Heroes: A retrospective of pain

If you don't already know, I am a nerd. I can accept this. And one of the shows I latched onto early in my acceptance of my nerdihood was Heroes, a TV serial that was much like X-men. I loved the first season for various reasons which I couldn't quite place. Was it the quirky characters, the strong dialogue or the effing superpowers? I could never tell. But bottom line, the show rocked, but the ending... well, I could tell where this was going.

Heroes is a textbook example of "Star Wars," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "Pretty much any damn Disney movie" syndrome. The first movie or season was so excellent that the studio decides to make a sequel and fucks it all up. I'm not saying that a sequel can't be done right, it's just that the studio or director tries to change the formula that made the first season work so well and ultimately ruins the experience for real fans.

Lemme run through the painful second season of Heroes before my brain starts to hurt. At the end of the first season, Hiro (The Japanese otaku who could control time and space) was transported back in time to the feudal period in Japan's history, to meet his hero, Takezo Kensei. He turns out to be a douchebag, a drunk, and a hero. Wait, what?

The first season really did a good job of making us care for the characters, and this is possibly where season 2 stumbles the most: they introduce too many damn new heroes! There are these two Hispanic siblings who want to see Suresh (The doctor character who is working on cracking the genome) to take away their powers. This takes up something like, 30% of the series. Read my lips: I do not give a shit about these guys! I want to see Hiro do something funny with Ando, or have Sylar closely stalk another hero, waiting to kill them.

The second season also focused more on "The Company," the mysterious corporation that was controlling everything behind the scenes. This was exposition alley, and it made the thing boring. Even as these people were being taken out right and left, I couldn't feel anything for them, because we were never given enough time to get to know them. As almost every episode ended, we were either shown a new character brought in on a whim, or someone who inexplicably came back from the dead. This theme of overly dramatic endings still persists today, and it makes it incredibly annoying to follow. I need a fucking flowchart to keep track of all the new characters. If I made one, it would probably take up an entire apartment complex.

And now, the third season is even worse. I don't even need to see the rest of the episodes to know that they're going to suck. It seems like this season is trying to explain the origin of the heroes, how most of them got their powers and how the Company gave it to some of them and blah de blee de blah.

This makes absolutely no sense! If powers are controlled by a kind of gene, how in the hell can Hiro control time or Nathan fucking FLY?! Things were fine when we didn't know the origins of heroes. We didn't particularly care. We accepted it and focused on the characters instead. Trying to explain these kinds of things just opens more plot holes.

So that's my feelings on Heroes. I really hope that this season will bring the closure I need from the series, even though I know it won't.

Pep rallies rule! Except when they suck.

I've never liked sports or dancing with people. So combine football and awkward dancing, and you've got a hot and spicy can of Kyouger repellant. I am of course talking about homecoming celebrations.

Our school pep rallies are a bit different than most. Lemme give you a little bit of history behind them while changing the names to protect the innocent and the stupid. About five years ago, our school was overpopulated. So the superintendent decided to add another school, codenamed Skywalker High. In the coming football season, we at Warrant County got our asses royally handed to us on a platter made of solid irony. So we have a long-standing hatred of Skywalker High and College. Our Pep rallies take on a very anti-jedi tone to them, which I suppose is to be expected.

But on to the rally itself. After squeezing through a crowd that would have embarrassed Japan's subway, the drum line marched in and actually played a nice, rousing theme song which I could've never made out the words to if I tried. Then the cheerleaders came up, and much panty-flashing ensued. They weren't too bad, but they cheered better with music than just singing.

Then we went through a bunch of bullcrap games, like musical chairs and hot potato, played with a football. We then had a nice skit involving the Warrant Wildcat and Skywalker Toucan. In short, the cat kicked the crap out of the bird, as everyone expected it to, and then they engaged in a dance contest to the extreme!!!!!!!!

Actually, it kinda sucked, the choreography blew and Skywalker actually won, though of course everyone in the stadium screamed that we did (And blew out my fourth eardrum in the process).

I actually liked last year's pep rally and got into it, but this one was just annoying as shit. The fangirlish screaming for the jocks drove me insane, and... well, I don't know. Maybe it's because I started cutting down on my caffeine intake and wasn't as hyped up, but this one just didn't do it for me.

I'm not sure why I'm even talking about this, but perhaps that's what a blog is actually for. I'll post the score of the football game tomorrow.

COCKING PISS TROUSERS!

Goddammit! I'm pretty pissed off now. I accidentally lost my camera in the convention and thus lost so many terrific opportunites to take pictures of terrific cosplayers. I am such a goddamn idiot. But, the trip wasn't a complete loss, for 6 reasons.

1. I had a hell of a lot of fun rocking out to Down With the Sickness, Chop Suey and Eye of the Tiger on Rock Band 2. And seriously, can you think of anything funnier than watching Kisame do a stage dive off a chair during one hell of a solo?

2. I had a bit of fun with Wren and Captain Crazy (Whose name escapes me). Pink Power Ranger and Misa-Misa to the rescue!

3. I realized that Super Smash Brothers sucks ass on the Gamecube. So does Bleach: Shattered Blade.


4. See picture below:

FUCK YES! YURI PADDLE FTW!

5. See other picture:

I am officially a member of Anonymous, the bane of teh intarwebs.

And 6. I'm sure many people will remember me as that drunken asshole who was dancing to "Beat It" in the Dealers Room, blocking the walkway for everyone else.

It wasn't a complete drag, but for over 100 dollars counting the metro station and souvinier money, it really wasn't worth it.

It's cherry poppin' time!

Hey guys. Long time, no post, huh? Well, no crap-tastic movies have been shoveled down my throat now, so I really haven't had any reason to post. I do have good news, though. I will be heading down to Anime USA in Crystal City with a couple of my friends. I'll hopefully have a lot of pictures to bring back, but until then, please help yourself to the pictures of last year.

An ariel view of the Artwork something-or-other.

Me, dressed as Kisame, out in the parking lot. Note the duct-taped headband.

An in-character Jack Sparrow poses for an embarrasingly long time. I really held him up.

A nice leather outfit; can't place the anime.

A cool lolita-fairy outfit. I like the wings and the staff.

I could have sworn I had more pictures of cosplayers, including a few nice Avatar ones. Oh well. I hope to have even more pictures this time around.

Anime USA is this Fri, Sat, and Sun. I'll be heading out on Saturday and staying for most of the day. If any of you are planning to attend, I'd love to meet you guys.

Who am I kidding? No one will show up. :(

Hentai forever,
Kyouger.