Nerd Culture Podcast

Sword Art Online, or SAO, is an anime about a teenager named Kirito, who joins millions of other players in the MMO, Sword Art Online. While in there, the players are informed that they cannot leave the game, and if they die in the game, they die in real life. This anime is a fantasy to all fellow nerds and geeks who wished they could be IN the game. However, for the characters, this is a matter of life and death.

Kirito is the main protagonist in SAO. He decides that he will be the one to beat the game, and save everybody in the game. He is very intelligent about how MMO’s work, and giving him an advantage. He becomes known throughout the game as the The Black Swordsman, due to using one-handed sword skills, no shield, and the Cloak of Midnight. The world of SAO is made up of floors, each one being more difficult than the last. There are 100 floors.

On the first floor, he meets a girl named Asuna, who later, becomes his love, and his wife in-game. As their relationship develops, you become attached to that relationship, as it distracts from the fact that they are stuck in an MMO. Kirito and Asuna’s relationship provides some comedy relief, which is a very well-placed element in this series.

Even a few of the filler episode seem important, as we learn about Kirito’s mindset about topics, how to handle situations, which in turn, causes us to care more about him, and his cause to save everyone in SAO.

The english voice acting in the series is amazing. Bryce Papenbrook does a great job as Kirito, and Cherami Leigh does a spectacular job as Asuna. Even the side characters are voiced well! The series length is perfect, as you realize how long they are stuck in the game. The ending is amazing, and tugs at the heart strings, on the borderline of wanting to cry, and wanting to squeal with joy. Due to these elements, and almost no flaws whatsoever, I give Sword Art Online 5/5 Lukes.

Thanks for reading!

Episode #117 features:

News: Rosetta Mission – Probe ‘Philae’ lands on Comet 67P / Lead scientist Dr Matt Taylor’s shirt controversy

Reviews: The IT Crowd: The Internet is Coming / Interstellar / Extraterrestrial / Ouija / Planetary Omnibus

Azerothian Times: BlizzCon 2014 / Warlords of Draenor – first thoughts

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The Devil is a Part-Timer is an anime about King Satan, the King of Demons. The first episode begins with the Hero Emilia and her team on a mission to kill King Satan, and save Ente Isla. However, King Satan escapes into the human world with his servant, Alciel. Unknown to them, the Hero Emilia is not far behind them. When they arrive in the human world, they lose their demon bodies, due to a lack of magic to keep them in their true forms. In other words, the Devil, his servant, and the Hero are stuck in human bodies, and in the human realm.

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Episode #116 features:

NCP’s The Roast Special!

Guest starring: Mark Humphries, Jazz Twemlow & Seaton Kay-Smith!

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If you are a fan of any TV show, movie, or anime where the main character is an anti-hero, then Nightcrawler is the movie for you. I recently watched this movie in theaters, so I figured that while it’s still fresh in my mind I better get my thoughts about this amazing movie out into the world.

As you can probably tell from my positive intro, I am in love with this movie. Nightcrawler is about a man named Louis Bloom, who needs a job and is so desperate that he is shown at the beginning of the film cutting fences from their posts to sell at a scrap yard. On his way home, he comes across a car wreck. A few freelance camera men come up and film the accident just as the police show up. Lou asks the camera men how much a news station would pay for footage of crime scenes. One of them replies with “Not enough”, but Lou decides that ‘not enough’ could become enough. All it takes is a little sneakiness, hard work, and some bloody hands.

And just like Light Yagami from my Death Note review, Lou Bloom is a sociopath who doesn’t know he is a sociopath. He is willing to do anything to get the best shot, the only shot, in order to get the most amount of money. It starts out small, as he moves a dead body to get a more dramatic shot, to withholding evidence to keep a story to go on longer so he can get more footage. His only concern is how much money he can acquire.

Even with all of these elements of Lou Bloom’s character, he is still a highly intelligent person, and can negotiate and blackmail people on the spot. He can analyze people’s reactions, and quickly decide what to say to get what he wants. I couldn’t help but love him.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as Lou is incredible. He plays the character extremely well, and even the way he walks and stands looks like a character that seems like he wants to be something he isn’t ready for. He looks uncomfortable in his own skin, almost like he wants to shed it and evolve into someone new. His voice is what really gives you the impression that we’re dealing with a character that knows what he is doing, but he doesn’t care, because he knows he can get away with it.

The ending gives so much closure to almost every anti-hero movie or TV show. If you hated the endings to shows like Breaking Bad, Dexter, and Death Note, then I highly recommend that you see this movie. Actually, I can recommend anyone to see this movie. Due to the great storyline, Jake’s acting, the amazing ending, and the anti-hero element, I give Nightcrawler 5 out of 5 Lukes.

I hope you enjoyed reading my latest review! My next review will be out next week!