D&A Anime Blog: Avidd Music Friday Returns Next Week!!

Awhile back we did a segment that highlighted upcoming artists and producers in music, however as life got in the way we weren’t able to maintain its consistency. Thankfully that is now about to change, as we plan on taking another shot at this new segment! Starting May 21st (next Friday) Avidd Music Friday is back on the blog! So if you’re an up and coming music artist (be it Nerdcore, Electronic, Hip-Hop, etc.), DJ, or a producer who wants us to highlight your music artistry for our Friday night segment, head to our Contact Us page and send us a submission. If you also happen to have a Spotify account, we can also add your music to our music listening page “The Lounge”. That’s the update, but as always we’ve got more content coming your way! Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Avidd Music Friday Returns Next Week!!

Anime REvisited: And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online Episode 3!

Welcome back guys! Its high time for another anime review from our Anime REvisited pick; And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online. With it being the third episode of the series weโ€™re pretty much out of the introductory phase, so now comes the sustained challenge of the members of the main cast helping Ako (Tamaki) distinguish between the game, and reality. Letโ€™s see how thatโ€™s going, shall we?

The main cast!

Kicking off the third episode Rusian meet up with Nekohime; the magical catgirl who says that sheโ€™s actually a guy in his 40โ€™s in real life. It appears that Rusian (Hideki) is pretty much ok with the fact that despite Nekohimeโ€™s real-life identity as a dude in his 40โ€™s, he still thinks sheโ€™s cute โ€“ though that might change later. Back at school Hideki and the others are having their usual L.A. gaming sessions as they head to a mountain full of fire and fire golems; battling against them and collecting EXP, loot, and whatnot.

Midway through the episode Hideki chats with Ako in hopes that sheโ€™s starting to understand that the game and reality are two different things. He just wants to be friends in real life and tries to remind her to call him by his real name, and not his game name. Although itโ€™s still a challenge it seemingly looks like slight progress has been made, however a sudden dilemma occurs as the class president Kyo tells the net gaming club members (Hideki, Ako, and Akane) that without an advisor for the club, its legitimacy is in jeopardy. With that in mind Hideki asked Ako to meet with him at the gaming club in one big last attempt to help her differentiate between L.A. and reality. (Prior to this he asked Nekohime for advice on how to help Ako with this issue as well.)

It backfired terribly; as Ako accused Rusian (NOT Hideki) of cheating on her with another woman, due to him confronting her about her gaming addiction. This is usually the time after the intervention, where you hope to God that the other party (with the addiction) doesnโ€™t do anything irrational; or anything thatโ€™ll put them in prison! In this case; Ako states that she has some โ€˜important businessโ€™ to attend to after meeting up with Rusian and the others in-game, which raises some red flags for the crew IRL.

Near the end of the episode Hideki still canโ€™t seem to grasp why Ako doesnโ€™t understand the difference between the game and reality, but after some assurance from Akane and Kyo about him stepping up and going after Ako because he genuinely cares for her (and concerned for her safety), Hideki races to the place where he initially met Ako. He tells her that as his in-game husband he doesnโ€™t approve of her offline meeting, but it turns out the person that Ako is meeting wasnโ€™t a man, but it was actually his homeroom teacher โ€“ who was a woman. Not just any woman, but Hidekiโ€™s homeroom teacher Ms. Sato (aka Nekohime).

After realization hit Hideki in the face that he, in fact, purposed to his homeroom teacher, Ako confronts her and appears to take out some kind of weapon and lunges at her; not realizing that due to the line between fantasy and reality being blurred in her mind, that she could be criminally charged with assault and battery. (That is if Ms. Sato hadnโ€™t close-lined her.) Needless to say, Ako is a work in progressโ€ฆwe hope.

Other than another member of the cast being introduced (somewhat) and Ako still having issues, thereโ€™s not a whole lot that happens in this episode. The content is relatable, as some of us may have been in Akoโ€™s shoes at some point in time. MMOโ€™s and video games are awesome, but we gotta remember that even though we hate it, adulting is something that we eventually got to do. Weโ€™re not saying you gotta be an adult 24/7, but if youโ€™re able to find that balance while still enjoying life, then youโ€™re doing it rightโ€ฆwe hope.

That will do it for our episode review, but as always there is still more content to come from us at D&A! Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Anime REvisited: And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online Episode 2!

Guess what? Weโ€™re back with another episode review from our Anime REvisited pick And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online! So far youโ€™ve met the main cast of Hideki, Ako, Akane, and Kyo; the guild from Legendary Age known as Guild Alley Cats. So what happens now that the guild members have met in real life? Weโ€™ll tell you!

The main cast!

Now that the cast has met up and introduced themselves in the previous episode, Hideki discusses with Ako that who he is in the game and who he is in real life are two different people. Sadly like many instances in our real world, Ako is unable to distinguish the difference between the game and reality; which became a real problem for Hideki and Akane when she addressed them by their L.A. character names. So they had an intervention with Ako to help her understand that as long as theyโ€™re in school, she must address them by their real names.

Ako seemed to understand, but the real icing on the cake was when class president Kyo decided to create an after school net gaming club; so that Ako can see Hideki as his real-life form, and not his in-game character Rusian.

The pacing of the series doesnโ€™t appear that itโ€™s going too fast because thereโ€™s not a whole lot going on in the story for the moment. With MMO storylines this is usually the case if the balance is geared more towards the real world and the online world, although there are a few exceptions regarding this (Log Horizon and SAO come to mind). Hideki wants to make sure that Ako realizes that who he is in the game and who he is in real life are separate, but when dealing with someone as persistent as Ako, this task is easier said than done.

Will the high school otaku prove to his real-life waifu that heโ€™s not the man she thought he was in real-life, as he is in the game? Guess youโ€™ll have to wait until our next episode review to find out! Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Anime REvisited: And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online Episode 1!

Sup nerds nโ€™ nerdettes! We have arrived with the return of our world famous Anime REvisited segment! This time we got a pick that many of you probably havenโ€™t seen, or maybe you have seen it but for some reason it flew under the radar. In any case if you like shows like Confessions of an MMO Junkie or Gamers, then this title just might be up your alley! This time around; weโ€™re reviewing And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online.

The Cast!

Anyone who is a gamer nerd (preferably an MMO junkie) is pretty familiar with the mechanics and how these types of games work. You join a party or go solo, beat baddies and bosses to level up, collect rare items and armor, rinse and repeat. There are no teenage girls with freakishly large guns or overpowered MCโ€™s with underpowered support characters; just some good olโ€™ fashioned slice-of-life comedy about gaming, and walking that fine line between fantasy and reality. In the first episode you me Rusian (his real name Hideki Nishimura), and heโ€™s a part of a guild that he joined a year before the start of the series. In real life heโ€™s a high school student who loves anime and video games (which is about 99.9% of the anime and gaming community, if you donโ€™t count the creepers).

The MMO that he plays is called Legendary Age (or L.A. for short, and NOT the city in California) and just like any MMO, you can pretty much do what is aforementioned above. Cutting to the chase; Rusian and Ako (Ako Tamaki, a female player in the game) are married in the game, even though he rejected her prior to the marriage due to the fact that the girl he first purposed to actually was a guy in his 40โ€™s in real life. Go figure.

Eventually after the events of school were over for the day, Hideki jumps back online as he and his guild members (Ako, Akane Segawa who goes by โ€˜Schweinโ€™, and Kyo Goshoin who goes by Apricot) battle more monsters before meeting at an in-game pub. Kyo (Apricot) suggests that the four of them have their first offline get together so they could get to know each other in real life. To that the others including Hideki agree as he of course waits by a huge tree not far from the school. The first to show up is Ako, who looks just like her in-game character but in real-life (and even calls Hideki by his username instead of his real name). Next up was Akane (who despises otakus but secretly is one herself) who found out that Rusian was actually Hideki; the very otaku she didnโ€™t like. Finally there was Kyo, who is the schools class president and probably one of the best players in the game.

By the end of the episode they formally greet one another and hope to have more adventures in L.A., as for Akoโ€ฆwe can only hope she has the capability to distinguish between fantasy and reality in future episodes. This series is actually based off the light novel of the same name, and is a romantic comedy about a girl whoโ€™s waaay too addicted to video games that her sense of reality is warpped almost beyond repair. In real life there have been many cases of this happening, which is why anime is like alcohol; you gotta take it in moderation. On that note thatโ€™ll do it for our first episode review from our Anime REvisited pick, but thereโ€™s more content to come so stay tuned! ๐Ÿ˜‰

D&A Anime Blog Update: Content-nental Shift & Anime REvisited!

Hey anime fam! This is a quick ‘Heads-Up’ post to let you guys know that the content that we originally had scheduled for this week, will be shifted to next week while coinciding with our Anime REvisited pick; And You Never Thought That There Was A Girl Online. We also want to take this time to acknowledge that we have over 400 followers on our domain page! From the bottom of our hearts we can’t thank you guys enough for all of the love and support for this blog, and once conventions make a grand comeback we’ll be sure to give you guys more con coverage and content! sorry that this post was kinda short, but this is pretty much our update for the time being. As always continue to stay safe, and get vaccinated wherever the nearest vaccination site is in your area. Stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis: Cinco De Mayo Edition!

Hey guys n’ gals! Yours Truly is back with another post about my thoughts regarding everything that’s been going on so far this year. Today of course we celebrate Cinco De Mayo; so hopefully you’re celebrating safely and responsibly since yes, we’re still in a pandemic (but we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel). Honestly the past several weeks have been kinda hard to come up with fun and creative nerdy content for the blog, but slowly and surelyย  I’m starting to get a little of my mojo back. Since March of last year I made the decision to jump back into the music production scene and dropped my debut EP (Minddgames), and two albums (Primetime, and Mental Vacation) under my stage name; Avidd Minddset. (I even had my first collab single with King Shabazz.) Even though the pandemic has been awful to us mentally and emotionally, it also made most of us really take a look at ourselves as well as our priorities in life. Many of us will come out of it better people than we were going into it, while others will double down on their own ignorance and toxicity towards others.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this experience (with this being my first pandemic along with thousands of others who are in the same boat), is that you never wanna take anything in life for granted! So many of us have lost loved ones through this pandemic, which has made a lot of us keep the loved ones who are still with us close to us. Sure, we got our own difference of opinion when it comes to things like ideals and politics, but when the human race is threatened on a global scale, whatever beef you got has to take a back seat and focus on what’s really important. You also gotta be mindful of who you listen to, and where you get your information from in times of great crisis; cuz’ misinformation is a dangerous thing. (As we’ve seen the repercussions.) Our return to normal is closer than we think, so if we wanna return to what we love (mine being anime conventions and DJing at clubs), we gotta get vaccinated.

Well, that’s pretty much my thoughts in a nutshell at the moment. Hopefully you guys are celebrating Cinco De Mayo safely and away from large crowds at least for now; come May 5th of 2022 we’ll be celebrating at the clubs once again! Until the next post, stay nerdy guys! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Here’s What’s Happening Next Week!

What’s good anime fam! Hopefully you all are doing well and staying safe, and if you’re able to, be sure to get your COVID-19 vaccination; cuz’ D&A’s already got theirs! While we’re still getting the gear that we need for our projects (which includes our Nerdz of the Decade podcast), we’ve got some upcoming content coming up next week!

The battle for our childhood!

Nintendo vs. SEGA: The Battle For Our Childhood!

When it comes to video games and video game companies, each of them tries to outdo the other from big hits to cult classics. Every gaming company has a rival company that they want to be better than, but no rivalry was greater than the Nintendo-SEGA rivalry. Join us as we take a look back at this historic rivalry of two gaming companies who fought to rule over our childhood.

A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis

A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis

It’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these, so we’ve got a fresh new one for you happening next week! What will the topic be about? You’ll have to wait and find out!

Don’t know what to watch? We got cha covered!

D&A Anime Report: Spring/Summer 2021 Watchlist!

Wanna know what new shows are coming so you can check em’ out? We got cha covered in our special D&A Anime Report on some of the latest anime titles for the Spring/Summer 2021 season!

That what’s happening next week, so until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐Ÿ˜‰

D&A’s Top 10 Female Anime Characters With Silver Hair!

Anime is filled with many things; fanservice, giant guns, slapstick comedy, and compelling stories. What was once a niche medium (and still is to some degree) is now on the same level as mainstream entertainment; don’t believe us? Super Saiyan Blue Goku was in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade – Twice! With all of the things anime has to offer its nerdy consumers, the hair color is one of the few things that catches our eye. Scarlet or red-haired characters usually have attitudes while blue or teal-haired characters are level-headed, but when it comes to silver hair, its usually associated with a “wise beyond your years” type of trait. Sometimes that’s true, and other times not so much. In our Top 10 post we list ten female anime characters who have silver hair!ย 

Inner & Outer Moka

10. Inner Moka

Ah, yes! Many fans remember this silver-haired S-Class beauty who kicks ass and takes names! Inner Moka Akashia is an S-Class vampire who is only released whenever Tsukune takes off Outer Moka’s rosary. Although her tongue is a sharp as her fangs, she’ll protect her friends and Tsukune at any cost!

Gurren Lagann’s Beach Episode

9. Nia Teppelin

Who doesn’t remember this silver-haired cutie from Gurren Lagann! She is the disowned daughter of Lordgenome as well as the secondary female protagonist of the series. She is also the love interest of Simon, and despite the fact that she’s revealed to be a messenger for Anti-Sprial, he’ll do any and everything he can to save her.ย 

Shizuku Kurogane

8. Shizuku Kurogane

The younger sister of Ikki Kurogane who loves and excepts him even when his father didn’t. She’s a Blazer with ice and water powers, and shows her own brother a little more affection than she should (due to her being the ‘little sister’ type). She’s not a big fan of Stella only for the reason of her getting too close to Ikki, but her skills in battle make her a force to be reckoned with.

Gisen Yagyu

7. Gisen Yagyu

A Master Samurai who’s general is Amakusa, and is the series main villainess for Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls! She has an evil eye that allows her to control her enemies as well as her allies, and has had Muneakira is a few situations that are totally NSFW. (She takes the whole master-servant relationship way too seriously.) Her master samurai attacks are ice-based and if she doesn’t like you, you’ll know.

Shiro

6. Shiro

The Wretched Egg from Deadman Wonderland! After Ginta was sent to prison for killing his classmates, Shiro was the first person he met. In the manga she’s the most powerful deadman in the whole series along with the fact that she has affections towards Ginta. She may have the mind of a child, but deep inside…she’s something else.

Guys…run!

5. Anna Nishikinomiya

In a world where the concept of dirty jokes doesn’t exist, there is Anna Nishikinomiya. Due to her mother’s ban on anything R or X-rated, Anna never really had the chance to experience the things most young women her age could; like dating, having her first kiss, or even sex. But all that changed the moment Okuma stumbled and landed on top of her; giving Anna her first kiss. Now with NO control over her sexual urges, Anna finds herself hunting down Okuma in exchange for some NSFW love-nectar action.

Echidna…not Knuckles

4. Echidna

She is known as the Witch of Greed in Re: Zero! She and Subaru have a conversation over a cup of tea, but like Anna that tea is made up of her own bodily fluids (I’m not even gonna ask what ‘kind’ of fluids, it could be love nectar for all we know). Due to her not being able to understand the feeling of others, by normal standards she can be perceived as a sociopath despite her curiosity. ย 

Mirajane

3. Mirajane

One of the most powerful mages in Fairy Tail. As a child she and her sister and brother were chased out of town due to her demon powers, but eventually they found the Fairy Tail guild and decided to make a new life there. Though she was a gothic brat as a teen, she changed her ways after her sister Lisanna ‘died’, and now has a ‘Mom Complex’ towards the members of Fairy Tail. We’re pretty sure she’s on the waifu tier list of various male fans! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Julie Sigtuna

2. Julie Sigtuna

She is the female protagonist in the Absolute Duo series. This silver-haired loli enters the academy in order to find Tor, so that he can teach her his ‘Final Move’ in order to avenge the death of her own father. Throughout the series she grows close to Tor and will do whatever it takes to protect him – no matter the cost!

Koneko Tojo

1. Koneko Tojo

One of the members of the Occult Club as well as a demon like Rias and Issei. Throughout the first couple of seasons she was a bit of a wisecrack (especially when it came to Issei’s perverted nature), but afterwards she began to believe in herself as well as in her abilities as Rias’ Rook. If you’re ever in a fight where the numbers are against you, you’re gonna wanna have this demon loli by your side!

That will do it for our Top 10 this time around, but as always there’s more to come! Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐Ÿ˜‰

What Will Anime Cons Look Like Once We Return?

That’s the question that’s been on the minds of con goers and cosplayers alike since March of 2020. With the vaccine rollout chugging along despite setbacks, the U.S. population is now 28% fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and its variants. As restrictions in several states are easing up, we’re still not at a point where its 100% safe to return to the nerd sanctuaries that we once called ‘home’. Right now anime fans and convention goers are all wondering when can they return to the Smash Bros. tournaments, the voice actor Q&A’s, the late-night raves, and the laughter of their fellow weebs. Trust us when we say that we miss ALL of it, and we’ve been doing everything in our creative power to keep ourselves in that nerdy mindset since last year; at times it’s been kinda difficult. However once we reach the target range of 70-90% full vaccination (or about 220 million people in the U.S.), anime conventions will return in full force better than ever; but what will they look like once we DO come back?

Attendance might be cut by half.

It’s no secret that anime conventions have been a part of anime nerd culture for decades. Its been a place where various nerdy fandoms have come together to celebrate their love for the overall medium. Young and old con goers from all walks of life have found themselves going to one of these conventions at some point, and the level of acceptance is nothing that you could even imagine. Many of us remember when conventions started out as after school anime clubs and when the number of people started to grow in said clubs (as well as get funding), they turned into the anime conventions that you see today! Even though it has its squabbles and disagreements sometimes, the anime community is one of the best communities that we’ve been a part of.

Back to the real issue at hand; what will conventions look like once we finally reach the end of this dark tunnel? Well we can only assume that precautionary measures are going to be made; because even though we’re getting close to putting an end to COVID-19, Con-flu is still relevant. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve gotten sick at the end of a convention because someone did not take the precautionary measures to wash their hands, or take care of their body. Hygiene should be a number one priority before you set foot inside a convention, and it most likely will be once we return.

Another thing that most likely will change is the price of admission. Many of the mid-sized and mega conventions cost between $75-$120 for the whole weekend, and add the hotel cost and you’re looking at a near $450 or more for a single weekend out – about the price of a car payment! Why do you think we take one or two friends with us? Cuz’ cons are expensive and it lets our wallet breathe! Aside from the price of admission; the level of attendance will also change. COVID-19 has done a number on most conventions financially, and some of them may be forced to close their doors forever. With that said, the budget that a lot of conventions have (or used to have) will change; meaning that they’ll have to scale back costs in order to stay operational. That means booking not as many big name VA’s, and shrinking down their space from convention center-sized to hotel-based size.

Hopefully once we reach the target range of safety, we won’t have to worry about not wearing masks at conventions because everyone at the convention will be fully vaccinated. That’s the normalcy that nerds and otaku everywhere want to get back to; back to ‘squeeing’ at the sight of our favorite VA’s when they do a line from the show, back to waiting in line to get an autograph from said VA’s, back to the late-night raves, and back to the nerdy sanctuaries that we call home. Cons ARE coming back – just where safety is their number one priority! ๐Ÿ™‚

Us with cosplayers at Zenkaikon 2017

D&A Anime Blog: Anime REvisited Returns in Two Weeks!

If you’re just tuning in, the last Anime REvisited we did was on the anime title known as Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls. Welp, we’re bringing the anime review segment back with a title about gamers who love MMORPGs. The full title of this anime is called And You Never Thought There Was A Girl Online. If you’ve seen Gamers or Confessions of an MMO Junkie, then you might like this title as well. In two weeks Anime REvisited returns with this awesome title, but we’ve got more nerdy content coming your way on our next post! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Anime REvisited returns with this title!