Weekly Recommendation - Week #002 - Personal Favourites

Hey people, this week's recommendations are our personal favourites. It's a very emotional list (if you're some sort of weird emotionally crippled sociopath) and, as always, purely subjective. You're free to leave your own in the comments below.

Cowboy Bebop – Sunrise (Series) – Author: Darren

So, this week my pick is Cowboy Bebop. Now, if you've ever heard of anime, you've heard of Cowboy Bebop. It's lauded as a benchmark for quality by critics and consumers alike.

You probably want to know more, right? Well, I'll oblige. Cowboy Bebop is about a crew of bounty hunters aboard a ship named Bebop, struggling to make ends meet. It takes place in the year 2071, when space flight and habitation are possible thanks to hyper space gateways. A fair chunk of the action seems to take place on Mars (think today's big cities) with some pretty nifty space travel and a few jaunts to Earth.

The characters themselves and their relationships are what makes this show what it is, but in my opinion, it's main character: Spike Spiegel's arc that is the most compelling, Faye Valentine's arc is fantastic in it's own right as it offers a healthy dose of juxtaposition to Spike and Jet's stories.

If story isn't your thing, or even if it is, there's no denying that both the music and art style,as well as animation and voice acting, come together to create a truly unique experience that simultaneously entertains and tackles mature subject matter such as existentialism, the affects of the past, existential ennui and loneliness.

All in all, if you like compelling characters, science fiction, jazz, blues, deep stories and satisfying conclusions (I mean, who doesn't like a satisfying conclusion?) then this is your kind of thing. Even if, like me, you're not huge on anime. One thing I will say is that, reading reviews, Is that it's suggested to watch episode five, then one to four. I didn't and I still enjoyed it but some of you may find it slow to start.

Before you move on, I would like to say that my love for Cowboy Bebop doesn't come from nostalgia or any kind of anime bias, the first time I watched it was roughly three months ago (from time of writing) and I'd never watched an anime in my life. Yep, you read it right, no DBZ, no Bleach, no Naruto. I went in blind to anime and I loved it.

Kimono My House - Sparks (Music) - Author: Chris

As I recommended both the film and the game last week (well, Darren and I both picked the

game, we just used my write up), it is now my time to select the music, and boy did I think

about this one. I have so many favourite albums, it was hard to pick just one. Surprisingly, I

managed, and even more surprisingly, it wasn't a Talking Heads album. It have chosen

Kimono My House by Sparks. Where do I even begin with this album? Well for starters, I think

the energy this album creates is phenomenal, I just want to get up and dance to every song

(it's a sight to see for sure), not only that, but the lyrics are fantastically bizarre.

"As twenty cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you do." Have you

made a ridiculously upbeat song with lyrics about not judging cannibals? Didn't think so.

It is truly a smashing album, and I promise you that you will have to listen to it from

start to finish. Every single fucking time. Whoops, I accidentally flipped back to side A.

Dragon Age:Origins – BioWare (Games) – Author: Darren

Video games. They're fun. One I found particularly fun (and better than congealed shit) is Dragon Age:Origins (DA:O)

The reason I picked DA:O is because I do occasionally prefer the vast green fields of fantasy to the the ever expanding blackness of space. Sometimes. During these times (pseudo medieval times, to be exact), I like to take a trip to Thedas, Ferelden to be specific where the elves are kept poor and the mages in (metaphorical) chains while the humans look on with scorn. Oh yeah, and the dwarves stay tucked away underground.

What I like about this series is the dynamic between characters in your party. Yes, it's one of those, a traditional party based RPG. The mechanics are solid, the story decent and the music ok. Like I said, it's the characters and the world they inhabit that makes this game what it is.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love this game. It can be tedious and there are some bad points (the Fade) yet I can't describe the way it makes me feel, I can only say it's good. Also, this game has some fantastic DLC but that's neither here nor there as it doesn't ship with the base game. If there's enough interest (or if not, you can't stop me) I will compile some sort of list or piece on my favourite DLC for any game.

Do you agree? Either way leave it below. We will read it, we may not care, but we will read it. In all seriousness though, thanks for the reading.
Lots of #buttsex from Darren and Chris.