get into what the episodes are about, we first have to take a look at the people in the episodes.

That's right, bitches. You know what time it is.

ROLL CALL:
Yagami Light - The main protagonist in the series. And I don't say "good guy" for one good reason. It's unclear if he's really GOOD or not. You can make your judgments just by looking at him, but for the most guy, people side with him. He's a regular teenager who thinks that the world is rotten with criminals and bad people.

L - Seriously, that's his name. Or at least the name he goes by most of the time. This guy has several names to choose from and none of them are his real names. Nobody knows his real name. He is probably the most paranoid guy on Earth, but that's because he's a detective. It's his job not to trust anyone. He only bases his conclusions on factual evidence and he gets it by any means possible. He is always seen eating sweets and sitting in a certain position. He holds everyday objects strangely when he uses them, such as pencils and cell phones. The smartest detective in the world. Probably. He's also my personal favorite character. This isn't really a spoiler, but I looked it up, and his real name turns out to be Lawliet. Which makes him awesomer.

Amane Misa - A Japanese idol who comes in later in the series to be Light's girlfriend. She also goes by Misa-Misa. She is very airbrained and only cares about what Light thinks. If Light told her to eat elephant shit while doing a handstand on a baseball bat over a pit of raging chainsaws, she'd do it. Light doesn't really take interest in the whole GF/BF thing and only uses her for his benefits.

Yagami Soichiro - Light's father and chief of the police. He is very set on principles and is a moral person. He believes justice is always the right way, which is probably why he joined the police force.

Matsuda Touta - The newbie in the police. He is very inexperienced and is easily excited. He works with Chief Yagami in the police.

Aizawa Shuichi - The afro man. He has a big afro (which he later shaves). Another coworker in the police force and is pretty serious about his work.

Watari - I should have mentioned this earlier. Watari is like the middleman between regular people and L. He is the only one who knows L and knows where he is at all times. Because nobody knows what L looks like and nobody knows where he is. L contacts whoever he wants whenever he wants.

Near - Near is a boy that very closely resembles L. He grew up in the same orphanage as L did and was chosen to be L's successor, along with the next character I'm going to talk about. While L had an obsession with sweet things, Near has an obsession with toys. Seriously, he's a boy who LOVES his toys. He's always thinking while playing around, which makes him a very amusing character.

Mello - The other one chosen to be L's successor. He's not as good looking as Near is, and he has an obsession with chocolate bars. Geez. Yeah, not much to say here. He thinks of Near as a rival and wants to use any means to surpass him.

Ryuk - Not a human. A death god. Or "shinigami" as you would put it in Japanese. Ryuk comes down from the shinigami realm to the human world because he is bored. Seriously. So he tries to entertain himself with earthlings.

WHEW. There are more characters, but those are the MAIN of the main ones. Death Note is so unique that it should be its own genre. Now I know I've talked about how unique animes are, but no, this one is the most out there. And let me show you why. This is the story:

Light is walking home one day from school when he sees a black notebook fall from the sky. He goes over to see what it is. The cover says "Death Note". He opens it up and he finds a bunch of rules on how to use it, the first one being: The person whose name is written in this note will die. He thinks it's some sort of sick joke, but he takes it home anyways. Later that night, he watches a live broadcast of a criminal taking hostages inside a building. He writes the name down and he watches in horror as the hostages run out of the building. His death was confirmed. Once more he decides to test it. He goes out and finds a biker who introduces himself to a girl (saying his name). Then proceeds to force her to go with him. The girl screams for help and Light writes the biker's name down in the Death Note. A truck soon crashed into him and his bike. Light is horrified at the power that he stumbled upon. But then he decides to use it for good and kill off all the criminals in order to create a new world. Ryuk, the owner of the Death Note, finds Light and tells him about the rules of the Death Note. Light tells Ryuk of his plan to rid the world of all evil. Soon, the police notice criminals dying at a rapid rate. L also hears about this and is interested in this case. This unknown force bumping off the criminals is known to the common people as "Kira" coming from the Japanese pronounciation of the word "killer". L, through one simple test, concludes that Kira is in Japan and he is likely to be a student. Light also hears about L's conclusions and decides that L is in his way. L wants to get rid of Kira. Light (Kira) wants to get rid of L. Let the battle begin.

So hell yeah. This isn't like an action genre. It's kinda like a mystery, but not a whole lot, since you know that Light is Kira. It's more of a mental anime. And what I mean by that is L and Light are battling with their wits. It's a fight over who is smarter. And that really interests me, as well as other people, because it's the first anime of its kind.

Over the course of the series, you're introduced to even more characters and that makes the storyline even MORE interesting, because now you're aware of the different people who want to catch Kira. But of course, like I said, L is my favorite out of all characters. I even dressed up as L for Halloween in junior year, as many of you might remember. Not only L is likeable, but many others as well, for their different takes on the situation, their personalities, and their appearances. You're also put into the minds of different characters as they reveal what they think to the audience. This adds even more to the "mental" genre part. So as far as characters go, I think Death Note did a fantastic job.

Now, I know I don't talk about music a whole lot in anime. I talked about it ONCE in the FLCL review. But even though I don't talk about it, that doesn't mean that it's not important. Music plays a huge role in Death Note. It sets the mood, it gives foreshadowing, and it helps shade in the characters. I wouldn't even mind buying the soundtrack for this, if they had one, and listening to it on my iPod or something. And if you want an example, look up "L's theme A" on Youtube. It's epic.

The plot was perfect. It didn't have any holes or anything and it really just put you there with the people. Seeing how the shinigamis interact with regular people was also pretty exciting. And I could never predict what Light or L was gonna do next, which kept me watching.

So overall, it's a good anime. It may not be for everyone, however, as the mental aspect of the anime may turn some "action people" off. Also, the dark mood and setting may not suit everyone's tastes either. But if you can get through that, you have yourself a fantastic 37 episodes. You will be anticipating every move that each character makes and trying to make sense of it all, which also very stimulating. I like it a lot. I also give it bonus points for having a kickass 2nd opening and 2nd ending song.

Storyline: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Mood: 10/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10




COMING UP: Code Geass review and Final Fantasy 1 review

Dreams I want to have

I want to have a dream where I'm in a car on a road made out of rainbow. I would be driving it at about 80 miles per hour. There would be no traffic. Because I have star power and blue shells.

Or how about one where I can transform into any Pokemon I want? Actually, that would make me Ditto. But I would be a sweet Ditto. And I would be blue instead of pink.

I've always wanted to have a dream where I'm Darth Vader or something. Why not a good guy? Because Darth Vader has the coolest voice in all of Star Wars exceptformaybegeneralgrevious. I also get a sick mask to hide my ugly face and my lightsaber would be colored red: the color of freaken BLOOD. And then in the dream I would probably marry someone with the same mask as me and I can get a job as a scientist where I study the effects of lightsabers making contact with butts.

A lot of video games have the Godmode cheat. That would actually make for a nice dream. Invincibility, super strength, and whatever else to make you super awesome. I'd also have to get some sort of thunder hammer. So I can smite people.

OR HOW ABOUT EATING AS MUCH AS YOU WANT WITHOUT ANY CONSEQUENCES.

If any of these dreams come into my head when I'm sleeping, I'm never waking up. Except to pee.

My least favorite way to play

RPGs are my least favorite kind of video game. I still like them, but they're my least favorite. Again, they're good and all, but when compared to all the other genres of games out there, they just fall dead last for me.

Let's take a look at the different genres that make up all video games:

Action
Adventure
Shooters
Puzzles
RPGs
Strategy (Real time and turn based)
Simulation

Now I'm going to rearrange that same list from best to worst, in my opinion:

Action
Shooters
Puzzles
Adventure
Strategy
Simulation
RPGs

Yes. Even simulation came before RPG. Just in case you don't know, simulation type games are just what they sound like. They give you a virtual experience of some activity that you probably won't be able to do in real life. An example of this is Harvest Moon, a series where the main objective is to grow vegetables and raise livestock on a farm. And yes. It's fun.

So what makes RPGs my least favorite out of all the genres out there? Several things. First of all, the actual game takes a very long time to complete. Every RPG I've ever known had a save feature. If they didn't, the game would be pretty much unplayable, as you probably couldn't sit down for HOURS at a time to play through it.

Leveling up is a minor problem, but it's still a problem. I mean, how come it has to take so long? You fight the same monsters over and over again, and the game becomes slightly tedious and repetitive. It doesn't make the game BAD, it just makes it stale. In general, I don't like leveling up systems. So, you finally get enough EXP to gain a level and now you're stronger. YAY! So now you'll have an easier time killing those same monsters, right? Uh, no. You'll have to tackle even STRONGER monsters to gain the same amount of EXP that the lower monsters provided before. Fux. You don't really feel strong at all, because you keep going at monsters with the same strength as your party.

I think I'd need a pencil and paper to count the number of secrets in an RPG. There are a lot. What makes it worse is that the "secrets" are sometimes vital in order to pass through a certain part of the game. It may not be necessary, but it sure makes things a hell of a lot easier. It's time to go searching. I don't know, but searching every inch of a vast area to get some sword or some armor is really not worth it. But it makes you regret it when you go fight the boss without strong equipment. So keep searching.

Buying stuff is pretty much a staple in any RPG, or any other adventure game, for that matter. It's no problem, as long as you have a plump wallet. But what happens when you go broke? The only sources of money are probably those secret treasure chests or fighting monsters. Searching, like I said, is not worth it. So sharpen your blades, it's time to kill some dragons. It may take 15 battles to gain enough money to buy whatever you need, and that's overkill.

The way I'm talking about RPGs right now may lead you to think that I hate them. But if you were paying attention, you'd read up there that I still like them. Why? Well, as many problems as there are, the good parts of RPGs totally make up for the bad parts. For example, there's usually turn based battle modes, and I like that. It allows you to think strategically and plan out your attack. I also love the feeling of being high level. It just kicks everyone's ass. And when you max out your stats, you can pretty much go back to any part of the map and just rape everything in your way. There are a lot of puzzles to figure out during an RPG and that brings an enjoyable element into the gameplay.

There are many RPGs out there, and a few notable and popular ones, such as: Final Fantasy, Golden Sun, and Earthbound (now that I think about it, Pokemon kinda seems like an RPG). So it's not a bad series. I'd just rather play something else if I could.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to play through Final Fantasy 1 (GBA remake) for a second time. So there might be a VG review on that.

School starts soon, huh?

VG Review #5: Gradius 3

WELL. It's been a while since I've done one of these, but that's because I suck at video games. Only once in a while I can beat a game, or find a game that's easy enough to beat. This one took me about 1 to 1.5 hours to beat. And it was fun. So let's get started.

This game is obviously the third in the series. The first Gradius was on the NES and Gradius 3 was on SNES. I have no idea where the 2nd one fits in, since I've never heard of it, or tried to play it. For a SNES game, it kicks ass. It's not as famous as Metroid or Super Mario World, but it's just as fun. I picked this game by random and just started playing. I couldn't stop till I beat it.

If you couldn't tell by the top picture, this game is a SHMUP (Shoot 'Em Up) which means you just fire your lasers at everything that moves or shoots moving things. It's a very satisfying genre, and this game represented it well.

Now, I've played a few other SHMUPS before (by the way, the acronym is pronounced just how it looks), and this one is very different from the ones I've played, but in only one area. That would be the powerup system. Let's take a look at...uhm...Raiden, for example. In Raiden, when you see a powerup, say...blue laser, then you touch it, and now your ship is equipped with a blue laser. Simple. In Gradius, you do get weapon advancements, but they come in the form of weird orange circles with silver spikes around it. Each time you get one of these orange circles, the option on the far left is highlighted. You can either choose to activiate this option and get the effects, or get more orange circles and highlight other things. Each time you get one orange circle, your highlighter moves one space right. So some weapons need some saving up, but they can be worth it. That's another thing that's different, actually. The weapons are pretty unique. They have ground/ceiling hugging missiles, ripple lasers, rotating clones, and backshots. Also, the orange circles can activate different kinds of shields and special abilities. But these only partly made up how fun this game is.

The level design is pretty good. Before each level, you get this tranquil period where you have the chance to stock up on some orange circles, if you need them. This is very helpful because this game is hard. It's as hard as trying to dodge air molecules [exaggeration]. Unless you are the god of SHMUPS or you use save states on an emulator (like I did), you WILL die. It is inevitable. Fortunately, the game does come with some codes that facilitate your shooter experience. There are codes for 30 lives, full weapons, and warps. I did not use any of these codes the first time I played and I really wished I did. But I used save states instead, like I said. Well anyways, back to levels. The levels are really unique in that they put you in different parts of space, if they existed in real life. The graphics are good, and they help put you in the setting and get the right mood out of you: the mood to shoot the ass out of the other ships. And unlike some other SHMUPS, this game tried to be unique in bringing different elements into their gameplay. For example, some levels require you to slow down and shoot THROUGH walls and rush through before they close up again. Other times it's like a narrow passage that keeps rising and falling, and you really have to bust your ass to get through. Things like that just kept the spark going and kept me playing.

Will you get any story in this game? Well, maybe the manual has it all, because there is not a lick of story in this game. Right away you're dropped into space and you're shooting things before you know it. If you want a story, I can make one up for you right now:

In the depths of space, one lone starship pilot will risk his life and liver to save the galaxy from the grip of the evil dark space king. He will use everything in his power to restore order and peace into the -

Ok, that was sounding too much like any other cliche space story.

The sound effects are classic. Some people say that the audio doesn't matter in video games. Those people will find the people that do care about the sounds in their closets waiting to do...things to them. And I am one of those closet-peoples. I think that sound matters and this game delivered great sound. The music is enjoyable to listen to, especially at the boss fights.

Speaking of boss fights, those get very interesting. Like any good game, the bosses have a lot of variety. You're constantly shifting your strategy around to defeat them and move on, which is very stimulating. One thing the bosses have in common is this blue orb that they have on their bodies. You shoot them enough to reveal it and then you shoot the orb and then it turns orange and they explode. Hell yeah.

So overall, I thought this game was a satisfying 1 hour of my time. It was entertaining and fast paced. Just like all SHMUPS should be. It was a unique game, which only added on to the fun. And almost everything about it is good. One problem I had with it, and many others might have with it, is the difficulty, like I said. I mean, this game is really hard as it is, and your ship can only take 1 hit (assuming you didn't activate the shields yet). You just have to be REALLY careful until you get your shields, and then you can be KINDA careful. This game just kicks butt. I like it a lot.

Gameplay: 9/10
Controls: 6/10
Difficulty: 8/10
Graphics: 7/10
Music/Sound: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10

Top Ten Roller Coasters

Everyone loves roller coasters....just kidding. Actually, roller coasters are something to be feared. It's understandable that people are scared of roller coasters. They can go at rapid speeds, drop from high heights, and flip you upside down and over again. Not to mention that there are, occasionally, roller coaster accidents that put the fear back in people.

But that doesn't mean that roller coasters are bad. Roller coasters are...well, they're there for entertainment. Roller coasters are so great because I'm going to do a top 10 on them. That didn't make any sense at all, but whatever.

So what makes up this top 10? The roller coaster just has to be good in its own way. It's probably not possible to find 2 coasters alike, unless they're from the same theme park (i.e. Disneyland and Disney World), so they're not being judged the same way. The criteria is always different, in other words. Drops, flips, dips, turns, and zooms. That's what I'm looking for. Do the lines matter? Hell no. Because the mark of a good roller coaster is being able to wait in that long, tedious line to enjoy 2 minutes of sheer bliss.

Also keep in mind that I haven't been on some of these roller coasters in years. But I don't think that matters too much. I may not remember the fine detail of it, but I remember enough to give it the spot on the 10 that it deserves.

So here's another top 10 straight to your face from Blue Yoshi. (I still have no idea why I named my blog that)



10) Jaguar (Knott's Berry Farm)
If you don't like Jaguar, don't go to amusement parks at all. Jaguar was one of the first roller coasters I've ever ridden. It's the most basic of roller coasters, yet fun as heck. Again, there's nothing to be afraid of. It goes at a cruising speed, makes lots of turns, and drops minimally. With these features, it still amazes me how amusing this ride can be. Whenever I go to Knott's, I cannot leave the park without riding this ride.

9) Montezuma's Revenge (Knott's Berry Farm)
Again from Knott's, this is probably even simpler than Jaguar, but a tad more intense. There is no rise and fall; this coaster shoots you straight into a loop, up an incline, and then backwards. The whole ride lasts about 30 seconds, which is disappointing, but still fun. It's probably a good starter coaster. If you can ride this, you can probably ride anything else at Knott's. Maybe. I also have to mention that the line is short most of the times I went.

8) Thunder Mountain (Disneyland)
"...Cuz this here's the wildest ride in the WILDERNESS," is what I hear about 10 times in the line. And that's probably a true statement. What does this roller coaster have to offer? Well, it puts you into a western setting. Like PURE western. It doesn't start off with a rise, like most traditional coasters. This one just sends you down at a significant speed into the dark. There are animatronic animals placed all around the track, there are 3 rises, and the last one has a bunch of rocks ready to fall on you. Not to mention that you get to go through a T-Rex's skeleton. I'd probably have to also mention that there has been an accident with this coaster - on my birthday. Weird.

7) Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
People have told me that you go upside down on this ride 6 and 1/2 times. I fail to see the 1/2 part about it. I rode this 3 times before and it was a very satisfying experience. It's an inverted style roller coaster, which means the cars are below the track instead of on it. Right away the ride sends you straight into a loop, and then some bunny ears, and then a cork screw. It's pretty fast, one of the fastest rides in Knott's. Just be careful when you exit. You'll feel really drunk when you get off the ride.

6) Colossus (Six Flags)
My mom told my sister that this was like Jaguar. So she went on. It wasn't. So she cried mid-ride. But in comparison to the other things at Six Flags, this IS like Jaguar. It's a wooden roller coaster, so there are no loops. But to make up for it, it has very high and steep drops. While it may be pretty intense to some people, I thought it was a very easy ride. You go pretty fast, probably a little lower than Ghostrider speed. This is a must-ride when you go to Six Flags.

5) Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios Hollywood)
They had to take out E.T. to bring in this ride at Universal Studios. I was sad. But then I became happy again when I actually rode this. I think this is the ride with the best line. I'm just saying. Along with Montezuma's Revenge, this is another backwards ride. Well, not all of it. It's like half and half. The first part of the ride is kind of like It's A Small World style. Meaning that it goes slowly through the scenery and brings you into the world of the Mummy. Then you stop before Imhotep and he declares, "YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!" And then you shoot off into the darkness, barely missing mummies and other undead things. You then come to a stop at a wall, where scarabs start swarming. This is when the ride goes backwards. You zoom past all the undead things again when you are stopped and a big puff of smoke hits you in the face. It's so awesome that I rode it twice in the same day.

4) Space Mountain (Disneyland)
This ride probably needs no introduction, being that most people have gone on this ride. It's very popular; so popular that the lines are infamous for being extremely long. But that's why you get a fast pass. Thinking ahead FTW. Like the name suggests, the theme is outer space. So the cars are rockets and you're flying through space. The actual ride is very exciting. There are speakers next to your head blasting out music while you go sailing into darkness. Yeah, darkness. If you've never ridden this ride, let me tell you something: it doesn't matter whether you keep your eyes open or closed. You can't see shit either way. Actually you can see stars, but that's about it. You have no idea where you're going, which adds to the excitement. Turns and drops are sudden, and you just have to sit there and take it. Yay. The pictures are always awesome, because usually people's faces are twisted into some crazy mix of heck.

3) Xcellerator (Knott's Berry Farm)
This could easily be the fastest ride I ever rode. One of the later additions to the park, Xcellerator has a heck of a long line. For a good reason. The ride is so exhillirating that you just forget about the maybe-1-hour you spent in line. This ride also has no rising part. It just shoots you off at 80 mph and you go flying. The whole ride lasts less than 2 minutes, but that just to show you how damn fast it goes. I only rode this once and I really wish I could ride it again. It's one of those rides that are so high that you can see it from the freeway as you go past Knott's.

2) Ghostrider (Knott's Berry Farm)
I like this ride better than Xcellerator just because the ride lasts longer. And isn't that what everyone wants? More time with the ride? Well whatever. I think this has the longest rise time out of all of these. Which only sets up for the biggest-freaken-drop ever. It was so fast that I couldn't even scream. I just had to clench my teeth in hopes that I wouldn't bite my tongue off. The whole ride never loses momentum. Everything is fast. There are so many drops here that you NEED a seatbelt. So put it on. And ride the ghost.

1) Tatsu (Six Flags)
This is one of the rides that I only rode one time. But it was so freaken awesome that it's burned into my brain for the next 16 years. Why is this ride so radical? Well first of all, the design is just like nothing I've ever seen. Your seat is tilted downward to help with the flying effect. Also, some of the loops go down instead of up. That one hit me hard because I didn't see it coming. And the rest of the ride, you just feel like flying. And everyone loves that feeling. Flying fast and high in the sky above everyone else looking at you, wishing that they were on that ride too. This ride just kicks your ass till you ride it again. And it leaves you with this REALLY satisfied feeling that probably no other coaster can give. And that's why this is number 1.

THE IDIOT SPECIAL

This title may be a bit misleading. But let me explain.

As kinda requested from Jeff, this is going to be a movie review. On what? Well, if you couldn't tell from the logo, it's Jackass.

And not just Jackass: The Movie, but also Jackass Number 2 and Jackass 2.5.

So let's get this idiot special rolling.

First, I want to talk about the first Jackass movie, but before I can do that, I have to give you a bit of background. Jackass was first a TV series aired on MTV. It ran for about 3 seasons. Although I never got to watch any of the original episodes, it's pretty much the same thing as the movie (or should I say, the movie is the same thing as the TV series?). This movie isn't really a movie at all, but it's more of an extended TV show, I'm guessing. So I'm not going to attempt to review it in the fashion of the other movies I've reviewed. But that isn't to say that these are bad movies. In fact, these were probably the funniest movies I've seen in my life.

All of these movies star Johnny Knoxville and other "stuntmen"/idiots who just do crazy stuff. People like Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Preston Lacy, Dave England, Ehren McGhehey, and Jason "Wee Man" Acuna. All of these people make the movie great and it was really entertaining because they just add a certain element to the movie that probably wouldn't have been in there if it was anyone else doing the stunts.

I watched the unrated versions of all 3 movies, and I'm not really sure what difference that makes. I know that they uncensored some stuff that would have been censored if it had been on TV, but I think that's about it.

Oh man, I almost forgot to say what the movie is about. Well, pretty much, it's Knoxville and everyone else doing stupid stuff. For example, Knoxville got shot in the stomach with a 40 gram sandbag traveling at 250 feet per second. The mark it left 2 days after that was about as big as an orange. That's just a little taste of what they do. The possibilities are endless. Which is unfortunate. For them.

Well actually, now that I realize it, there's not a whole lot to say about the movie. So I'll just talk about them...whatever I can talk about.

The first movie was awesome. I had never seen Jackass on TV before, so this was like "WOW" to me. The opening scene is hilarious: All the cast members are in or on a huge shopping cart speeding down a roadway with cannons of rocks firing at them. It was so good that I had to keep watching no matter what. And good thing I did. I don't remember ever laughing so hard in my entire life. Seriously. If you have never watched Jackass before, TV or movie, and you're as immature as me, then you'll definitely LYAO. Whereas other stunts may have been planned with safety in mind, safety is the last thing you'll find on Jackass. These guys throw themselves into any dangerous situation and just do it. Steve-O walks on a tightrope with aligators below him, Bam jumps into a ceiling fan, and Pontius ties a bottlerocket to his stick and fires it off. It's stupid shit like this that just make me laugh.

The stunts I see in Jackass can probably be classified in seperate categories. There are the dangerous animal ones, inflicting pain on body parts, eating disgusting things, and doing public stunts. In each category, someone seems to vomit at least once. Which is AWESOME. Not really, just kidding.

A lot of the stunts that I saw had high danger potential, but the vicitms walked away with probably the least amount of damage so that they could keep living, but the most so that they couldn't move. Somewhere in that range.

Now that I've talked about the first Jackass movie, let's take a look at number 2. Oddly enough, that's what it's called: Jackass Number 2. Not much more to say, since it's pretty much the same as the first Jackass movie, just with different stunts. But it's still just as awesome, if not awesomer. The stunts, in my opinion, were worse in this movie. I can't really compare them, because there's all sorts of different factors that people would bring into the topic. Just trust me. And when I say that the stunts are WORSE, I mean that it's worse for the perfomers and better for the viewers. The things they do are more dangerous, more disgusting, etc. For example, the opening scene in the 2nd movie was way more dangerous than the opening scene of the first: the whole gang is running down the street from a crowd of running bulls. It was a very appropriate way to open up Jackass Number 2. Also, in the movie, the stunts are like that. The fart mask makes Steve-O puke it up. And probably one of the worst stunts here is the brand. In case you don't know what a brand is, it's like a stamp, except the stamp is made out of metal, and you heat it up and you press it on skin to leave a burned mark of your choice. Farmers use this on their cows to help identify their own. Except this brand was for humans, and it was in the shape of a dick. It hurt to watch.

I think that there were a lot more injuries on Jackass Number 2 than in the first Jackass movie. Not that I'm counting, but it just seemed that way to me.

Not only were the stunts really funny, but all kinds of little things the crew does is hilarious. There's a bunch of side clips in between stunts (it was like that in the first movie) and the guys prank each other or give commentary on the situation. Stuff like that made these movies shine.

I also have to say that the ending scene was really strange. It was so out of place that it was just awesome. (It starts at the Bear Trap, for those of you who are gonna watch)

OK, THAT'S ENOUGH. No, just kidding. We still have to cover Jackass 2.5.

Jackass 2.5 was a DVD only release. It's pretty much just leftover footage from the 2nd movie, with a lot of commentary. Being on DVD didn't make this any different than the previous 2 movies. Jackass 2.5 was a lot of fun to watch. Even though it makes you feel like you're losing brain cells.

Jackass 2.5 had toned down stunts, in my opinion. So the funny factor had to really rise up out of these to make them great. And they were. The stunts in this show were just as creative as the previous ones. And with hilarious results. I really want to know how they get these ideas. But since this movie is like a leftover, there are less stunts, as a result, which kind of made the movie a letdown. It didn't affect me THAT much though, as I still laughed my way through 1 hour of crazy guys. I think there were more pranks on this one, which is just as good as a stunt. These ones, unlike the previous ones, were crazy funny to watch and were more involved in the movie, whereas other pranks would just be like a clip shoved in between stunts.

All three of these movies were excellent, but you have to be in the right mood to watch them. Actually, I think I'd laugh in any situation if I saw this movie. Well, most situations. Johnny Knoxville was a great host, and he has the 2nd greatest laugh I've ever heard (1st place goes to Aaron T). Each one of the Jackass Guys were awesome in their own way and this kept the whole movie fresh.

Some stunts that I thought were physically impossible were actually done on film in these movies. Like chugging beer through your asshole. So thanks, Jackass. You've turned my thinking around and upside down. I also thought that the stunts were pretty well thought out because of the creativity of it all. Well maybe I'm looking too much into this movie; it's time to wrap things up.

Jackass (1st movie) gets a score of 9.5 out of 10 because it's just way unlike anything I've ever seen. It was funny, exciting, and crazy mixed in a blender and shitted out of a cactus needle into an eyeball of a shrimp.

The second movie, Jackass Number 2, gets a score of 9. It was lower than the first because it was a bit more disgusting which kinda took away from the fun, but it didn't hurt the score that much.

And Jackass 2.5 gets a score of 8 out of 10 because it was a DVD release after all, so what do you expect. It's leftover footage, but it's still kinda good leftover footage. Entertainment is what you look for, and this movie has it.

Hydro Pump

I haven't posted in a while. I guess it's cuz I was kinda busy this weekend. WITH DRAGONSLAYING. I wanna do that again.

Anyways, this is something that I've discussed with some other people, so if you heard me talk about this, don't bother reading.

Did you ever notice how many fountains there are in Cerritos? Like a whole grip of them.

Let's count on our fingers and toes.

1) The BIG one in the middle of Town Center
2) The smaller one in front of DressBarn
3) A long one in between the restaurants in Town Center
4) The flower one at the library
5) The dolphin one at the library
6) The pair in front of the police station
7) The Cerritos Library Logo fountain near the COW stop
8-11) The 4 randomly placed rock fountains on 183rd Street
12) There's one near Staples
13) The falcon one at Cerritos College
14) The mini fountain IN Cerritos College
15) The one in front of Hollywood Video
16) The one in front of REMAX
17) I think the 3 dolphins in CPE count as a fountain
18) The one in the middle of the lake at Regional
19) The one in the 99 Ranch plaza
20) The tall one at South Street plaza

I'm sure there are many more that I've missed, and not to mention all the homes that have fountains and all the restaurants with fountains IN them.

So what's this all about? Why do we have to have so many fountains? Did some civil engineers have an obsession over water? Moving water, actually.

Maybe it's to remind us of how lucky we are to live in a world with water.
Maybe it's to make the climate a little teeny bit cooler.
Maybe it's just fun to look at.

I think all the fountains should have their water extracted and put into a BIGASS fountain in the smack middle of the city and have a water stream as tall as 15 Kuantings. And then the empty fountains would be filled with refreshments. For all the thirsty peoples.

I do agree that fountains are fun to look at. My favorite is the kind that fogs over the water.
But, my point is that we have a damn lot of fountains. That water could be going toward my water collection.



Speaking of water, last Saturday and Sunday was the highlight of my summer. Over 100 teams, 500 meters of water, and one drum to hit. It was the best. We didn't beat everyone, but we did pretty well. I was very satisfied with our team's performance and enjoyed watching other teams race, especially LARD and LARD Black. Going to the races made me realize what summer is all about: sitting back in the sand, playing games, listening to music, eating, talking, and paddling. If we could do this every weekend, I would. Unfortunately, we have to wait 1 year. I loved every bit of it though and I can't wait to paddle again.
Dragonauts was more than just a team to me. It was like my 3rd family (2nd is my lovely group of friends). I made so many friends there and it was like just one big lump of crazy. It was probably the best thing that happened to me this summer. So thank you, guys. Thanks for the memories. Thank you all.

LET THEM KNOW WHO WE ARE
DRAGONAUTS
WHAT?
DRAGONAUTS
WHAT?
DRAGONAUTS
DRAGONAUTS GRUNT AS ONE
RAAARRGH