Affinity #65 - The Substitutes (Ichigo & Ginjo)

Ichigo was often described as a Substitute Shinigami for Rukia ~ fighting off various Hollow in Karakura Town while protecting its residents. However, there was one who held that title before him & his name is Ginjo Kugo, Explained by Toshiro Hitsugaya, Ginjo was given the Substitute Shinigami badge by Jushiro Ukitake. However, Sui-Feng said that Ginjo killed various Shinigami & made their power his, but what became a betrayal to Ginjo was when he discovered that the badge was a surveillance device. From then onwards, he became an enemy of the Soul Society and disappeared for awhile. Unlike Ginjo, Ichigo's case was, at first, skeptic. However, he proved his worth after rescuing Rukia, defeating Aizen, & becoming a valuable asset to the Gotei 13. Even after Ichigo discovered that the badge was a means of surveillance, Ichigo took it differently than Ginjo and insists that he'll continue to fight alongside them just so long as they don't impose any threats on him. After everything Ichigo's done, it's hard to believe he can turn the other cheek. When the two encountered, it was a clash of ideologies ~ Betrayal vs. Loyalty. One felt betrayed by the badge and the other stood loyal by it ~ their rank as Substitutes only became a reminder of where they came from and what'll define them in the future ~ a Hero & a Villain. Despite their different ideologies, it was the badge & the truth behind it that forged their identities.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Affinity. Look forward to Affinities on Tuesdays. Until then you all stay classy now.

BCC 2 Match #1 - Nina Williams vs. Revy (Tekken vs. Black Lagoon) ~ Assassin vs. Mercenary

VS.

Welcome back to BCC Round 2 (November-December 2014) featuring collaboration w/MechG where we pit the world of Anime & Videogames and see which lovely lady has the better story, personality, and overall appeal as a character. There are such a handful of beautiful women out there in both these worlds that we chose the best 16 from multiple franchises. Unlike BCC Round 1 where it was mainly Bleach vs. various Anime girls ~ it was one-sided since I gave so much credit to the opponents, BCC Round 2 will be the first collaborative series in the BCC series (Like I said, there'll be multiple). Without further ado, let's get this show on the road. The first 3 BCC Round 2 Matchups (1-3) will be decided by MechG. 

Personality (Nina Williams)

Cold, dull, I guess that’s the best way to describe Nina (that’s not a good way to open up). However, once she comes across her sister, Anna, whooo boy, she likes to f*ck around with her a lot every time those two get into it (should make out). If there’s one thing, Nina despises, its men (gender inequality) and I don’t know why. The only man she ever trusted was her father, who eventually got killed during T2. When Nina was controlled by Ogre while she was in cryosleep back in T3, she was made even more emotionless, but once she got back some of her memories, well back to trolling Anna.

Personality (Revy)

Revy often displays a violent, aggressive, and trash-talking demeanor. Other words to describe her are: Loud, merciless, battle hungry, competitive, sarcastic, rude, and ill-tempered. Nonetheless, she opens up to the protagonist, Rock, and genuinely comes to respect/care for his wellbeing as well as the Black Lagoon crew. With everybody else, bullets will be flying everywhere if you piss her off.

Story (Nina Williams)

*Endings not included since most of them are non-canon.*

Hailing from parts of Ireland, Nina learned how to fight from her mom and dad as her learned Aikido and her dad was an assassin. During the first Iron Fist tournament, she was sent to assassinate Heihachi. In T2, literally the same old task, this time Nina was tasked of assassinating Kazuya, but Anna gets in the way of her task and thus starting up the sibling rivalry. In T3, she and Anna became guinea pigs of Dr. Bosconovitch’s cryogenic experiment. Nina didn’t wake up until 15 years later when the Mishima Zaibatsu discovered Ogre and Ogre managed to awaken Nina’s soul from cryosleep, thus awakening her and tasking her to assassinate Jin. T4 and T5, Nina was pretty much trying to regain memories of her past and her feud with Anna. She was also assigned to assassinate Steve Fox, but it was like revealed that they’re mother and son and whatnot. Nina finally regains back her memories and starts to settle the longtime family feud with Anna. Then in T6, she resorted back to a side character, becoming one of Jin’s personal assassins.

Story (Revy)

Born as a Chinese-American in the NYC, Revy's upbringing wasn't what you'd call the best ~ raised by an alcoholic father (whom she later killed) and being arrested/beaten/raped by a corrupt officer. It's unknown how she ended up in Roanapur, but she eventually befriended and joined Dutch & Benny (whom she saved). Black Lagoon doesn't necessarily follow a series that's canon, but rather each episode (or multiple) embarks on many missions given to the Black Lagoon. Throughout the series, we see Revy's temperament and proficiency as a gunslinger shine, but most of all ~ we see how her relationship with Rock starts to change her ideology a bit and that despite her horrible upbringings, she can rely on the Black Lagoon to support her, restrain her (if she goes overboard which she often does), and overall display a sense of love & compassion (it's her family).

Appeal (Nina Williams)

Oh man, I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated the attractiveness of any female Tekken fighter up until like Tekken 5. My first Tekken game that I ever played was Tekken 3 (literally almost eleven years since I played that sh*t) and personally I didn’t find Nina that attractive nor did I find her outfit that appealing. Once the later Tekken games appeared, she got a little hotter and her outfits got sexier. IMHO, her sexiest outfits are not in the Tekken games, but in the spinoffs, you know Death by Degrees and in Blood Vengeance, yes those two godawful piece of sh*t spinoffs is where I found Nina to be at her absolute hottest. If you ask me which outfit I preferred, it’s Blood Vengeance. Yeah her DbD outfit showed off more of her sexy @$$ bod, but I’m usually a sucker for black shiny latex catsuits with cleavage showing. Movie was “OK”, but her appearance was definitely appealing and hot (thanks technology).

Appeal (Revy)

Revy, being the protagonist in Black Lagoon, is the only hot chick in the series. I mean, c'mon ~ a black tank-top, short shorts, and she's a lover of duel-wielding guns ~ who wouldn't go for her? I immediately fell in love with Revy the moment I saw her kick a lot of @$$ in the series. Spawning 2 seasons, Revy always wore the same outfit and, for the first time in the OVA, we see her nude with her BEEWBZ slightly showing. Rock is lucky that Revys on his side and that she got a little something something for him, but it's unclear whether or not Revy will act on her feelings anytime soon (examples: kissing, hugging, S-E-X). It shows that she's possessive of Rock in her own twisted way and that she's protective of him since, after all, they're the gun (Revy) & bullets (Rock). Overall, she a fine @$$ action star that isn't afraid to show off her skin in order to showcase her bravado as a bad@SS gunslinger.

Verdict (By MechG)
And the winner is....

Personally, this came down to personality and which female plays an integral role in the storyline because of you don’t remember about my evaluation, story first (well sometimes). Clearly, Nina has all the sexy @$$ latex/pvc outfits (I’m just going all out with this fetish), but overall, I will give this win to Revy. With Nina’s personality, I just don’t find that “it” factor since she’s all dull, emotionless. If I want to date a dull, emotionless personality, I’d rather just date a rock. Watching the first episode of Black Lagoon with Stillmattic, my first impression of Revy was holy cr@p, this is one bad@$$ chick! What I liked about her personality is that she is rugged, she is a sh*tkicker, she’s that anti-Anime heroine that is not appealing just for eye candy, but also for 100% grade A bad@$$ery. Not to mention, much more revealing outfit: short shorts, black tank top, legs as revealing as Stacy Keibler’s (Ruthless Aggression WWE fans will get this), that’s sexy. Storyline-wise, Nina doesn’t do much to make an impact in the Tekken series considering Anna’s taking all the spotlight (maybe Stillmattic was right, I should’ve picked Anna) and even though I haven’t watched all of Black Lagoon yet, I can’t deny Revy’s role as the main heroine in the story and that’s why I chose her as the winner.

So who do you think won? Revy from Black Lagoon or Nina Williams from the Tekken franchise? Comment below and let me know. Look forward to BCC #2 Matchups on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays from November-December 2014. Until then, you all stay classy now. Anime Cuties are winning 1-0 against the Videogame Babes. 

Throwback #66 - Reunited (and it feels so good)

 During the Xcution arc, it seems as if Ichigo stumbled to an all-time low as Ginjo & Tsukishima were successful in duping our young hero and turning everyone that Ichigo cared for against him. Tatsuki, Keigo, & Karin & Yuzu were in shock on Ichigo's behavior towards Tsukishima, but it was all part of the plan to sway Ichigo. When it turned out Ginjo was indeed the bad guy (no surprise), Ginjo stole Ichigo's fullbringer powers and, just as he walked away, power surged through Ichigo's wellbeing ~ giving him Shinigami powers once more to kick Fullbringer @$$. It was the help of various Shinigami that are thankful for Ichigo's assistance against Aizen that the least they can do is give Ichigo Shinigami powers. As seen in the picture, Ichigo is reunited with Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, & Ikkaku. Together, they've all grown thanks to their meeting with Ichigo and now, as a team will thwart the advances of Ginjo & his Xcution (Giriko, Riruka, Jackie, Yukio, & Moe). I'd like to take a moment and be in awe of this picture because it was a defining moment where the notion: "To lend a helping hand" is present. The burden of heroes shouldn't be that they work alone, but rather acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses and rely on others to help carry the load. That's the whole picture ~ to show strength, do not carry anything yourself. At your lowest, know the world has your back and that everything it going to be alright. Without a moment's hesitation, a burden was lifted from Ichigo and now, with his friends, he feels at peace knowing he isn't alone anymore.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Throwback. Look forward to Throwbacks on Fridays. Until then, you all stay classy now. There'll be no Throwback next week because I'll be working Black Friday. 

WBCR - Name Game (Grade: B)

So, let me get 3 things straight:

1) Yoruichi has a sister?
2) White eyes = You're F*cked
3) "Enemy not feeling pain" Cliche

That pretty much sums up the chapter. In all honesty, Yoruichi having a sister was out of nowhere. I don't think there was any mention of her having any siblings (I may/may not have missed it). Some speculate that it's a "he," but on the Bleach Wiki page ~ it says it's a "she." The only different between this chick & her older sister is that Yoruichi got nice....Assets. Furthermore, we finally see Kisuke & part of the Visored gather together. What grand scheme are they plotting in aiding their allies against Yhwach & his forces? Is it truly for the sake of Seireitei? That notion speaks for itself as Hiyori is displeased with Kisuke's purpose in allowing Ichigo and Yoruichi to advance more without having consideration for their livelihoods. On a side note, Yhwach & Hyosube duke it out, but Yhwach bargained more than he asked for as Hyosube doesn't necessarily cut flesh, but rather the essence of its name instead. With that being said, Hyosube was able to stand alone against Yhwach as he was pushed back, but the "I'm just getting warmed up" cliche is in full effect as Yhwach stands up and 100% will probably do away with Hyosube just in time for Ichigo in come in to save the day. So what are my thoughts on this week's chapter. It was pretty good to see Hyosube kick Yhwach's @$$, but we all know what's gonna happen. Kisuke's involvement is sketchy at best, but that's what we love about him ~ his calculative nature is a force to be reckoned with, but his insight on disposing others for the greater good also is his achilles heel (letting the strong handle the dirty work). Yoruichi having a less attractive sister just came more as a shock because I don't personally think there was any mention of it at all. It's a set-up and, with most set-up chapters, it's deserving the letter grade: B.

So what did you think of this week's relatively short chapter? Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? Comment below and let me know. As always, look forward to WBCRS when chapter's available and when I have time to post it. Until then, you all stay classy now.