Friday, January 23, 2009

Azumanga Daioh!

Introduction:
Azumanga Daioh is a slice of life anime that follows six friends throughout their three years of high school. There is no overarching plot other than following the experiences of these six characters through high school; however Azumanga Daioh still succeeds on its strong cast of characters and their interactions.


CHARACTERS:
Mihama Chiyo

Chiyo-chan is only 10 years old. She is a genius who transferred to high school because she was too smart for elementary school. Chiyo is also pretty rich - she has a huge house and a summer home! Chiyo is totally adorable and sincere, so no one resents her for her intelligence and wealth. However, she often has a hard time getting people to take her seriously. Her only other weak spot, it seems, is athleticism.

Seiyuu: Kaneda Tomoko
Resemblance: ?



Kasuga Ayumu (Osaka)
Ayumu, or "Osaka", is a transfer student from Osaka, which is obviously where her nickname comes from. On her very first day of school, Tomo proclaimed that her name would be "Osaka" from then on, and as silly as it was, it stuck. Osaka is a bit, well, spacey. She transferred from her old school in Osaka because she felt she needed a new start, but it didn't really help. She still manages to focus her attention on floating dust particles rather than school work. Not the brightest of the bunch, Osaka is still a sweet girl.

Seiyuu: Matsuoka Yuki
Resemblance: Mutsumi from Love Hina

Takino Tomo
Tomo is loud, hyper, and well, insane. She's extremely outgoing, but half of the things that come out of her mouth don't make sense. The trouble-maker of the bunch, Tomo often ignores school rules (at one point she eats lunch an hour early just because she's not supposed to). She's also very competitive, and will challenge anyone to anything, no matter how bizarre it seems. She usually ends up losing though.

Seiyuu: Higuchi Chieko
Resemblance: Sana from Kodomo no Omocha

Sakaki
Sakaki is the "coolest" member of the group. She is rather quiet and serious, and projects an air of mystery about her. However, underneath her cool exterior, Sakaki secretly loves cute things, especially cats. Unfortunately, they do not like her very much. Sakaki always goes to school in bandages because of cat bites, though everyone else thinks she has been in a fight. Sakaki is also extremely athletic and every club at school wants her to join.

Seiyuu: Asakawa Yuu
Resemblance: Motoko from Love Hina

Mizuhara Koyomi (Yomi)
Yomi is has a fairly laid back attitude, though she's not as distant as Sakaki is. She is by far the most mature of the group and the most "normal". She had Tomo are childhood friends, so they know all of eachother's secrets. The only time Yomi gets a little crazy is when she's fighting with Tomo, then she's not afraid to let loose. Her only insecurity seems to be her weight. She is constantly starting strange new diets.

Seiyuu: Tanaka Rie
Resemblance: Aya from Karekano

Kagura
Kagura is your typical athletic anime girl. She declares that she's Sakaki's rival, but Sakaki really doesn't seem to care. She's very competitive (like Tomo), and not too bright when it comes to school work. However, she's extremely good at sports and all things physical. She belongs to many athletic clubs at school.

Seiyuu: Kuwashima Houko
Resemblance: Tsubaki from Karekano

Kaorin
Kaorin adores Sakaki and thinks she's the coolest girl in the school. She is constantly day-dreaming about Sakaki, and even the slightest bit of contact makes her ecstatic. Sakaki, however, remains oblivious to Kaorin's affections. Later on, poor Kaorin ends up by herself in Kimura's class, and appears to be the object of his affections.

Seiyuu: Nogawa Sakura
Resemblance: Shinobu from Love Hina



Tanizaki Yukari

Yukari is an extremely competitive high school English teacher. She wants to win at everything and is constantly goading her friend and fellow teacher Nyamo into competing with her. Of course, Yukari almost always loses. She also seems to have a bit of a gambling problem, because most of her competitions with Nyamo have a bet involved (which Yukari inevitably loses). Yukari's favourite past-times are drinking and sleeping (and mooching if you want to count that).

Seiyuu: Hiramatsu Akiko
Resemblance: Excel from Excel Saga





Kurosawa Minamo (Nyamo)
Nyamo (as Yukari likes to call her) teaches physical education at the high school. She went to high school with Yukari, and unforunately that means Yukari knows all of her secrets. Nyamo is fairly easy going and all of the students like her, much to Yukari's dismay. She is sort of like a grown up version of Yomi. The only person who can really get her going is her friend Yukari.

Seiyuu: Hisakawa Aya
Resemblance: Sakuya from Shin Tenchi Muyo

Kimura
Kimura is a perverted teacher who will admit that the only reason he became a teacher is because he likes young girls. He often goes to watch the girls swim team practice and believes that they should wear their swim suits all of the time. Later on in the series he becomes smitten with poor Kaorin. Surprisingly enough, he actually has a wife and daughter. Kimura is the only recurring male character in the series.

Seiyuu: Ishii Kouji

Resemblance: ?

Kamineko
Kamineko is a seemingly harmless cat that Sakaki encounters every morning on her way to school. However, Kamineko is not as harmless as he looks because every single time Sakaki tries to pet him, he bites her. He seems to hold a real grudge against Sakaki, because at one point he gathers all of the cats in the neighbourhood to attack her.

Tadakichi-san
Tadakichi-san is Chiyo's dog. Apparently he is a French breed. He's very docile and gentle, which is good for Chiyo, because he's about the same size that she is. Chiyo walks him nightly as part of her routine. Sakaki adores him too (probably because he doesn't try to bite her), and is always eager to walk and pet him.

Chiyo ChiChi (Chiyo's dad)
Chiyo ChiChi is obviously not actually Chiyo's dad. It's a weird cat thing that appears in Sakaki's dreams, proclaiming to be Chiyo's father. It speaks, it flies, and it has tea with Chiyo. Even though it only appears in Sakaki's dreams, she tends to think of it as real, and mentions it many times throughout the series.

Yamamaya (Maya)
Maya (short for Yamamaya) is a mountain cat from Okinawa. The girls meet him on their class trip and *gasp* he actually likes Sakaki. Later on when Maya's mother dies, he makes his way to Tokyo and finds Sakaki again. Since Sakaki can't have pets at home, Chiyo offers to keep Maya until Sakaki moves out. Finally, poor Sakaki gets a cat of her very own!

































Friday, January 16, 2009

Naruto Shippuuden 431's OUT!!!!



Read HERE!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

D.grayman episode 103:THE LAST EPISODE?!


Fad told me just now that Dgrayman's over at 103.I dunno if this is true or not, I'm still at episode 80+!I hope its getting another season!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Animax's LaMB


LaMB OST:


LaMB is an upcoming animated film produced by Animax directed by Ryosuke Tei with the original script written by Carmelo S. J. Juinio, one of the finalists of the 2007 Animax awards Pan-Asia Animation competition (from Philippines), that will be broadcasted across several countries in 2009 in high definition. It is also the first and biggest Animax original production, featuring the French-Canadian band Simple Plan and the American band The Click Five who will be producing two different songs for the opening and ending themes of the movie.

Development

LaMB is Animax's first original production in High Definition, and "promises to revolutionize the entire entertainment experience via how content is delivered and marketed to consumers". Encompassing a series of multi-platform, multi-disciplinary, and multi-media activities that revolves around the launch of the movie on Animax, LaMB aims to redefine the entire entertainment experience for consumers from pre-premiere to post-premiere of the film in a campaign expected to last at least six months. The film is based on a screenplay entitled Laminated Woman: To the Sand Planet Cerra by Carmelo S. J. Juinio, a Filipino entrant of the 2007 Animax Award competition. Its release is considered by Animax to be an example of the industry potential of user generated content. The plot features a futuristic prison system in which prisoners, the titular "LaMB"s, are sealed in personal containment systems known as "laminated suits" and used for labor.

Canadian band Simple Plan's I Can Wait Forever is to be the title track for LaMB, while American band The Click Five's song Summertime is also to be featured in the film. Animax Asia and Peach Blossom Media are to produce music videos for both songs, which will premiere on Animax across Asia and online in December 2008.

Dubbing

LaMB will be dubbed in several languages for several different regions: English for the Southeast Asian region, Mandarin for China, Cantonese for Hong Kong, Hindi for India, and Japanese for Animax Japan. It will be shown across all Animax channels around the world.

Hong Kong actress Josie Ho and Taiwan's Van Ness Wu will voice in English and Cantonese for two of the primary characters in next year's internationally produced animated film LaMB.

Plot

The plot features a futuristic prison system in which prisoners, the titular "LaMB"s, are sealed in personal containment systems known as "laminated suits" and used for labor. The virtual slavery that is Lamination ensures that those convicted of serious crimes remain productive, if not free, members of society, making both jails and the death penalty unnecessary in a world where human ingenuity, creativity and labour continue to be precious commodities that cannot be replaced by robots or any form of artificial intelligence.

The two protagonists are Eve and Jack. Eve is an ex-weapons specialist who has accidentally taken innocent lives while trying to do good and was sentenced to years in virtual imprisonment behind the laminated suit. Jack on the other hand, is a visiting scientist from another planet who is trying to forget his dead wife and immerses himself in work. Inadvertently Jack gets pulled into the political system of lamination and a romance with Eve.

Click Here for more info.

ANIME BOX

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Marvel Mangaverse!


The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in late 2005/early 2006.

The series depicts an alternate Marvel universe (and possibly a splinter version of said universe), its characters drawn and portrayed in a Manga-like style. Three volumes were published for the series, two of which were connected by a continuing story arc with multiple Marvel characters, while the third and fourth series each started a new story and focused on a single character, which were Spider-Man Mangaverse and Jean Grey of an alternate version (apparently) of X-Men Mangaverse.

By 2005, Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 has given the numerical designation of "Marvel Mangaverse" as Earth-2301. The majority of the artwork in the first volume seemed to bounce between different artists but seemed to be primarily in the hands of Ben Dunn, whose work is best known on the comic series Ninja High School. Dunn also did the entirety of the artwork for volume 2 of Mangaverse. The artwork for the five issue miniseries New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate was done by Tommy Ohtsuka.

Anime Box

Friday, January 9, 2009

Cute is Justice! Ichigo Mashimaro! xP


Plot Synopsis

Chika Itoh, a typical, well behaving 6th grade elementary schooler is always on the look out for two things - her older sister Nobue coming into her room to 'steal' some money to buy more cigarettes, and her next-door neighbour friend Miu jumping into her room through the window. Other than that, she has two other friends - shy, but adorable Matsuri and a new entrance English girl, Ana. Ichigo Mashimaro is all about their time together and all the cute things they do in life.

I Say: I love this series. I love all the cute girls! This series is perfect for those who just need something to smile at after a long day at school/work. ;)

Story: 7/10
Characters: 10/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 8/10

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Blood+ AMV - Aozora no Namida (Tears of the Blue Sky) song by Takashi Hitomi

Write a Short Story!(Just For Fun) XD

Write a short story with these characters(not more than 1000 words):

-Naruto
-Goku[Dragon Ball)
-Kira(Light Yagami) & Ryuk
-and 1 character from your favorite anime(???)

*All the characters must be included in the story!

Begin with...

(???) arrive at Ichiraku Ramen, suddenly he/she...

Post your story here: http://seliparjipun.ning.com at the 'Blogs' section.(Use Malay or English only!)

Thank You!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My Review: Bleach

.:PLOT SYPNOSIS:.

The series begin in the human world, with the sudden entry of a stranger into the main protagonist`s bedroom, Kurosaki Ichigo.

This stranger is Kuchiki Rukia, a shinigami(literally God Of Death). After an ensuing conversation, Ichigo and Rukia are forced into combat against a HOLLOW (evil spirit). Rukia is disabled, and forced to transfer her power into Ichigo, transforming him into a shinigami. As it turns out, Ichigo is very powerful and even has a semi-unique zanpakuto. Ichigo makes quick work of the HOLLOW and Rukia leaves.

The next day, she shows up in his classroom, apperently a normal human student. It turns out that Ichigo has completely absorbed her abbilities, and she must recover them by using a temporary human form, Gigai.It is later reaveled that the Gigai she entered was specially designed by Urahara and given to her.

In the mean-time, Ichigo must take over her job, cleansing the hollow in the region. As Ichigo got moreto know about Shinigami life and its issues.


RATINGS:

Story & Characters: 9/10
Art : 7/10
Sound : 8/10
Presentation : 9/10

FINAL VERDICT : 8.25

You're Under Arrest Live Action [REVIEWED]

The casts are...
Hara SachieSachie Hara as You're Under Arrest Anime Wallpaper #3 Miyuki Kobayakawa.

Ito MisakiMisaki Itou as You're Under Arrest Anime Wallpaper #2 Natsumi Tsujimoto.

Both Sachie and Misaki is totally is perfect for the characters. Especially Misaki, she is my super duper idol when I watched her in action just now hehe.
You're Under Arrest Anime Wallpaper #11
I love their patrol car though.

Naruto's Return!



Read HERE!

You're Under Arrest Live Action

Okay peeps I know this is not anime but still it is related to the anime You're Under Arrest! hehe I found it at Youtube just now and a must buy one for me huhuu~

it is said that this is the opening for the live action series.

Monday, January 5, 2009

You're Under Arrest: The Movie Trailer

This is my NUMBER 2 FAVOURITE ANIME AFTER EVANGELION. I already bought the You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle. A must buy one hehe.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Final 'Respect'

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー Fainaru Fantajī) is a popular series of role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co., Ltd.). It may be the most widely distributed game series of all time, including both standard console games and portable games, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, games for mobile phones, a CGI movie, two anime series, and a direct-to-DVD movie.

The first installment of the series premiered in Japan in 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America, Europe and Australia, on several modern video game consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX 2, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sony PlayStation, the WonderSwan Color, the Sony PlayStation 2, IBM PC compatible, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS, as well as several different models of mobile phones. Future installments have been announced to appear on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game systems. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise, having sold over 60 million units worldwide to date.

As of 2008, twelve games have been released as part of the main (numbered) series, and twenty-eight games in total, including spin-offs and sequels, have been released in the franchise.

Square Co., Ltd. first entered the Japanese video game industry in the mid 1980s, developing a variety of simple RPGs for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System (FDS), a disk-based peripheral for the Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System). By 1987, declining interest in the FDS had placed Square on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. At approximately the same time, Square designer Hironobu SakaguchiEnix's popular Dragon Quest (known in the United States as Dragon Warrior). Recognizing that the project could very well turn out to be Square's last game, the project was titled Final Fantasy. Far from being Square's last hurrah, however, Final Fantasy began work on an ambitious new fantasy role playing game for the cartridge-based Famicom, inspired in part by reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and became Square's flagship franchise.

Following the success of the first game, Square quickly began work on a sequel. Unlike a typical sequel, Final Fantasy II featured entirely different characters, with a setting and story bearing only thematic similarities to its predecessor. This unusual approach to sequels has continued throughout the series, with each major Final Fantasy game introducing a new world, and a new system of gameplay. Many elements and themes would recur throughout the series, but there would be no direct game sequels until the release of Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003, though Final Fantasy V received an anime sequel prior to this. After the merger with Enix, however, real game sequels have become increasingly prevalent. In a way, the Final Fantasy franchise has been a creative showcase for Square's developers, and many elements originally introduced in the series have made their way into Square's other titles, most notably two of its other major franchises, SaGa and Seiken Densetsu.

Common Themes

Dualism and Cycles

Dualism appears to be a strong theme in many Final Fantasy games. This dualism is expressed in a variety of ways, including two worlds, two different heros/heroines, or most commonly, dualism between antagonist and protagonist. Most often this dualism is thrown out of balance by outside forces, forcing the protagonists to restore balance. Sometimes, the final villain is a being who wishes to return all things to nothingness, and restore balance in the most extreme way possible.

A theme that is heavy in several Final Fantasy games is that evil cannot be entirely destroyed, only subdued or marginalized, and thus the balance between good and evil, light and dark, can and must always exist. Later Final Fantasy games also shifted to allude to some sort of cycle that was nearing completion, and some games also demonstrate a conflict between nature and mankind which much be settled.

In Final Fantasy, the villain Garland creates a time loop. Garland makes a pact to live forever by having the Fiends of Chaos summon him 2000 years in the past when he is defeated by the Light Warriors. There, Garland sends the Fiends of Chaos to the present, continuing the loop. When the Light Warriors travel back in time, they kill the Fiends and confront Garland, who transforms into Chaos and is defeated. This act ultimately breaks the time loop.

In Final Fantasy III, there is a world of light and a world of darkness. Each world also has a group of heroes arise to save their world from being consumed by the opposing property. When Xande drains the Crystals of their power, he creates an imbalance between light and darkness. This causes the Cloud of Darkness to appear to return the universe to a state of nothingness. The Warriors of Light attempt to stop her, but are defeated. However, through the aid of the Warriors of Darkness, the Warriors of Light are able to overcome her and destroy her.

In Final Fantasy IV, there is the Blue Planet, which has two parallels; the Red Moon, and the Underworld. The surface world has four Crystals of Light, and the Underworld has four Crystals of Darkness. The Red Moon also has eight Crystals, four each of Light and Darkness. Cecil Harvey is a Dark Knight who becomes a Paladin by receiving the light-aligned power of his father Kluya. Golbez, Cecil's older brother, is aligned with darkness and uses powerful black magic to collect all eight Crystals in his quest for power. In the game's finale, Golbez uses a Crystal to attempt to subdue Zeromus, but fails as his heart is tainted with darkness. He thus passes the Crystal to Cecil, who uses his light to render Zeromus vulnerable and defeat him.

In Final Fantasy V, the world was split in two to contain the power of the Void. Each world has a set of four Crystals which are key to maintaining the worlds. When the warlock Exdeath escapes from his sealing, he destroys the Crystals, forcing the two worlds back together and unleashing the Void. The two generations of the Warriors of Dawn combine their powers to destroy Exdeath and recreate the Crystals.

In Final Fantasy VI, the War of the Magi 1000 years prior nearly destroyed the world. This conflict was caused by a war between Espers and humans. In the present, the Gestahlian EmpireTerra Branford is a hybrid of an Esper and a human and represents the hope that the two races could co-exist. Terra fights to defend the hopes of the orphans of Mobliz, who have given her life meaning. The antagonist Kefka Palazzo is an experimental Magitek Knight is seeking Espers to take over the world, leading to the possibility of the destruction of the world. The protagonist driven insane and power-hungry, who believes life is meaningless and that love and hope are illusions.

In Final Fantasy VII the conflict between light and darkness is replaced by a conflict between nature and humanity, and science and magic. Sephiroth, representing the power of science as a genetic experiment of the Shinra Electric Power Company, uses the Black Materia to summon Meteor to ravage the planet. Aeris Gainsborough, last of the magical Cetra, uses the White Materia to summon Holy which can stop Meteor. The dualism between Aeris and Sephiroth is clarified in The Reunion Files, where Tetsuya Nomura states "as long as Sephiroth exists, Aerith must exist". The Lifestream also serves as a cycle, as all living things, even plants, have spirit energy that comes from the planet. When someone dies, their spirit energy returns to the planet and their knowledge joins the collective. The Shinra are draining this spirit energy to produce Mako, and spirit energy is also the basis for the creation of Materia.

In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall Leonhart is opposed by his archrival Seifer Almasy. Squall wears a black jacket and pants while Seifer's are white in color, and the two use Gunblades to battle, each having their own preferred model and fighting style. As well, it is revealed that the Sorceresses Ultimecia and Edea Kramer are part of a time loop. Defeated in the process of casting Time Compression to merge all times into one, Ultimecia and Squall emerge several years in the past, where a younger Edea absorbs Ultimecia's Sorceress Power, which later corrupts her and makes her a target for Ultimecia's possession. Because of this time loop, it is possible that Ultimecia's Sorceress Power, paradoxically, is her own power passed down to her from Edea through generations.

In Final Fantasy IX, there are two worlds - Gaia and Terra. The Terran world was destroyed many centuries before the game began, so the Terran people attempted to assimilate Gaia by sealing themselves in sleep and gradually replacing the souls of Gaia with those of Terra's. To assist them, the villain Kuja was created as an "Angel of Death" to encourage death and war on Gaia and speed up the process. Later, a second Angel Zidane Tribal was created, the game's main protagonist.

In Final Fantasy X, the monster Sin was created by Yu Yevon to destroy any machine-based settlement that grew too large. However, a Summoner is able to appease Sin and hold off this destruction by using their Final Aeon to destroy Sin. But when this happens, the spirit of Yu Yevon within Sin possess that Aeon, transforming it into a new Sin and continuing an endless cycle. By destroying Yu Yevon himself, Tidus and the Summoner Yuna are able to end the cycle and destroy Sin for good.

In Final Fantasy XI, the enlightened races--those races believed to have been created by Altana, the Dawn Goddess, a good deity--face off against the hordes of beastmen--races created by Promathia, the Twilight God, who is twisted and evil--on Vana'diel.


Supporting Element

Though each Final Fantasy story is independent, many themes and elements of gameplay recur throughout the series. From the strong influence of history, literature, religion and mythology on the story to the frequent reappearance of certain monsters and items, these shared elements provide a unifying framework to the series. Some key objects and concepts that have appeared in more than one Final Fantasy game include:

  • Airships — Powerful airborne vessels which usually serve as a primary mode of transportation for the player. In many games, most notably Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX, the presence of airships is a key component to the story itself. In most of the titles, airships generally had the appearance of flying sailing ships with a series of propellers instead of sails. However, in some of the later games they look more technological.
  • Job System — Playable character classes have included the Warrior; White, Black, Red, and Blue Mages; Monk; Thief; and Mime. Even in games where the player is not given the choice of choosing class alignment, these classes often play an important background role in the story. Additionally, several installments in the series (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy Tactics) have utilized a "Job" system wherein the player is able to switch character classes in between battles. In Final Fantasy X-2, the "Dressphere" system actually allowed a player to switch a character's job during the middle of a fight. In addition to this, certain recurring "Legendary Weapons" may be granted to certain classes, such as the sword Masamune for the Fighter (also known as "Warrior"), or the Black Mage's Flare spell.
  • Magical stylesMagic in the Final Fantasy series is generally divided into different schools, which are usually named after a specific color. White Magic and Black MagicRed Magic incorporates elements of both healing and attack magic, at reduced effectiveness. Later additions have included Blue Magic (sometimes referred to as Lore or Enemy Skill), which incorporates specific special attacks learned from monsters, and Time/Space Magic, which includes status affecting spells such as Haste,Slow, or Warp. represent healing/support and attack magic, respectively, while
  • Status ailments and cures: Characters in Final Fantasy games are usually subject to a number of standard "status ailments" which cause deleterious effects, including silence, poison, petrification and confusion. While these are present in many console RPGs, Final Fantasy also has a standard list of items which may be used to cure specific ailments (for example, "Echo Herbs" cures Silence, and "Gold Needle" cures petrification), as well as magical spells, such as Esuna or Poisona.
  • Creatures/monsters — Fictional creatures such as Chocobos and Moogles have appeared in most games in the series. Certain monsters also reappear frequently, including Goblins, Tonberrys and Cactuars. Lastly, summoned monsters (also known as Espers, Guardian Forces, Eidolons, or Aeons) such as Bahamut, Shiva, Ifrit, Leviathan and Ramuh have appeared in almost every title in the series.
  • Character names — A character named "Cid" has been present in every Final FantasyFinal Fantasy II (with a simple mention in Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls). Although he is never the same individual, he is usually presented as an owner, creator, and/or pilot of airships. The motion picture Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within also featured a character named "Sid," presumably an alternate spelling of the more traditional "Cid." In a similar vein, characters named BiggsWedge (homages to the Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles) have appeared in Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy X-2 (inclusive) (excluding Final Fantasy IX). game since and
  • Plot elements — Many entries in the Final Fantasy series involve broadly similar plot points, such as rebellion against a major economic, political, or religious power, or a struggle against an evil which threatens to overtake or destroy the world. One of the most famous of such recurring themes involves elemental crystals, which have appeared in over half of the titles of the series (Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy XI), as well as in several spin-off titles (Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles).
Design

Artistic design, including character and monster design work, was handled by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI. Following Amano's departure, he was replaced with Tetsuya Nomura, who continued to work with the series through Final Fantasy X, with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, where character design was handled by Shukou Murase, Toshiyuki Itahana and Shin Nagasawa. Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, also the designer of the main series title Final Fantasy XII.

In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista, Ltd. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Square Enix continues to outsource story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista, Ltd.

Music

Nobuo Uematsu was the chief music composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. His music has played a large part in the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise abroad. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to music from Final Fantasy VIII. Uematsu is also involved with the rock group The Black Mages, which has released three albums of arranged Final Fantasy tunes. Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano.

There have already been two successful runs of Final Fantasy concerts in Japan as of 2004. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are also increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. launched an America Online radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XIFinal Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Many video game and MIDI web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces. in addition to samplings from

Due to overwhelming demand, and the overwhelming success of the first Final Fantasy concert performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004, the Dear Friends: The Music of Final Fantasy concert tour was established, starting February 2005. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store.

While the music in the games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which is actually based off one of Bach's preludes. It is a simple arpeggio theme in the early games, with further melody parts added in later games. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series.

Other memorable tunes include the Chocobo's theme, the Moogle's theme, and a piece originally called Ahead On Our Way in the original Final Fantasy, which was in fact the opening theme and which is now usually played during the ending credits of the game and called "Prologue".


Graphics and Technology

The 8-bit and 16-bit generations

Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) as Final Fantasy in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III, the latter two of which were only released in Japan initially (remakes have since introduced them to the international market). On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party member were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective.

The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). These games utilized updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design.

The text of the Japanese language versions of early Final Fantasy games was comprised purely of kana. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite.

32-bit generations

1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation and not Nintendo 64 as originally anticipated. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds. Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to use full motion video sequences, part of the reason why the game spanned a full three CD-ROMs. However, Final Fantasy VII's FMVs often lacked consistency, with characters appearing tiny and very indistinct in one scene, and extremely detailed in the next. Also, note that Square was forced to sign a contract with Sony vowing to stick with them and the Playstation series forever to gain access to the PlayStation, which is why Crystal Chronicles (which was on the Nintendo Gamecube) had to be released indirectly.

Released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, once again utilized sprites for the characters. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics.

Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. The full motion video sequences utilized a display technique wherein video would play in the background while the polygon characters would be composited on top.

Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series, but maintained most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series.

The Next generations

Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII were released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the much more powerful hardware to render certain cutscenes in real-time, rather than displayed in pre-rendered video. Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to use voice overs to any degree. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically not much different.

Both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII used a completely different style of combat and revolutionized the series with its advanced graphics, the latter emphasizing on finer details in its art and style.

A new compilation called Fabula Nova Crystallis will include three new Final Fantasy's: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.


Gameplay

Game screens

The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:

  • Field screens — These are where the main interaction between the characters occurs, and indeed most of the exploration of the world occurs on these screens. Dialogue mostly occurs on these screens. Final Fantasy VII marked the point that Final Fantasy would have realistic computer graphics, while Dragon Warrior stayed with anime style cel-shaded graphics. Prior to Final Fantasy VII, they were pseudo-orthographic, using a simple 2D engine. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX used pre-rendered and pre-painted backgrounds over which 3D models were overlaid. Final Fantasy X used a completely 3D field screen system, which allowed the camera angle to change as the characters moved about.
  • Battle screens — Battles occur on a separate type of screen (or arena), usually with a change of scale and a backdrop "arena" that usually generically represents where the battle is occurring in the game. (For example, a random battle in a desert gets a desert backdrop.) Plot-relevant battles (as opposed to battling random monsters) may have a specially built battle screen/arena, however. In Final Fantasy VII and later, these screens are fully 3D, using higher resolution versions of the characters, but very restricted in size. Final Fantasy XII will do away with "scene-battles": battle sequences will occur on the main field screen.
  • World screen — A low-scale screen used to symbolize traveling great distances in times that would otherwise slow the game down unacceptably plot-wise. These are usually not scaled, as a character may appear the size of a small mountain. Relatively little plot occurs here, but there are exceptions. The world screen was eliminated in Final Fantasy X, as you travel to different areas in the games via airship, where you see a picture of the World screen and select from a list where you wish to go. (You get to have this option of transportation near the end of the game.)
  • Cutscenes — These scenes are non-interactive playback that usually advances the plot. They can either be pre-rendered (video FMV), or they can be executed in with the same engine as the field screens. In some cases, pre-rendered video was overlaid with real-time rendered field screen graphics (full motion video-3D).
  • Menu Screen — This screen is used for navigating your party's status, equipment, magic, etc. This screen is usually a very simple blue-table layout, with a gloved hand to select one's options. In some games, the option to change the color or texture of the tables is given.

The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines.

Battle system

Final Fantasy borrowed many gameplay elements from its primary rival, the Dragon QuestFinal Fantasy uses a menu-driven, third-person, turn-based battle system. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement (although Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy X did not), and a point-based system for casting magical spells (though Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII all featured different approaches). Most games in the series (from Final Fantasy III and on) feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. Often these special attacks are integrated into the job system, which has appeared in several games in the series and spinoffs (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X-2). franchise. As such,

Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy III all featured a traditional turn-based battle system. The player would input all battle commands at the beginning of each combat round, which would then be carried out based on the speed rating of each character. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was introduced. The ATB system was semi-real time, and afforded every creature in combat a time gauge. When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. Generally each of these games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity relating to the time gauge would pause whenever the player was using a submenu to choose a magic spell, item, or special attack.

Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the Conditional Turn-Based Battle System (CTB). In the CTB system, every creature in battle would be ranked according to speed. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. The CTB system is always in wait mode, featuring no time gauge.

Final Fantasy XI featured a fully real-time combat system similar to that employed by the game EverQuest: when confronted with an enemy, a character would automatically perform basic physical attacks unless otherwise instructed by the player. Final Fantasy XII adopted a similar real-time combat system, however "gambits" were added to allow a player to program commands into the characters, to smooth out the monotonous junk monsters (since random encounters were removed). Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the field screen, with no separate battle screen.

Respect The Makers Of Final Fantasy - Square Enix

People can get sick of this, because of my addiction to Final Fantasy games. But in another way, I gotta find out more about Square Enix.

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Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス Sukuwea Enikkusu Hōrudingusu?) TYO: 9684 is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Dragon Quest series, the Final FantasyKingdom Hearts series. Square Enix was formed as the result of a mergerSquare Co. and the Enix Corporation. On April 1, 2003, Enix legally absorbed Square, with Square stockholders receiving 0.85 shares of stock in the new company compared to Enix stockholders receiving a one-to-one trade. Despite this, many top officials within Square assumed leadership roles in the new corporate hierarchy, including Square president Yōichi Wada, who was appointed president of the new corporation.

Square Enix has regional operations, including Square Enix, Inc. (for all of North America) and Square Enix Ltd. (for Europe and other areas that use the PAL-television standard). In July 2003, Square Enix relocated its headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo. In March 2004, Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market. On August 22, 2005, Square Enix announced its acquisition of the amusement gaming developer and publisher, Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, Space Invaders and the Bubble Bobble series. By September 28, 2005, Square Enix had wholly acquired Taito. In January 2005, the company expanded operations to Beijing, People's Republic of China by establishing Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company also has a controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middle-ware for gaming. On August 29, 2008 Square Enix made plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of 22.3 billion yen. By September 4, 2008 Square Enix had withdrew their offer after Tecmo rejected the proposed takeover.

As of 2008 Square Enix's headquarters are in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its North American offices are on the third floor of 999 North Sepulveda Boulevard in El Segundo, California, United States. Its Europe offices are on the second floor of the Castle House in Borough of Islington in London, United Kingdom. Its China offices are in Room 610 of Golder Plaza, No. 10 in Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Before 2007, Square Enix's titles were published by other companies in Europe as Square Enix Ltd. did not have their own distribution network in place. Their titles were published by Nintendo of Europe (Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Children of Mana), Ubisoft (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Drakengard 2), Electronic Arts (Final Fantasy X-2), Take 2 Interactive (Drakengard) or Infogrames (Unlimited Saga, Musashi: Samurai Legend). Their first self-published titles in Europe were Kingdom Hearts II for PlayStation 2 and Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS.


As of September 2003, Square Enix's production staff was divided in nine different Square teams and two Enix teams:


Production team Headed by Notable game series
Square
1 Yoshinori Kitase Final Fantasy
2 Akitoshi Kawazu Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
3 Hiromichi Tanaka Final Fantasy XI
4 Yasumi Matsuno Final Fantasy
5 Yusuke Hirata All Star Pro-Wrestling
6 Toshiro Tsuchida Front Mission
7 Takashi Tokita Hanjuku Hero
8 Koichi Ishii Mana
9 Akitoshi Kawazu Ivalice Alliance
Enix
10 Ari Miyake Dragon Quest
11 Yosuke Saito tri-Ace-developed games
As of May 2005, Production Team 10 was headed by Yoshinori Yamagishi. Yusuke Hirata left Square Enix in June 2005 to join Aquaplus, Yasumi Matsuno left in August 2005 for speculated reasons, and Koichi Ishii left in April 2007 to start his company Grezzo.

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