Happy Thursday night guys n’ gals, and welcome to the blog! This time around we’re bringing you yet another game review from one of our favorite Nintendo gaming consoles; the Nintendo Wii. Many of us remember the commercial of this awesome console with many games like Super Mario Galaxy, WarioWare, and many others. Tonight we’ll be reviewing one of our favorite installments of the Smash Bros. franchise; Super Smash Bros. Brawl!
The Smash 3 Roster!
Remember back when the first Smash Bros. came out on the Nintendo 64 back in the late 90’s/Early 2000’s? We do! Now it’s 19 years later and we have Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with a roster of over 70 characters – and counting. (I wouldn’t mind one or two MK characters in there.) Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the third Smash game I’ve played, and I’ve had a blast playing it! Although I was disappointed that Dr. Mario didn’t make it to this installment, I eventually became a Bowser head; meaning that no matter what tier other Smashers thinks he’s on, he’s my number one choice to go to battle with.
They’ve brought back several of the options and specialized battles such as Stamina Battle, Super Sudden Death, and more! I was happy that they brought Break the Targets back in this installment, and as with the last two installments (including Smash 4 and 5), if you play though the Classic Mode you’ll find yourself facing the all-mighty Master Hand. The Final Smash was kind of new when I first played this game, but when I used it for the first time, it was pretty freakin’ cool!
I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve logged into this game, but if I had to put a figure on it, I’d say 745 Hours a year. The Subspace Emissary mode was pretty cool, as it kind of gave the game a bit of a plot and an original storyline. There’s nothing like grabbing your friends, picking your favorite Nintendo character, and then just betting the living (poop emoji) out of each other for laughs – because its just for fun! The cool part about having the Wii was the fact that it also plays Gamecube games, so you can play Smash Bros. Melee and Smash Bros. Brawl.
For that I give this game a 4.8 / 5!
If you still have a Wii, I’d pick this game up! You can pretty much find it online, or in the old school gamer bin at GameStop. If you’re hankering for Smash Ultimate, you can by a Nintendo Switch Lite and pick up a copy of the game. With the Lite however, you have to make sure that the game has ‘Handheld Mode’ compatibility. Other than that, you’re good to go! On that note that will do it for this game review from the awesome guys of D&A Anime Blog! Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
So sometime back in mid-August we made a post about a 21-chapter fanfiction, about Danganronpa’s main villainess Junko Enoshima. Well now we’ve got some updates to share with you about this new project! After working on the title cover of the fanfiction itself we now have a posting date for 2020; that date will be March 16, 2020! This will actually be one of our first fanfics that we’ve ever worked on for D&A, as well as our first ever Danagnronpa fanfiction. There may be more projects like this coming in the future, but for the moment we’ll be keeping our main focus on this one.
We’re still working on the full plot of the story, but we can give you the synopsis…
With Hope’s Peak transformed into an Armageddon shelter, 95% of Japan’s population has now fallen into despair. All of the class members of Class 77-B have now become agents of despair also known as the Remnants of Despair, and have laid waste to everything, and anybody that dares to stand in their way.
All of this happened because of two girls (well, one girl with a serious Harley Quinn complex if you would call it that) thought the world was a boring place and decided to ‘shake things up’. Although they were determined their plan didn’t come into full fruition without a few distractions – if you can even call them that! The Queen of Despair, Junko Enoshima, and her sister Mukuro plan on sharing their despair with the rest of world (and by that we mean Junko’s), but it won’t be as easy as they think it will be.
As we mentioned before, we can’t give away any real spoilers about who will be in this fanfic besides Junko, Muruko, and a few key players of Danganronpa 3: Despair Side. Basically this fanfic is almost like a ‘road trip’ thing where Junko an a few of her despair-infected minions go from country to country trying to infect them with despair, before coming back ‘home’ and doing the same with the 78th Class. Although there will be moments of despair, there will also be moments of dark humor and other random moments. (Did we mention how easily bored Junko gets?)
Well guys n’ gals, that’s all we’ve got for now! Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
Man, it’s been a month since we’ve made our last post, but while we were gone we’ve picked up a few more awesome followers. For those who have just joined us for the very first time, thank you! For those who have been with us since day one, we can’t thank you enough. September’s been rather…interesting, but nevertheless we’re back with some awesome posts and content. To kick off Halloween month we’ve got some anime conventions for you to check out, as well as a brand new announcement!
Avid Mindset DJ/Producer Logo
With October being Halloween month we’ve got some original music coming our way in the form of a 3-track EP known as Avid Halloween! (Produced by Avid Mindset) If you’re a party animal or you just like listening to dark melodies, throbbing basslines, and (possibly) a rump-shakin’ rhythm, then you’re gonna love this lil’ treat!
Hey guys. It’s been awhile since we’ve made a post on the main hub, but we want to give you an update on what we’ll be doing on our end as the first day of Fall begins. We’ll be scaling back our posting to the peak days of the week; those days being Tuesday-Thursday, as those are the days where we receive the highest amounts of traffic.
We’ll also be working on the Danganronpa fanfiction known as “Junko“, as well as our upcoming original music singles “Bass Ghost” and “Lost In Space“. We’ve also made a post on our twitter page regarding if we should start our own Discord channel, so if you guys have any ideas or you would love to be a part of it, let us know in the comment section or head to our contact us page! October 1st we’ll be back in action with brand new posts as well as other exciting content for the month of Halloween. We’re not dead, we’re just getting started! ๐
Hey guys, and welcome back for some more awesome content we’ve got right here on the blog! This time we’ve got another anime convention review to share with you, and its on our first ‘out-of-state’ anime convention which was only 90 minutes from us. Zenkaikon is a three-day anime convention held at the Lancaster Marriott in Penn Square in Lancaster, PA. This year was our second time going and of course being who we are, we had a blast!
D&A Founder A. Goldman with Hestia cosplayerD&A Founder D.J. Lewis with Junko Enoshima cosplayer
So basically this convention is a sci-fi/anime convention, so you won’t just be seeing anime cosplay, you’ll also encounter some Star Wars and possibly Doctor Who, as well as anime characters from the sci-fi genre (mecha, anybody?). The con itself is set in a hotel/convention center, which means that the convention center is infused with the actual hotel itself – making it easier for travel when looking for places to eat both inside and out. Zenkaikon is a mid-sized convention; meaning that you’ll get the pros and cons of both a bigger and smaller convention, nevertheless the total attendance is around 3,600 or so. One cool thing about this convention is that fact that now that have specialized panels called ‘CON-fessionals’ where its kind of like a round-table panel set in a quiet setting where you have to sign your name on the guest list, and there’s a limited number of spots available.
The outside area of the hotel/convention center’s courtyard is amazing! There’s plenty of places to do a cosplay photoshoot, plus all the eateries are only a half-a-block away! Also at this con we’ve made TONS of friends and met some of our Twitter and Facebook fans as well, so if you plan on heading to Lancaster, PA next year for Zenkaikon 2020, stop by and say ‘hi’, we’ll be there! ๐
That will do it for this post, but as always guys n’ girls, stay nerdy! ๐
Within the past couple of weeks we’ve been on a bit of a Danganronpa kick as of late, and we said that we would be holding off on fanfiction for awhile. In a case such as this…we’ll be making a ‘slight’ exception. Since we’re pretty sure a good amount of you guys have already seen the anime and played the games, we’re also pretty sure you’ve got an inkling on what we might be getting at. In 2020 we’ve got some big plans for our fourth year being D&A, and somehow or another…’she’ just became part of them. So for all of you Ultimate Despair lovers out there, this one’s for you! We’ll be working on a 21-chapter fanfic dedicated to the ‘Harley Quinn’ of anime, Junko Enoshima, entitled Junko.
Yep, she caused Armageddon!
What will the plot be about, you ask? Basically Junko (alongside her sister) trying to infect the whole world with despair – by any means necessary (and unnecessary). Unlike taking the whole ‘Brainwashing Video’ route as seen in Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc, Junko will be doing it the old fashion way; blackmail! (As well as other means…) It won’t be easy for her plan to follow through however, as multiple instances of interference, hilarity, and dark humor ensue. So far Junko and Muruko are the main villain protagonists of the story, with the supporting cast of Mikan, Kamakura, Mitarai, as well as the others from 77th Class (who come in later on). Finally the story takes place a little before the last episode of DR3’s Despair Arc, but with a few alternate twists.
We don’t have a post date yet for this fanfic, but we can say that it will happen sometime in either January or March 2020. That’s all we’ve got for now, but until our next post, stay gold! ๐
Since 1989 We’ve seen the mighty members of the DBZ troop become who they are today; from Goku’s adventures from when he was a child, to the friends and frienemies that he fights alongside with whenever the forces of evil strike his home planet of Earth. (By way of Planet Vegeta, of course.) For 30 years we’ve seen some of the greatest battles take fold and have gone down in the Dragon Ball Hall of Fame; such as Goku vs. Frieza, Gohan vs. Cell, and Piccolo vs. Android 17. While we’re on the subject of the green man from Namek, many of us old school fans know that he wasn’t always a good guy. In fact if he kept his original persona from back in the day (considering the level he’s at now), well…he’d be a problem. (However that possibility is pretty much dead now.)
Piccolo (or Piccolo Jr.) is the son of the late King Piccolo, who indeed was an evil Namek. His dream was to dominate the Earth and crush anyone who dare oppose him, but it wasn’t until that fateful day of the World Tournament, that he came across the Earth-bound saiyan we’ve come to know and love. There’s a lot of things we know since their fateful encounter, but to some there are a few things that you may not know about the villain-turned-hero Namekian. Here are seven things you may (not) know about Piccolo.
We’re all familiar with this duo!
7. Originally, Piccolo Was Supposed To Be A Demon!
As a fan of the original Dragon Ball when it first came out, you’d think that after hearing the name ‘Demon King Piccolo’ that the one we know was supposed to be an actual demon. Yep, according to Toriyama, Piccolo’s current design wasn’t originally part of the plan. During Goku and King Piccolo’s first encounter, the part where he was considered a demon king held up, but during the Saiyan Saga, it was bright to his attention that Piccolo was in fact a race of green slug people known as Namekians.
6. He’s No Older Than Gohan!
Well, never saw this one coming. Just by looking at Piccolo’s stature, you’d never think that he was actually a child. He looks like an adult and certainly acts like one, but technically speaking, he was really only just a toddler when he was first introduced into the series. You’d never think that after Goku’s death that Piccolo would train up Gohan and (dare we say it) actually be a better teacher/mentor/father-figure than Goku – and BOTH of them are children!
5. He’s One Of Two People To Actually Kill Goku!
Every single villain after Piccolo tried it, and every single one of them failed to do so. However Piccolo was only one of two people (the second being Cell) to actually kill the main character of the show, Goku. All out of options on how to kill Raditz Piccolo charged up his super special move that we’ve seen all throughout the franchise; the Special Beam Cannon! Goku had to hold his brother in place so he couldn’t dodge, however he didn’t have enough time to dodge himself, so Piccolo happily killed them both. Sorry, Vegeta.
“Finally…at long last…!”
4. Namekians Only Need Water To Survive!
This one’s tricky depending on whom you ask but with Piccolo’s abilities as well as all other Namekian abilities, it seems that they only need water to survive. Why is this? It could be the fact that since his race has the traits of plants (i.e. regrowing limbs after they get destroyed) you’ll only see them drinking water as part of their diet. At other times you may have seen him eating other foods, but that could all be the work of filler.
3. He’s Had Crossovers with One-Piece!
You know how we’ve dreamed of seeing an anime crossover when we first brought up the conversation in the past? Well our Piccolo has been a part of that great convo! (Him and the VA that voices him, Chris Sabat!) With One-Piece and Dragon Ball being two of the most popular franchises ever made (next to Naruto, but he came out later on), it would only make sense that both Piccolo and Zoro would cross paths with one another and even get a crossover called Cross Epoch.
2. He’s Sacrificedย Himself For Gohan Numerous Times!
As much as he hated Goku back in the day, Piccolo found himself gaining a bit of a soft spot for Gohan – to the point where he would give his own life to save him. It was pretty clear that this would be somewhat of an on-going pattern since the fight with Nappa in DBZ; where Piccolo put himself in harms way in order for Gohan to live. In Super he did the same thing when Frieza was firing a blast at Gohan. After doing this many times over the franchise, it’s pretty clear who’s the most important person in the Namekian’s life.
1. James Mastersย Regrets Taking Piccolo’s Role Because His Son Loves Dragon Ball!
Everyone involved in the movie title that ‘Shall Remain Nameless’ we’re embarrassed to be a part of it due to the fact that they we’re really fans. (Even the director admitted that he was looking for a paycheck rather than put more passion into a title that has been our childhood.) The only person who was an actual fan of the franchise was James Masters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer for you 90’s kids out there), and that was due to the fact that his son is a Dragon Ball fan. He says that playing Piccolo was something that his son was proud of him for, even though the title that ‘Shall Remain Nameless’ bombed.
And thus ends our post on the seven things you didn’t know (but now know) about Piccolo. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Hey guys! We got another gaming review for you! This time we’ll be reviewing a title from the classic-but-still-good Nintendo DS, and its a title from a franchise that we’re all familiar with. Yes guys n’ gals this one’s a DBZ post, as we’ll be reviewing the turn-based action-packed RPG that is Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans! The game itself is based on the hit anime and manga, as the story takes place from the 5th season of Dragon Ball, to the end of the 1st season of Dragon Ball Z.
Yamcha and the Earthlings doin’ damage!
When it comes to turn-based RPG’s you kinda know what to expect; you go through a series of ‘Overworld’ stages while collecting items and equipment to help you in battle, you encounter (or auto-encounter) an enemy, you fight said enemy, you collect loot and EXP. The controls of the game itself are rather simple, as you’re given the following commands; attack, defend, special, item, switch, flee, and ultimate. You’re given a team of three people from the start of the game; Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien (all of which will be at Level 2 or Level 3) I like that fact that you’re given a huge chunk of HP upon starting the first Overworld level (between 200-350), as the enemies there will deal anywhere between 20-35 damage per hit (higher with bigger foes).
When you kill enough enemies and level up, there are six different stats that you have to choose from; power, defense, recovery, technique, speed, and luck. Each of the six Dragon Ball heroes have different results when it comes to stat growth; like say Goku after he levels up upon winning a battle, by the time he reaches Level 60 or higher, you can already tell that he’s the strongest character in the game based on his stats. The game does give you some great challenges and the boss fights are always fun, especially the Nappa one. (Turn on Kaio-Ken and drop that bastard for killing your friends!)
Once you reach a certain level of the game (say the one right before you fight Vegeta and Nappa) you’ll be able to go on a quest for the dragon balls. Collecting all seven of course will net you some goodies, though I’m not one to spoil the surprise but I will say that one wish in particular will allow you to face a nightmarish threat. It’s such a great game and you’ll have a lot of fun, especially once you’ve maxed out all six characters and try to deal 50,000 damage or more on a slew of enemies! (Seriously, the damage numbers are high in this game!) All-in-all I would give this game…
4.2 / 5 Stars
If you still have an original DS, DS Lite, or DSi, this game is only gonna cost you anywhere between 4-6 dollars on ebay or any other online store (its a DS game so they’re incredibly cheap). On that note that will do it for us on this post as well as review.
How about that? We’ve finally passed the 20K view mark on the blog, and it wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the love and support that you guys (and gals) have given us! It’s kinda hard to believe that we’ve started D&A just three-and-a-half years ago, and we’ll be turning four next year. Although we haven’t be able to go to some of the cons that we’ve been posting about, we have made some awesome friends and cool connections while on our nerdy travels as D&A. There’s still so many ideas we want to try out, but rest assured, this party is just getting started! We want to give a big shoutout to our Twitter and Instagram fans (from right here in the U.S. and overseas), as well as many of the voice actors that we’ve come into contact with. There’s more awesome content to come, so until next post, stay nerdy! ๐
If you’re an anime fan, then you’re pretty much aware that just about all of the titles you’ve watched (or plan to watch) are based off its source material; the manga. When the anime adaptation of a manga has been created, it stays accurate to its source about anywhere between 60-80% of the time. Between the cost of animation (especially its budget) and the deadlines that most anime production companies have to meet, the accurate number could drop between 40-60%. This is where a little thing that we’ve experienced for decades called ‘Filler’ comes in. Filler is basically an episode or a handful of episodes (or even a whole new story arc) that takes a detour from the main story in order to make up for the lack of material…or something to that effect. To get an idea of what ‘Filler’ is, check out this Gintama clip. Afterwards we’ll break it all down!
Anime and Manga don’t run at the same speed. This is the case for about 95% of all the anime you watch, unless the title is original and not based off any source material of the same name. As mentioned above; when an anime title somehow catches up to a manga title that’s still running, it’s gotta take a detour before rejoining. There are some titles that are able to handle this process well; where the anime filler brings the same amount of excitement as the main story, or even becomes better than the main story. However there are only a select few titles that have managed to pull this off. There’s good and bad when it comes to filler, but it all depends on how its handled should one of the following risks happen:
The Source Material Gets Cancelled
There have been instances where this has happened. Since a lot of anime is based on its manga; the source material, should it get cancelled or go into a longer-than-usual-hiatus, the anime studio has to find a way to finish the anime without its source material. This means they have nothing else to rely on than ‘filler’, and if not handled properly, you’ll lose viewers.
The Source Material Ends Prematurelyย
Sometimes the manga could end just as the anime is about to rejoin, and thus filler is introduced to keep the interest of the fans going. We can’t say how many titles and studios have suffered this, but sometimes great ideas can come out of a crisis.
The Source Material and its Adaption Intersect Too Early
If both the manga and the anime come together too soon, the anime has to diverge in order to give the manga more time. During this time however, another risk could happen. That risk being when the setting and characters of the anime and manga become so different from each other, they are unable to rejoin each other and end up going their separate ways. When this happens, they have no choice but to remake the anime again, and stay 100% true to the manga. We know a handful of titles that have done this, and we’re pretty sure you do too!
So there you have it, the risk and rewards anime studios take when they do and make filler episodes for anime titles. This post is not to say that having anime filler is bad, it all depends on what is being done and how its being handled. There are some titles out here where the filler arcs were better than the actual story. Just saiyan! XP
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![Junko [Fanfiction Cover]](https://daanimeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/junko-fanfiction-cover.png?w=700)
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