http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/ Bulbagarden - The original Pokémon Community en Tue, 21 May 2013 09:07:36 GMT vBulletin 60 http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/images/styles/Millenium/misc/rss.jpg http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2012-55362/ Sat, 05 Jan 2013 06:36:55 GMT For the fourth year in a row, here's the list of games I got last year.

Everything here is the Japanese version unless otherwise stated.

Playsation 3
Dead Space (I accidentally bought the French version ;_;)
Dead Space 2
Biohazard 5 Alternate Edition ("Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition)

Playstation 3 Downloads
Brave Fencer Musashi
Chrono Cross
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode II

Wii
Dragon Quest X

Wii Downloads
Mario Story ("Paper Mario" in the US) (N64)

GameCube
Pokemon Colosseum

Nintendo DS
Pocket Monsters Black
Pocket Monsters White 2

Nintendo 3DS
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Layton Kyouju vs. Gyakuten Saiban ("Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright")

Nintendo 3DS e-shop
3D Classics - Kirby's Adventure
Pokemon National Zukan Pro ("Pokedex 3D Pro")
Pokemon AR Searcher ("Pokemon Dream Radar")
Dragon Quest X Handy Tool
Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight

Nintendo 3DS e-shop (Virtual Console)
Super Mario Land 2 - Six Golden Coins
Hoshi no Kirby 2 ("Kirby's Dreamland 2")
Wario Land 2
Wario Land 3

iOS
The Walking Dead - Season One, Episode 1
Plants vs. Zombies HD
World of Goo


Now as for how many of these I've actually played...that's a totally different story :x

Total Count in 2012: 25
Total Count in 2011: 32
Total Count in 2010: 26
Total Count in 2009: 38 ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2012-55362/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/my-newest-pet-peeve-47617/ Thu, 24 May 2012 14:40:40 GMT Dear people of the Internet,

Please stop referring to the Japanese language with the insulting label "moonspeak." Implying that Japanese people are extraterrestrials whose language is nothing but a garbled mess of inhuman syllables is, quite frankly, offensive.

"I can't read Japanese" is a much, much better way to get your point across.

Sincerely,

Dogasu ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/my-newest-pet-peeve-47617/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/why-do-people-pronounce-pok%C3%A9mon-po-kee-mon-44003/ Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:04:34 GMT Like, even official sources do this. And it drives me crazy.

I mean, we wouldn't go around and say we're going to go to a local caf-EE to work on our resu-mEE. Or sau-tEE some onions while listening to the newest Beyon-cEE song. So why do people say Po-kEE-mon? ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/why-do-people-pronounce-pok%C3%A9mon-po-kee-mon-44003/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/interesting-theory-i-came-across-japanese-internet-43074/ Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:14:34 GMT http://hamusoku.com/archives/6710229.html

Here's what the top portion of that page says for those of you who don't read Japanese:

Ghost (Haunter) has a height of 1.6 m and is extremely light, weighing only 0.1 kg.

When it evolves into Gengar, its weight suddenly shoots up to 40.5 kg.

Pixy (Clefable) has a height of 1.3 m, a weight of 40 kg, and a body shape similar to Gengar's.

Therefore, Gengar is a Pixy that's been possessed by a Ghost.

Pretty neat observation, huh? ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/interesting-theory-i-came-across-japanese-internet-43074/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/why-cant-people-accept-bw-rocket-trio-hopelessly-incompetent-42120/ Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:55:09 GMT Seriously, no matter how many incompetent, negligent, or just flat-out dumb stuff the trio does to screw up their missions, everyone still talks as if they got this huge intelligence boost at the beginning of Best Wishes!. The mental gymnastics people have to go through to convince themselves that... Seriously, no matter how many incompetent, negligent, or just flat-out dumb stuff the trio does to screw up their missions, everyone still talks as if they got this huge intelligence boost at the beginning of Best Wishes!. The mental gymnastics people have to go through to convince themselves that they're a smarter group of villains now is insane.

Are people just so used to using "competent" that they've forgotten what the word actually means? ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/why-cant-people-accept-bw-rocket-trio-hopelessly-incompetent-42120/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2011-41651/ Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:08:59 GMT For the third year in a row, here's the list of games I got last year:

Playstation 3 (Japanese / English)
Batman Arkham City
Dead Rising 2

Playstation 3 Downloads (Japanese)
Rockman 9
Rockman 10
Sonic the Hedgehog 4
The Last Guy

Wii (Japanese)
Super Mario Galaxy 2
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

Wii Downloads - Super Famicom (Japanese)
Rockman X
F-Zero
Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe ("Kirby Super Star" in the US)
The Legend of Zelda The Triforce of the Gods ("A Link to the Past" in the US)
Rockman X2

GameCube
Luigi's Mansion

Nintendo DS (Japanese)
Super Scribblenauts (yes, I got the Japanese version)

Nintendo DSi Ware (Japanese)
The Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventure 25th Anniverary Edition
Photo Fighter X

Nintendo 3DS (Japanese)
Nintendo 3DS system
Super Pokemon Scramble
Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7

Nintendo 3DS e-shop
Pokemon 3D Illustrated Encyclopedia BW ("Pokedex 3D")
Picross e
The Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventure 25th Anniverary Edition
3D Classic Kid Icarus

Nintendo 3DS e-shop (Virtual Console)
Donkey Kong
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land 3 Wario Land
Hoshi no Kirby ("Kirby's Dreamland")
The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening DX
Rockman World
Metroid II Return of Samus

Mobile Phone
Chu Chu Rocket


Total Count in 2011: 32
Total Count in 2010: 26
Total Count in 2009: 38 ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2011-41651/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2010-23420/ Sat, 15 Jan 2011 07:40:16 GMT I did this last year and thought it was worth doing again. So, here's the list of games I bought in 2010.

Wii (Japanese)
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Super Mario Collection Special Pack
PokePark Wii Pikachu's Big Adventure

Wii Downloads (English)
Mega Man 10

Wii Downloads (Japanese)
Pokemon Snap

Playstation 2 (Japanese)
Digimon Savers Another Mission

Playstation 3 (Japanese / English)
Bayonetta
Soul Calibur IV
3D Dot Game Heroes
Batman Arkham Asylum

Playstation 3 Downloads (Japanese)
Fat Princess
Noby Noby Boy
Metal Gear Solid
Final Fantasy VII International
Final Fantasy IX

PC
Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - Season One

Game Boy Advance (Japanese)
Mother 1+2

Nintendo DS (Japanese)
Pokemon Ranger Tracks of Light
Pocket Monsters Platinum
Mario & Luigi RPG 3

Nintendo DSi Ware (Japanese)
Earthworm Jim
Rittai Kakushi E Atta Kore Da ("Looksley's Line Up")

Total Count in 2010: 26
Total Count in 2009: 38

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2010 was to buy fewer games, and it looks like I actually achieved that. So that's pretty awesome. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2010-23420/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/shudou-takeshis-death-got-me-thinking-about-culture-smoking-japan-19807/ Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:57:45 GMT The recent death of Shudou Takeshi, screenwriter for a handful of episodes of the original Pocket Monsters TV series as well as the first three movies, got me thinking about the culture of smoking in Japan. I should start off by saying that we don’t actually know for a fact that Mr. Shudou’s... The recent death of Shudou Takeshi, screenwriter for a handful of episodes of the original Pocket Monsters TV series as well as the first three movies, got me thinking about the culture of smoking in Japan.

I should start off by saying that we don’t actually know for a fact that Mr. Shudou’s subarachnoid hemorrhage was a result of him smoking too much. But it seems to be a logical assumption. He was found collapsed by the smoking section of the train station in Nara, and subarachnoid hemorrhages, from what I’ve gathered, can be caused by excessive tobacco use. It’s possible that his death was caused by a variety of other factors, but smoking seems fairly likely to me.

I’ve been living in Japan for over three years now. When I was back home, I, like many other people, had this stereotype of Japanese people being excessive smokers. Living here has done very little to change that.

There is a McDonald’s near my apartment that I like to go to every now and then. As soon as you walk through the door, you’re assaulted by a big ol’ cloud of smoke. This is because the smoking section is right by the entrance to the restaurant. It also happens to be right next to the cash registers, so when you’re waiting in line to place your order, you almost always find yourself with a lung full of smoke. There’s no door or anything preventing the smoke from escaping into the rest of the restaurant, and no extra vents or fans are in the area, either. That McDonald’s has a smoking and a non-smoking section, but it doesn’t really matter because you can still smell the cigarette smoke no matter where you are in the building.

There’s a chain of family restaurants in Japan named Gusto. The Gusto near my house has a similar problem to the McDonald’s in that you actually have to walk through the smoking section before you can get to the non-smoking section. Seriously, whose bright idea was that? The cash register is also in the smoking section, so when you get ready to pay, you have to be subjected to cigarette smoke.

That’s the thing about this country. Places have “smoking” and “non-smoking” sections, but it almost seems like it’s all for show. Kind of like a “Hey, look at us, we care! Really!” Or maybe the restaurants are merely trying to copy what other countries are doing without really understanding the concept that people sit in non-smoking sections because they don’t want to smell cigarettes? Could the people who design these restaurants actually be unaware of that?

And then there are plenty of places that don’t even bother with the pretense of having a “non-smoking” section. You want to eat at that locally owned ramen shop down the street, you say? Hope you don’t have a cigarette allergy.

In the streets of Tokyo, it’s actually against the law (I think?) to walk around with a lit cigarette in your hand. But I see plenty of people do it anyway. Similar to the way Japan talks about wanting to “go green,” there’s a rather large disconnect between what is said and what is actually done.

I have an Australian friend who’s married to a Japanese man. Recently, she had a baby in this country. She told me that throughout her pregnancy, she was never explicitly told not to smoke or drink alcohol. It was written out on a list somewhere, but it was never emphasized the way it would be back in either of our countries. Her husband used to have to go up to people and ask them not to smoke around his pregnant wife because it was bad for the baby. Sometimes they did, but other times, they gave him puzzled looks as if that was the craziest thing they had ever heard.

I have another friend, this one Japanese, who told me that his mother smoked throughout both of her pregnancies. His sister smoked through a recent pregnancy as well.

You know how, in America, the polite thing for smokers to do is to ask whether or not it’s OK for them to smoke in front of you? That same attitude doesn’t see to exist in Japan. Out of all my Japanese friends who smoke, I can’t recall ever having one of them ask if I mind if they smoke. They just light up without asking.

And then, of course, there are the kids shows that feature characters smoking all the time. I remember, as a kid, hearing about a kid who wrote to some trading card company complaining about them making a card where Wolverine was smoking a cigar. I can’t imagine a kid in Japan making a similar complaint about, say, Sanji from One Piece. I also can’t say I’ve ever seen an anti-smoking ad anywhere on TV.

Of course, I realize these stories are all anecdotal. I’m not going to pretend that my little stories “prove” anything or that my tiny city is representative of the entire country. But that aforementioned stereotype of Japanese people being heavy smokers has, in my personal experience, proven to be true. Maybe other parts of Japan are more accommodating to non-smokers. I kind of doubt it, though.

The country is getting better, though. A few years ago, cigarette vending machines started requiring a card that you had to apply for in order to use them. Getting this card requires you to prove that you’re of age (the legal smoking age in Japan is 20), so at least they’re trying to keep underage kids from getting their hands on them. The cigarette tax in my prefecture just went up a significant amount, and I know a lot of people who are thinking about quitting because of the cost. So Japan is trying. Maybe not as much as they should, but at least they’re making some progress.

So, I dunno. If Shudou Takeshi’s death really was caused by cigarette smoking, I would say that a part of the cause is his country’s attitude toward smoking in general. I know that the death of a writer for a kids’ cartoon isn’t going to change any policy in Japan, especially when it’s unclear if the cigarette habit we’re assuming he had was the cause of the hemorrhage in the first place. Still, I think it’s a conversation worth having and hope the country will stop being so relaxed about this potentially deadly habit. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/shudou-takeshis-death-got-me-thinking-about-culture-smoking-japan-19807/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/something-i-dont-get-about-people-who-refuse-use-japanese-names-17790/ Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:22:19 GMT So a common argument I hear for why people only use the English names for Pokemon is because they don't want to have to bother learning two sets of names. They already know all the names for the version they play, they argue, so why should they have to then learn 500+ Japanese names on top of that? It seems like a lot of unnecessary extra work.

Here's the thing, though. Right now, we're being flooded with the names of all the pokemon / humans / cities debuting in Black and White. Hundreds and hundreds of Japanese names. And the fans are learning them.

Yet, when the English names for all these pokemon / humans / cities get released, fans are going to learn all of those, too. They've been using the Japanese names for about half a year or so, but they're willing to throw those all away and relearn all their names.

So basically, people are going to end up learning two sets of names; Japanese, and then, six months from now, English. These are the same people, remember, who use the "I don't want to have to learn two sets of names" argument to explain why they don't call Piplup by its Japanese name.

Seems pretty hypocritical to me. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/something-i-dont-get-about-people-who-refuse-use-japanese-names-17790/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/pet-peeve-mine-about-way-news-reported-11354/ Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:46:54 GMT This is something that's been bothering me for quite a while.

Why don't people seem to know the difference between a scan and an image taken with a digital camera?

I see so many people calling the Black & White images "scans" despite the fact that they clearly aren't.

Do people honestly not know the difference? ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/pet-peeve-mine-about-way-news-reported-11354/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/pokemon-%3D-dragon-ball-z-8789/ Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:55:59 GMT Can you take this story about Dragon Ball Z and turn it into a story about Pokemon? --------------------------------------- *The History of the Dragon Ball Z anime in the U.S.* For the first two seasons, Dragon Ball Z was dubbed by FUNimation in conjunction with Saban. These initial... Can you take this story about Dragon Ball Z and turn it into a story about Pokemon?

---------------------------------------

The History of the Dragon Ball Z anime in the U.S.

For the first two seasons, Dragon Ball Z was dubbed by FUNimation in conjunction with Saban. These initial seasons had a lot of rewrites, a replaced music score, and a countless number of edits. Despite these changes, the English version was many fans' first (and only) exposure to the series and became their preferred way to watch the show. After airing on early Saturday morning time slots for two seasons, Saban was taken out of the picture.

Eventually, it was decided that FUNimation would do the dubbing themselves using their in-house actors. By pulling from a pool of locals – many of whom had never acted in anything in their life – a cast of sound-alikes was assembled. The first testing ground for the new actors was the movie “Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle,” and the reactions were mixed. People liked the lack of editing and the original Japanese score, but they hated the replacement voice actors and the new theme songs.

After some time, a new season of 50 episodes premiered on Cartoon Network. This third season picked up where Saban had left off and finished out the Freeza saga. Season Three featured the same voice cast as the movie (minus Stephanie Nadolny, who had been replaced with Sean Schemmel as Goku), all-new music, and relaxed editing standards. Reactions to the new dub were generally negative, with many fans calling it amateurish and a cheap imitation.

Eventually, however, fans began to accept the new voice actors. These days, fans seem to have accepted the new cast and it's assumed that most people – including the voice actors themselves – have moved on. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/pokemon-%3D-dragon-ball-z-8789/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2009-7984/ Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:12:10 GMT My New Year's Resolution for 2010 is to stop buying so many damn video games.

I originally compiled this list for a thread on toonzone. And when I actually sat down and listed out all the games I bought last year, I kept amazing myself at how large the list was growing:

Wii Downloads (American)
Final Fantasy IV The After Years
Final Fantasy IV The After Years - Rydia's Story
Super Punch-Out!
Mega Man 9

Wii (Japanese)
Wii Sports Resort
Super Mario Galaxy
New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Wii Downloads (Japanese)
Dracula II Noroi no Fuuin
Super Smash Bros.
Final Fantasy II
Muscle de Koushinkyoku
Dracula Densetsu Rebirth
Super Mario Kart
Ransen! Pokemon Scramble
Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu

Playstation (Japanese)
Chrono Cross

Playstation 2 (Japanese)
Battle Stadium D.O.N.
Final Fantasy XII

Playstation 3 (Japanese)
Playstation 3 (system)
Final Fantasy XIII
Ape Escape (PSN)
Final Fantasy VIII (PSN)
Umjammer Lammy (PSN)

PC
Plants vs. Zombies
World of Goo

Nintendo DS (American)
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Nintendo DS (Japanese)
Pokemon Ranger Battnage
Dragon Quest IX

Nintendo DSi Ware (Japanese)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Mini Mini Saikoushin!
Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damashii
Nintendo DSi Calculator
Chotto Panel de Pon
Hobonichi Rosenzu 2009
Solitaire DSi
Chotto Dr. Mario

Virtual Boy (Japanese)
Red Faction
Teleroboxer

Game Boy
Super Mario Land 2

The sad thing is that I haven't even finished half of these. I really need to calm it down with all the spending.

Does anyone else have a list that looks this bad? ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/games-i-bought-2009-7984/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/video-games-underpriced-7696/ Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:10:45 GMT We've all seen people complain about the price of video games on various message boards. The idea that $60 is too much to pay for a game is a popular one, and there are many people out there who think they're being ripped off.

I, for one, completely disagree.

Think about it for a second. You pay $60 for a game that lasts you 20 hours. That may seem like a lot, but if you break it down, that's about $3 for every hour of entertainment.

In comparison, you go out for a night to the movies. For a two hour movie, you're likely to pay about $10 for the ticket. Even if you don't buy any food or drinks to go with that, you're still paying almost twice as much for the same amount of entertainment. There are various other factors involved, of course, but on a purely cost per hour scale, video games win out.

Wanna go out for a night at the bar, or a night out clubbing? Those have an even greater per-hour cost.

The truth of the matter is, video games are some of the best values for your money that you can get, especially if you buy RPGs. Yet people still see them as being "too expensive" without really looking at the big picture.

Of course, I'm not saying that those other forms of entertainment are inferior or that people should stick to video games to get the most bang for your buck. But I do think that people should take things into perspective the next time they complain about paying $60 for a game that will entertain them for hours and hours and hours. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/video-games-underpriced-7696/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/i-interviewed-some-japanese-kids-about-pokemon-today-6563/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:40:35 GMT You guys know that I'm currently teaching English in Japan, right? I don't have to do this big lengthy introduction, do I?


Well, today, my third grade class (think 8-9 years old) was learning family related vocabulary. Y'know..."mother," "father," "brother," etc.

Well, after having the kids help me draw up Son Goku's family tree (fact: most of them didn't know anything beyond what's been shown on Kai so far) and playing some games, I had about two minutes to kill. So, I decided to quiz them with some Pocket Monsters examples.

The results are:

• Nobody knew who Takeshi's dad was.
• Nobody knew the name of Satoshi's mom. Only a few kids even knew that he *had* one.
• Nobody knew Hikari's mom's name, but they did at least know that she had "round hair" and used to be a Coordinator.

Of course, this whole thing was very unscientific and is anecdotal evidence at best.

Still, it kind of helps you realize why the TV series can get away with recycling plots over and over again. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/i-interviewed-some-japanese-kids-about-pokemon-today-6563/ http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/phone-g-s-4658/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:10:26 GMT ...So I was playing my copy of Gold the other day, and got a phone call from a trainer in the game.

It was something like 4:00am game time. And the girl had the gall to ask if she had woken me up.

Surely I'm not the only one who sees the humor in that. ]]> Dogasu http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/blogs/97/phone-g-s-4658/