Basically, it's a... different look at the Magical Girl genre.

Modoka Kaname is your average schoolgirl, with a fairly normal life... until a mysterious transfer student by the name of Akemi Homura arrives, and seems to know her. Shortly afterwards, she and her friend, Miki Sayaka, run across a weasel-like creature named Kyubey, who says he can grant them any wish... but in return, they have to become magical girls to fight eldritch creatures called Witches.

From there, Modoka's life will never be the same, as she and Sayaka are drawn further and further into the conflict between Magical Girls and Witches, meeting other Magical Girls as they go and surviving Witch attacks. But who is this mysterious Homura? And what are Kyubey's real goals?

...Hope I made this sound interesting, 'cause it's a good series... but be warned, there's a considerable amount of Nightmare Fuel involved. You have been warned.

I got into this series the month I was turning ten, and started with the second game. I loved the characters, I loved the designs, and I loved how you could fight larger than life bosses with Jack Skellington.

Mainly because it's a sequel done RIGHT. Transformers G1 was all kinds of awesome and it's nice to see a series that introduced NEW characters instead of just rehashing the old ones - and it had Rampage and Tarantulas, two of the most EVIL characters in the entire franchise, hands down.

And it had Waspinator. 'Nuff said.

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Wr vxp wkh zkroh wklqj xs lq d zrug, Judylwb Idoov lv fuhhsb. Yhub fuhhsb. Dqg wkdw'v zkdw'v vr ixq derxw lw - L zdwfk lw ehfdxvh L zdqw wr nqrz wkh wuxwk ehklqg doo wkh pbvwhulhv. Wkhuh'v d zkroh orw ri pbvwhulhv, dqg lw jlyhv wkh lpsuhvvlrq wkdw lw'v doo exloglqj wrzdugv rqh folpda. L fdq'w zdlw wr vhh zkhuh lw jrhv.

Part of my love for this series comes from its worldbuilding - the monetary system, strange and interesting magical animals, new sports (or, well, a new sport), and most of all, the experience as shown through the eyes of a boy who, despite being an iconic figure to this world, experiences it for the first time as a pre-adolescent. The setting is a fascinating place to explore.

My favourite characters are too many to list in full, but top of the list is Hermione Granger. She's an incredibly intelligent young woman - and has the ability to back it up - who clearly enjoys her studying, but sometimes at the cost of a social life. Winding up making friends with Harry and Ron, who seem to attract danger like a magnet, definitely seems to've expanded her horizons during the adventures she has with them. By the end of the series, she's developed into a self-confident, courageous and quick-thinking young woman who will come through for her friends no matter what.

So yeah, what do you guys know or like about Harry Potter?

The Dresden Files was created by Jim Butcher, way back in 2000. The series is set in Chicago, narrated in first-person by Harry Dresden, a wizard and private detective.

The series covers just about every fantasy and/or magical element in the history of the known universe, and even touches on the idea of eldritch abominations--like Cthulu, but nastier. Harry's encountered them before and survived.

On the other side of the coin is the short-lived tv show, which aired on SciFy. While it lasted, it was immensely popular with those who watched it. The major divergence from the book series included Harry living in his place of business, having a lot more sex than his book counterpart, and ghost!Bob. (In the book, Bob was a spirit of Air and Intellect, and a major perv. Although ghost!Bob picked that trait up, just...not as much.)

Overall, both series are a lot of fun. For those of you in the right area, the tv show is on Hulu. The books are available just about everywhere (I know they're in Spain for sure).

I can't really say I've got a definitive list of favorites from either series, but Butters (an ME in the book) is definitely on there.

Polka never dies!

For those that do not know about Gundam, it is a franchise created by Yoshiyuki Tomino revolving around people fighting wars with each other in giant robots. The entire series started in 1979, with the original Mobile Suit Gundam, possibly the series that, forgive my Trope-speak, codified the entire Real Robot Genre, which means that everything tries to be as realistic as possible, discounting the psychic advanced humans and giant robots of course.

Mobile Suit Gundam, despite having to be shortened, was immensely popular, with children all wanting to buy toy models of either the titular robot, the antagonistic mook robots, or the allied mook robots. It was surprisingly a commercial success, and spawned an entire franchise based around it.

Ever since 1979, there have been many sequels, prequels, side-stories and spin-offs from the main series, with some being set in different universes. To list them all would be immensely difficult, but with the help of Tvtropes, I can get the major ones in.

The 'main' universe of the series would probably be the Universal Century, in which the original and its sequels/prequels/side-quels all take place in. It is one of the darker universes in the Gundam franchise, which probably stems from Tomino's depression during the creation of the earlier series in this universe.

List of Major UC Series:
- Mobile Suit Gundam: The original, focuses on the war between the Federation and Zeon.
- 08th MS Team: Set during the time of the original. Very real-robot.
- Gundam 0080: Set near the end of the original. Follows a young boy's traumatic experience with the war.
- Stardust Memory: Set four years after the original. Involves the Federation fighting against the remnants of Zeon who have stolen a Gundam with nuclear weapons.
- Zeta Gundam: Sequel to the original, set eight years after, focusing on the conflict between the AEUG and Titans taskforce of the Federation, later pulling in Axis Zeon. Much darker than the original.
- ZZ Gundam: A Direct Sequel to Zeta, deals with the fallout of the the end of Zeta. Lighter than its predecessor. Highly divisive among the fandom.
- Char's Counterattack: A movie set six years after ZZ Gundam. Neo Zeon attempts to drop an asteroid colony on Earth. Is the end of the character arc between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable.
- Gundam F91: Originally supposed to be a series, got turned into a movie. Set thirty-four years after CC. The Earth Federation fights against the Crossbone Vanguard.
- Crossbone Gundam: A manga that bridges the time between F91 and Victory. Very popular. Involves the MS Pilot version of Chuck Norris.
- Victory Gundam: The Zanscare Empire tries to take over Earth. The Federation is basically a failure, requiring the League Militaire, which is basically a somewhat badly funded resistance movement, to fight off the Empire. MUCH, MUCH darker than any other series in UC.
- Gundam Unicorn: Most recent UC Gundam series. Set three years after CC. Involves a fight against the remnant of Neo Zeon.

G Gundam: Set during the Future Century, G Gundam is a standalone series which, unlike the others, is straight-up Super Robot. It's also a fighting series, but there are secret government conspiracies and demonic giant robots of doom as well. Includes zombies.

Gundam Wing: Set during the After Colony universe. Follows the exploits of five teenagers in Gundams sent to fight Earth for the space colonies. First series to be dubbed into English. Has a movie sequel known as Endless Waltz set a year after.

Gundam X: Set in a post-apocalyptic future. Fifteen years prior, the colonies and Earth nearly killed each other off forever. Follows the tale of some scavengers trying to protect psychic Newtypes.

∀ Gundam: Set in the Correct Century. Supposedly the far future of EVERY SINGLE GUNDAM SERIES. Follows the tale of the People of the Moon fighting against Earth's people.

Cosmic Era: This era consists of SEED, SEED Destiny, SEED Astray and Stargazer. Gundam SEED is basically the original Gundam rebooted for modern audiences. After the first part, it takes a different turn from the original. Introduced many children to the Gundam series. Its sequel, Destiny, takes place a few years later. Very controversial and disliked by many. Astray is a manga that is set at the same time as SEED. Stargazer is set around the time of Destiny, follows the adventures of members of Phantom Pain, part of the Earth Federation.

Gundam 00: Set in the far future of 2307 AD, 00 follows the tale of Celestial Being, a group that attempts to prevent war by killing everyone who starts one. With Gundams. It's very popular, and has a movie with aliens.

Gundam AGE: Newest series. Darkest series since the UC Era. Follows the 100 Years War. Not related to the English-French conflict something years back.

It is difficult to choose my favourite parts of the franchise, but I would say that the Crossbone manga was my favourite series due to the awesomeness of Tobia Arronax, the Stargazer Gundam being my favourite mecha due to it being created for peaceful purposes, and 'The Eternal Captain' Bright Noa as my favourite character.

I believe that my favorite character on Stargate Atlantis is Todd the Wraith, because he is a very complicated and interesting character.

Though he is a villain, and always, always has an agenda, he is a very open minded villain with an agenda. He is perfectly willing to work for or against any side, so long as it will benefit his goals, as opposed to a standard villain that is always opposed to the heroes.

He is incredibly good at getting himself put in charge. The first time he is seen on the show, he is dropped off on a planet full of his people, half-starved, wearing rags, with nothing to aide his standing, and in less than a year, he is in charge of a small fleet.

He has a sense of humor, a sense of honor, and great dignity.

Hetalia is a manga/anime about personified countries. It acts out events in history, mostly for the laughs, but it can also be educational (if not occasionally wrong).

The countries are all overly stereotypical, for example, America is hyper and loud, and eats nothing but hamburgers... and England is grumpy, sarcastic, can't cook and sees faeries. And has huge eyebrows. (And I mean HUGE.)

It's quite a funny series, so I suggest you at least watch a few episodes. They're only 5 minutes each so it's quite nice. And the sub is on YouTube (rated MA for no apparent reason).
Oh, but don't judge it by the first episode, that one's much more fast paced than the rest.

(With the amount of Hetalia lovers here, I'm surprised this wasn't here already.)

My (relatively new) ultimate favourite character is France.
Lots of fans don't like him, seeing him as nothing but a pervert who sleeps with everyone, but that's mostly fanon. Especially when they call him a rapist.
But the way I see it, he's lonely and just wants to be loved, and he spends his time having one night stands with women to try and take away that loneliness... but it doesn't work.
I'm not sure whether this is me feeling sorry for him, or just seeing opportunities for shipping, but...

*cough*AlsoFrenchaccentsaresexy*cough*

What is it?

Daria is an animated slice of life/dramedy series about the Morgendorffer family, and in particular the oldest daughter, Daria. Her mother, Helen, is a workaholic who neglects her family; her father, Jake, is childish, immature and unable to manage most problems without throwing tantrums, and her sister, Quinn, is a superficial fashion and popularity-obsessed teenager. Daria, in contrast, is intelligent, cynical and unpopular. This state changes slightly when the family moves to Lawndale- Daria meets her (probably) first real friend, the just-as-cynical artist Jane Lane, and the two of them spend the series mainly dealing with high school and getting thrown into situations they don't like and dealing with them in their own rebellious style.

Why do I like it?

I grew up watching two taped episodes of Daria ('Write Where It Hurts' and 'Depth Takes A Holiday', in case you were wondering) and whatever I could randomly catch on TV. I loved it, but it wasn't until I got the DVD series that my love for the series really cemented. Daria appealed to me in a way no other character had before- like me, Daria was cynical, unpopular, and constantly frustrated at the world around her. The show never failed to mock the popular kids and show how shallow and unlikeable they were. The episodes were hilarious, the jokes never failed to amuse, and I could always relate to Daria and Jane. The show also progressed quite well- the second movie, which was the end of the series, focused on the characters' attempts to get into college, and there were a couple of quite significant changes character-wise.

Favourite things

Favourite episode: Probably either 'Arts 'N' Crass' or 'Write Where It Hurts'. The former has some brilliant scenes of rebellion, and the latter has some really touching and thoughtful insights into Daria's character.

Favourite character: Either Daria or Jane. Daria's smart, cynical, principled and stands by her principles. She's not afraid to stand up against something that's wrong and she'll help out those who she thinks need the assistance. Jane matches Daria's cynicism, but she has a definite personality and goes outside being 'Daria's best friend'.

Favourite character to hate: Quinn. Mainly because she closely resembles some RL people I never liked. That, and she's one of the most superficial and unlikeable characters I've ever watched.

In short: I utterly adore this show.

My overall favorite thing about Lord of the Rings and Tolkien in general is that he writes beautifully. Yeah, he goes on a bit sometimes, but when a master linguist wants to talk, I don't mind listening. I admit I struggled when I was younger and didn't really understand these things, but my appreciation for his writing has only deepened as I've grown. I fell in love all over again when I learned in college that alliterative verse was a thing and finally understood what was going on with the Rohirric songs. Genius.

Y'know what, let's start with:

Favorite Song

... Actually not one of the Rohirric ones. Sorry! My favorite is actually the one that Sam sings in Minas Morgul when he's got the Ring and the orcs are convinced he's a big scary elf warrior, but they've all panicked and basically killed each other off, and now he's lost, and he's trying to find and rescue Frodo, and the only way to do that is to keep making noise because the last guard standing thinks Sam is Frodo (because who else could it be, everyone else is dead or fled), and will lead the way:

In western lands beneath the Sun
   the flowers may rise in Spring,
the trees may bud, the waters run,
  the merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night
  and swaying beeches bear
the Elven-stars as jewels white
  amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie
  in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
  beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
  and Stars forever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
  nor bid the Stars farewell.

Truthfully some of this probably comes from the tune used in the BBC radio play version, but it's just so sweet and so hopeful, this simple little song standing up to one of the darkest, scariest places in the world and fact that the most important person in the world is in serious danger of his life... It brings tears to my eyes, and I'm not just saying that.

Pretty much everything Rohirric is a close second, though. For instance:

Out of dark, out of doubt, to the day's rising
I came, singing in the sun, sword unsheathing
To hope's end I rode, and to heart's breaking
Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And a red nightfall...

Stirring! (See the alliteration, guys? See how it tells you where the emphasis goes? Isn't it cool? {= D )

Favorite Character

Y'know, it changes, because it's pretty much a three-way tie between Aragorn, Sam, and Faramir. Two of things that most pissed me off about the Peter Jackson movies were things that screwed around with the latter two for no good reason, and Aragorn's treatment was pretty annoying at times, too. He didn't need angst, thanks very much, he already had enough on his plate to be going on with—but no. Gotta have self-doubt and angst, 'cause we have to get the lowest common teenage denominator to relate. -_-*

Okay, so maybe Aragorn is my favorite character. To be fair, there is a kernel of self-doubting and concern about his worthiness there, but part of the reason I like him so much is that he's capable of putting that aside to do what needs to be done, because it needs to be done and he's the only person around who can do it. This is a man who has the strength of character to love a woman for decades without being able to be with her, and to go on fighting the good fight because not only is it right, not only is he really the only man for the job, but also it is the only way he will ever have any hope of being with Arwen. And then he still has to be King.

And what's more, he never bitches about it, unlike some characters from other series I could name who are stuck in positions of life-or-death, world-shaking importance. I think he mentions like once to the hobbits that his is a pretty lonely life, and then it's back to business. Aragorn is a guy who's old enough to know that moaning and complaining doesn't improve things, so he doesn't waste his energy on it. He focuses on getting the job done. And he's good at his job.

Oh, and did I mention patience? Compassion? Fairness? Hands that wield both life and death?

I wanted to be Aragorn's sidekick as a kid. I still wouldn't mind. I could toughen up, I swear. I'd work really hard. Just teach me, please.

Favorite Scene

I think I agree with hS here: when the Rohirrim turn up at the very last minute to break the siege of Minas Tirith, it's just one of the greatest things ever (see above totally cool alliterative verse—a lot of it happens in this scene). The arrival of the ships a bit later is slightly diminished because they're following such a great act—although by then things are even more desperate, because oh god how are they still losing after all the badassery we just witnessed!? So that's a pretty amazing moment, too.

Favorite Person to Hate

The Mouth of Sauron. Man, I hate that guy. He shows up all of maybe twice, if that, but he's just such an arrogant, lying scumbucket. He is a lying liar who lies, and it's a good thing he's got so much mouth, so there's more to punch. Jerk.

But, to end on a good note:

Favorite Location

Middle-earth is full of really cool settings, some beautiful, some awe-inspiring, some just plain scary, and I want to see all of them (well, maybe not the really scary ones), but I think I'd start with the Great River, because I love rivers and water in general. I wanna visit the Falls of Rauros, and the Rapids of Sarn Gebir, and go see the Argonath, and climb up Amon Lhaw and Amon Hen and maybe even Tol Brandir if it looked like I could get away with it without falling off and dying. The view from any of those places would be intense. Maybe I'd pick my next destination from there.

~Neshomeh

(I didn't need my thunder anyway. No problems ;))

What is Middle-earth?

In short, the Saga of the Jewels and the Rings - roughly seven thousand years of fully integrated and cohesive mythology, plus an unknown length of time before that going back to The Beginning. It's not just a story - it's a world, where most of the stories and poems are written by people within the stories (hence LotR is almost entirely written from a Hobbitty PoV - and where it isn't, it's from a people-telling-things-to-Hobbits PoV) - it's a huge toy, really, with some awesome stories about real(istic) people.

Why do I like it?

Basically that. :P Partly because there's just so much there - if you've read LotR, The Hobbit and Silm, there's still Unfinished Tales and Children of Hurin to go - and after that there's 12 volumes of the Histories, and then Letters (which contains some things not otherwise mentioned), and The Road Goes Ever On (Tolkien-approved tunes for the songs!), and the Atlas, and just everything.

And then there's the unofficial things like Ardalambion, where you can find out everything about an aspect of the world (in this case, the languages - did I mention he made fully-working languages?), and it's just fun. And the story and writing style are captivating - the arrival of the Rohirrim at Minas Tirith is still my favourite piece of writing ever.

Oh, and I think there were a couple of films at some point.

My Favourites

(Since this was where I was originally going with the idea...)

Favourite Character?

Finrod Felagund, hands down. The Elvenking of Nargothrond who ruled over half of Beleriand (back in the First Age, the Elder Days some 7000 years before the War of the Ring) and (which is more) made the other half get along with each other by sheer force of personality - but still found time to debate the nature of mortality with a human woman and expound his vision of What Happens After. One of the few Kings of the Eldar to actually listen to the Valar (he was guided by Ulmo to set up one of the longest-lasting Elven strongholds, which only fell because of Turin - but more on him later), who was named Wisdom by the mortals (not to mention his mother)... and who gave up everything, realm, friends, freedom and ultimately his life, to help the mortal Beren achieve the Quest of the Silmaril. Awesome fellow.

Favourite Character You've Heard Of?

Well that's far more difficult. Probably Galadriel - who incidentally is Finrod's younger sister, and a lot like him. Ludicrously powerful, but able and willing to step into the background and not overshadow Celeborn (except in the films) - this despite the fact that she was one of the most enthusiastic about the whole 'Go to Middle-earth and get stuff to rule' thing. She's the one who resisted Feanor, Sauron and the Ring - and the summons of the Valar to go home, for more than six thousand years.

Favourite Scene?

I said this already: the coming of the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith in RotK. This scene. It has a fantastic emotional flow - and the actual writing is amazing.

Favourite Person To Hate?

Turin. Oh dear Valar I dislike that man. How does one man manage to cause the destruction of two ancient realms (and then his dad made the first chink in the armour of the third)? And, y'know, how does he manage to be such an idiot about it? Hint: if they're bringing a message from the only Vala who wants anything to do with you (Ulmo), your response should not be 'But I like my bridge too much to tear it down'.

The release of The Children of Hurin is a cause of both disappointment and hope. On the one hand, it's Turin and I really don't like him. On the other hand, if Christopher can cobble together one novel from the Silm legends, who's to say he won't pull out the Lay of Leithian or Fall of Gondolin some day? Well, as I say, I live in hope.

(I think I'll stop here)

hS

LunarHuntress: Describe Homestuck.

Homestuck is a webcomic that broke down conventional storytelling, tossed it in the cosmic trash can, and came up with something totally new. Even the medium it's told in is a never-before-seen mix of art, writing, animation, interactive game, meta-puzzle, and a sort of audience participation.

Though as a story and a fandom has only been in existence for three years, has grown to encompass nearly everything I like in a story. Honestly, it's become one of my absolute favorite stories. It has all the science-fantasy staples - aliens, AIs, apocalypses, reality-altering computer games, multiple universes, time travel, robots, ghosts, psychic powers, magic, wizards, dream shenanigans, vampires, Cthulhu-esque eldritch abominations - but under its surface of silliness and nearly insane complexity are actually deep themes of love, loyalty, and growing up. It's a coming-of-age story, a saving-the-world story, a survival story. Its plot is incredibly intricate and convoluted - what began as a story about four friends playing a computer game for the fate of the world has become so, so much more - but everything is coming together and nothing is done without a reason.

I especially love characters in Homestuck. Every one of them, even the side characters, are complex and relateable and feel so real. Everyone has problems to overcome; everyone has moments that make you love them, and moments that make you hate them, and even the characters that inflict the worst damage on the others you can't help but feel compassion for.

It's at times heartwarming, heart-wrenching, terrifying, awe-inspiring, stupidly silly, and wickedly funny.

I can honestly say that I have never seen anything remotely like it before.


It's also very, very long, and still ongoing.

What is it? (to me)

It's a tale of good and evil, darkness and light. It's a tale of fantastical elemental powers being used to stave off the menace of an everpresent evil that is cunning, and smart, and wins sometimes, and above all he's unrelentingly nasty under all his smooth talk so you can hate him without remorse. It's people being strong, and people failing, and epic awesome mask powers and stupid jokes and hilarious insults and really good animation wait that's just the first three years I haven't even gotten into everything post Mask of Light!

Why do I like it?

It's my childhood, pretty much, so I love it for all the things it was when I was eight. The Toa Mata/Nuva's fights against the infected Rahi in 2001 and the original Mata Nui Online Game that took Takua to the six villages in a first person view that hid his identity until he found it out himself and watched the Toa confront the Makuta, not to mention the multiple awesome minigames. 2002 and the Bohrok, with the reports written 'by Takua' on the various attacks, the Bohrok animations that showed the story to someone playing catch-up, and the transformation of the Toa into their Nuva forms. 2003 and the Bohrok-Kal with more animations, then Naming Day when I found this glorious thing, and then the second MNOG that followed Hahli across the island as she trained for Kohlii, and then the unrelentingly evil Sons of Makuta also known as Rahkshi appeared and the Toa of Light was prophesied and the Herald went to find him and Takua was transformed into a Toa and then came the discovery of Metru Nui!

Ahem. I like 2004 on too, especially 2004 when it revealed that any Matoran could become a Toa with the application of Toa stone to Suva since this opened up a whole world of canonical fanficcy opportunities, but 2001-2003 will forever have a special place in my heart. Whichever year had the reveal that Lightning was an element and the Matoran with it were female was pretty awesome too.

Specific favorites

Favorite character
The Makuta Teridax, for all his slimy world-dominatey viciousness, is a pretty awesome character, but I'd have to say my absolute favorite is... drumroll please while I try to pick just one ... drumroll...

Ma! Ta! Nu! Eeeeeeee!

Ahem.

Mata Nui! The guy who's got an island named after him, the guy who's got a religion based around worshipping him, the guy who was a giant robot with people in, the guy who was voiced by Michael Dorn, the guy who was snoozing until the last story arc... is probably my favorite character of them all. He's compassionate and noble and a bit stilted in the 'figuring out how to be short where short means not 40 million feet tall and detached from people' way but he figures it out, and one of the first things he does in a new Toa-sized body is not step on a Scarabax beetle. Who then goes on to be his travelling companion and occasionally literal shield, so there you go.

Mata Nui also made probably one of the more romantic gestures of first promising to take Kiina to a new planet and then taking the new planet to her. Okay so 1, it was his job anyway and even if he hadn't promised that to Kiina he would have reformed Spherus Magna and used the Mask of Life's power to give it new life anyway, and 2, I have my shipping goggles on so tight they're cutting off circulation, but that scene was what tightened them in the first place so blah. It's not even impossible as canon so long as it's only a one-way thing Kiina has and Mata Nui only reciprocates close friendship!

Honorable mentions go to Kopaka, my first crush on a fictional character and setting of one of my types to frosty and silent but also protective and very duty-bound, to Matoro, whose death was the first time I cried about something in Bionicle without it being tears of laughter, to Click and Pewku, for being the best non-humanoid and non-speaking characters I know of, and finally to the Makuta Teridax for being an unrelentingly excellent villain.

Favorite part of favorite era

My squeeing up above probably made it obvious I really like the 2001-2003 era, but my favorite part has got to be the Bohrok(-Kal) Animations made by Templar Studios, and the MNOGs made by same. Watching the characters, and being the characters, was the. Freaking. Best. Is the best, since I can relive them any time I want due to having the games on my hard drive and the flash animations on the BIOsector01 wiki. I think my favorite of those is MNOG1 and the Animations, since while MNOG2 was fun once I finally got to play it all the way through without glitches it'll always be tainted with the memory of it being taken off the Bionicle site in early 2004 and then being returned in 2006 with glitches galore. Also, training the six stats needed for Kohlii is a giant boring grind that I couldn't stand enough to not go into the text-save document the version of the MNOG2 I had and boost all the stats to 99, so sailing through the Kohlii matches was a bit boring. And the ending was a letdown after nearly eight years of waiting.

BIONICLE. A brilliant line of toys that helped keep LEGO alive during the early 21st century. With its build-able action figures and fun story, the series probably captured the hearts of many young children, and some of them may still be engrossed in it, no matter the fact that the toyline was cancelled in 2010.

Yet despite my love for the toys themselves, my interest was more in the beautifully crafted story. For something that was made to sell toys, the story was magnificent in my eyes. From the original six Toa fighting against the Rahi and the dark Makuta in order to wake the Great Spirit, Mata Nui, to the final battle between two giant robots on a desert planet, it kept most of its charm, no matter how rushed the ending was.

Although some may have disliked the transition from a tribal fantasy feel to the science-fantasy of the later years, I found the action and adventure still incredibly interesting, along with the greater emotional depth later years gave to the characters.

In all, it was an epic tale of good triumphing over evil, no matter how long it would take, and to craft a better future for everyone.

The writers have no sense of scale though.

(Seriously LEGO? Mata Nui being a 40 million feet tall robot? And able to land on Bara Magna?)

(sorry about the double post- I intended to return to the forum and familiarize myself with the format, but I accidentally posted my message.)

What is it?

A series of fantasy novels written by Terry Pratchett. The books take place on the fictional Disc, a flat planet carried on the backs of four elephants which in turn are supported by a massive turtle.

Why do I like it?

Ooh, where to start? First off, it's funny. Discworld is governed by different rules than our reality, and the Laws of Narrative Comedy reigns supreme in practically everything. The events and forces in the Discworld books all feel genuine while being completely absurd, as if Discworld was what our universe might have amounted to had it been created by someone with a sense of humor, like what reality OUGHT to be. Although I've read the phrase in hundreds of glowing book reviews, Discworld is one the few series I would EVER refer to as "uproariously funny."

Secondly, every character (and there are a great many of them) is a pleasure to read about. Pratchett has a talent for writing compelling personas that are easy to invest yourself in. Very few of his characters feel forced archetypes, and almost every one has some quirk that serves to differentiate them from the typical type-cast roles of fiction. Dukes who grow up as hard-knock cops and two-bit con men put in charge of government agencies are relatively normal compared to some of the outlandish characters featured in the books.

Finally, Pratchett is not afraid to tackle difficult themes and real-world controversies with his series. Snuff, the latest Discworld book, explores the history of slavery. Although the names and the dates may be different and the slaves may be goblins, it is impossible to read Snuff without being reminded of the atrocities that took place in the real world. Incredibly, Snuff remains funny while dealing with such dark subject matter, switching seamlessly between somber allegory and absurd comedy.

You can really start the Discworld series anywhere. Although they do have a chronological order, the books are not heavily dependent on one another. However, the series does cover several different sets of characters, and I would recommend starting with a Night Watch book.

What is it?

Because I can't pass up a chance to plug it.

It's a sci-fi TV series, and it is vastly under-appreciated. I'm not complaining that the drooling fanbrats mostly haven't heard of it, mind you, but still.

Basically, it's about an astronaut, John Crichton, who gets sucked down a wormhole in the process of a test flight and ends up... somewhere else... right in the middle of a space battle. He gets hauled on board the fleeing living ship, Moya, just before she and her crew of escaped prisoners Starburst the heck away from their captors, the Peacekeepers. John's now stuck with these people, and he has to try to work out a way to get back to Earth while keeping away from the Peacekeepers and trying to cope with culture shock, conflicts of interests, other people besides the PKs trying to screw the crew over, various members of the crew trying to screw each other over, etc. It's so much fun, you guys.

I love Farscape because it's so quirky, yet so deep; so silly, yet so intelligent. It's not afraid to have fun, and it's equally not afraid to stab you right in the heart and twist every so often. It can be a little cheesy, especially in earlier episodes, but it has incredible heart.

It's got an amazing cast of characters. I have my favorites, of course, but there are very few I can truly say I don't like. Even some of the ones I raised my eyebrow at the first time around grew on me in subsequent viewings of the series. They've all grown on me, in fact: the ones I loved to begin with, I just love even more. The bad guys are as awesome as the good guys. Everybody gets a character arc here.

It has absolutely fantastic settings and creatures. I mean, the Henson Creature Shop did all the non-humanoid aliens. Of course they're fantastic. Two of the main cast are extremely complex, wonderful puppets, only one of which is even bipedal. You'd never mistake them for humans with makeup, and yet the puppeteering and voice acting, not to mention the acting of their co-stars, are so good that they come across just as alive and real as the humanoids.

I can't recommend this series enough. It's one of the best sci-fi shows out there. Unfortunately, it suffered the same fate as Firefly and got cancelled unexpectedly after its fourth season. (We were promised five. Jerks.) The fans banded together and protested like mad, and we got a miniseries out of it to tie things up. It does a pretty good job, too, so you won't be left hanging.

~Neshomeh

...but I don't know where to look. Is there some way of watching episodes on the web or do I have to go out and try to find them on DVD?

Funny thing is, Nanoha is NOT the most powerful person in the show. All told, that'd be Reinforce Eins, who died after three episodes. Then it's Hayate, who spends her first season as a wheelchair-bound sick girl, then barely gets to show her stuff in Season 3. That's another thing about Nanoha--it shows some consequences of the magical-girling;

For example, Hayate's power is on the level of a nuclear warhead. As such, the brass never allow her to use her power in the same situations as our heroes do, since that'd be like using a tactical warhead on a fly. She only gets to use magic on a large scale a) out to sea, on a bunch of drones, and b) when a giant warship and robot army are taking over the city.

In addition, it shows what might ACTUALLY happen if a character went with the training-from-hell routine. Nanoha gets stronger, yeah, but in the longterm it ends up with her getting almost killed because she worked so unreasonably hard.

A third thing: By the second season, most of the conventional magical girl tropes are gone. Our heroes now have magical weapons which use cartridges, serve under a government agency (headed by the local Reasonable Authority Figure) and every villain has a REASON for what they're doing. There are no monster-of-the-weeks, and a significant portion of time is spent developing the 'villains' and their motivations. It gets to the point where you honestly don't want anyone to lose, and wish that the circumstances would let them sit down and talk things out.

What is it?

A series of Real-time-strategy games made by Blizzard Entertainment, perhaps a bit more famous for making World of Warcraft. And despite what many might tell you, it is not Warcraft in space!

Why do I like it so much?

I’ve always liked sci-fi settings, and StarCraft delivers everything that I want in a game: a superb storyline (if cheesy at times but still enjoyable), an awesome setting, and the best PvP action I’ve seen in a game since BF2. Multiplayer mode is a true game of skill and tactics. You have to learn how to read your opponent’s moves by elaborate guesswork and subtle scouting all while keeping your economy strong, foiling enemy scouting attempts, and building an army designed to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses. You have to react quickly when you opponent decides to push and, in my humble opinion, there is no greater satisfaction than outplaying your opponent with a well-placed drop or ingenious unit micro. Each race is fun to play (except for Zerg), each race has its own special tactics (except for Zerg, which is pure cheese), and each race has its special mechanics to help achieve victory (even Zerg, but it’s a pain in the neck to master).

What is it?

A long-running series of video games produced by Nintendo featuring a green-clad hero named Link who usually fights against the forces of evil in the land of Hyrule in order to rescue princess Zelda.

Why do I like it so much?

Ever since I first slotted the GBA version of A Link to the Past into my Gameboy Advance, I fell in love with this epic series. Even if the plot is always along the lines of “rescue the princess, slay monsters, defeat Ganondorf”, each game is filled with unique and memorable characters, awesome musical soundtracks with catchy songs, and a gripping storyline. Gameplay is always improved title after title and the developers always find a way to spice things up: the three-game-day limit in Majora’s Mask or the sailing component in Wind Waker added quite a lot of variety to the feel of each game. Combat itself is always entertaining and ranges from the old button-mashing style of the button controllers to the motion-sensitive swordplay of the Wii.

All in all, it’s an awesome adventure/fantasy series that I heartily recommend to anyone who’s interested.