Darker than Black : Anime Review

Anime time!!!

Story Overview

The series starts off with teasers of a complex world, where a supernatural event a few years ago, besides creating a hallowed ground zero called Hell's gate, has also seemingly given certain individuals (called Contractors) incredible powers a la X-Men. In the first few episodes, we get a glimpse of some compelling characters, a doll figuring out her humanity, a warg trapped in a cat, a middleman trying to own his power, the policewoman hot on their trail and the protagonist, Li... codename BK201... nickname Masked Reaper... who is a contractor.

Fate/Zero - Media Review

After last week's mammoth post on the Anthropic principle, quantum measurement and the nature of consciousness, let us turn to a lighter topic, media commentary. Yesterday I finished watching this anime called Fate/Zero. It behooves me to have a short discussion.

The heroic spirits are pretty cool... you almost want to see more.

Plot Overview

I will try to summarize the series in short without spoiling anything. Fate/Zero is set in modern day Japan, 10 years before the events of Fate/StayNight. But coexisting with the Japan we expect is another world, one with mages who all seem to accept the jurisdiction of the Church. (The series doesn't try to sell Christianity in a any way, it is not religious, the church only serves to put the story in context.) Magic is a tradition that seems to have been passed down through centuries of powerful magi families. What has also survived centuries is a war between these families for Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is a miraculous entity that chooses 7 masters who then fight to attain the one wish that the grail would grant the victor. Each master is allowed to summon servant, who is essentially a Heroic spirit from the past with supernatural powers. The main protagonist is Kiritsugo Emiya, one of the 7 masters, whose Batmanesque faith in the future is contrasted by his Punisheresque unscrupulous methods.

Why you should watch this show