Record of Agarest War – First Impressions

Just don't choke on it.

After picking up the “Record of Agarest War: Really Naughty Limited Edition,” I let it sit on my coffee table for a while.  I wasn’t sure how to approach this box that was at least three times larger than a regular special edition preorder.  I suppose its like trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Read more »

Strike Witches Complete Box Set

What do you see here?

So I finally bought the Strike Witches Complete Box Set.  Some of you may wonder why I’d buy something like this, while the rest of you (some of which have seen this series already), will either look away in disgust or giddily ask to borrow the damn thing. Read more »

Another Disappointment, Another Haiku

the river stops now

Shinya’s homeland colonized

small crowd in silence

Like a bad dream in a bad movie, the flashbacks and distorted voices begin.

If I lose this fight, MMA in Japan is over. Japan will become a colony of the USA.

- Shinya Aoki

. . .

If DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki is indeed the class of Japanese mixed martial arts, then there’s no longer any doubt where the world’s best fighters reside.

- MMAjunkie.com

. . .

melendez winning. come on aoki you fuck!!

Aoki you break my heart

- Michael Schiavello

. . .

It was an embarrassing defeat that didn’t do the lagging Japanese scene any favors. Had plenty of opportunities to get his game off, but was stifled by a superior fighter in every facet of the game.

- Sherdog

So, is this is what it’s like to know that there is not one Japanese fighter in the whole world who could be argued to be ranked number one in any weight class? To know that the best last hope for man… I mean, salary man-kind, gets owned for 5 rounds and leaves the cage crying wearing a horrible TapouT shirt and shorts?! Read more »

Strikeforce Nashville: All Eyes on Aoki

To me, the most interesting of the  three championship fights on the card for Strikeforce Nashville, which airs April 17th  live on CBS, is the lightweight championship match between Shinya Aoki and Gilbert Melendez.

Here is a short list of the major reasons why I’m very interested in how this fight plays out and why I’m cheering for Aoki:

• The top ranked BJ Penn lost recently and this puts Aoki on the path to be ranked number one at lightweight worldwide.
• Aoki is the only Japanese champion in the major leagues of MMA, and a loss could be a permanent dent in world opinion regarding  Japan’s place as a source for talent. Also, the last time Dream fighters fought Strikeforce fighters, the results were not in Dream’s favor.
• Aoki isn’t wearing his cool pants!
• Aoki has never been better then he is right now, and that cannot be said for many talented fighters from Japan when they make their way stateside. He broke Hirota’s arm his last fight!
• I almost always cheer for the grappler. There is nothing I like better than slick submissions.

For these reasons, and probably many more, I’m excited and nervous about this fight. What makes it worse is the fact I think Aoki is going to lose this fight. He is going against a powerful striker and wrestler who trains with some amazing BJJ specialists, the Diaz brothers (long and flexible like Aoki) and Jake Shields at Cesar Gracie’s school. Aoki is also going to be in a cage for the very first time, and that is always a wild card. Even Fedor got stuck against it in his first cage fight. The rounds are different as well compared to Dream. The fight could be 25 minutes long, but there won’t be the long 10 minute first round that they have in Japan that gives people like Aoki time to work submissions.

Final prediction: I foresee Shinya Aoki getting knocked out, his face looking off into the distance as he is punched again and again from a relentless ground and pound. The referee will stop it, and Melendez will still be the champion.

I will be pissed off if this happens. So although my head tells me I shouldn’t just get my hopes up and subsequently crushed by cheering and hoping for Aoki, I will go with my heart and believe in the power of submission grappling and the Japanese fighting spirit.

Spring is Here – Kojima Gets Poetic

Kojima-san posts some interesting, quirky, and insightful things on his twitter. Just thought I’d share the imagery and poetry he posted inspired by the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

If I were to compare myself to a cherry blossom… if I were a cherry blossom, I would fully bloom, and readily…gracefully fall from the tree. I should be more resplendent near spring, and be more sublime when I blossom. But, I can’t fall from the tree when I’m so tired and atrophied. So I am still OK. I am still not ready to be finished. I am not sad even if Spring doesn’t come.