You Got a Grown Up Heart Now?

Primarily in any story, there is a plot. And within that plot there is a beginning a climax and anti climax and then an ending. Within this rising and falling of the plot there is usually a story being told of an evil that good prevails over, thus rainbows and happy endings right?

There are in a lot of instances where that same arc of plot process happens WITHIN a character. A story within a story. There are times where we watch a person internally fights and evil and prevails at the end, and we watch (in a proverbial sense) rainbows shoot out their ass and a happy ending for themselves.

After discussion of villians who failed that task, lets take a look into some “bad” guys who ended up not being so bad after all.

Mukuro Rokudo of Reborn!

Mukoro had a…different upbringing. Born into a family that opted to experiement on him due to his abilities than take him to the park and play, no one can really blame him when at the age of 10 he ended up killing all of them and recruiting his own small army to take revenge on a world that would allow such treatment. Throughout the series he is a relentless and unmerciful killer, either by his own hands or those he controlled. He joins the mafia, gets arrested and breaks free to start his own gang, all the while killing when neccissary. Eventually however, he sees the error of his ways, in a sense of the word, and by the end has taken a neutral stance, helping his former enemies and placing a solid wall between his past and himself. His past, being the Mafia.


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Lucy of Elfin Lied

I’m not here to say that Lucy is crazy. Take that back, Lucy is crazy. Beyond crazy. But never one to play the blame game, it’s all cause and effect. Lucy who is the central character of Elfin Lied, is a member of a distinct mutant species called Diclonii. They look human, talk and act human eeeexcept for two things. The horn like protustions that stick out of their head and the ability to control telekinetic arms that have the ability, to put it politely, lob your head the fuck off. If you’ve seen X-Men, then you know how mutants get treated here. So Lucy has made it her life goal to take revenge on humanity. And she does a good damn job of it. She breaks free of her confinement (of course the government wants no parts of her roaming free with those trickxy “arms” of hers) and is discovered by Kohta and Yura. Throughout the series she kills, usually torturing before she does so. But towards the end, and we’ll give Kohta and his “human cooties” of love and human kindness all the credit, where she starts to feel remorse for her actions and refusing to harms those close to Kohta. That’s as close to redemption a crazed mutant with invisible arms that can slice and dice at the very thought of human existence and does so often, can get. Go Lucy!


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Picclo of Dragon Ball
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Piccolo, or as they fondly call him in the United Kingdom…Big Green, came to do one thing. Dubya Bush the hell outta the planet (Bush…you know like his daddy and then he got elected for revenge? No. Okay) World domination and continuing his father’s legacy after Goku mudstompped him, Piccolo makes his way back to join the DB gang. His plans of taking over the world were interrupted with Raditz decided that HE needed to do the job instead. Piccolo teams up with Goku to stop Raditz, and succeed in doing so at the cost of Goku’s life. Piccolo, however during this time, had witnessed the power of Goku’s son, Gohan. Here’s were it gets all warm and fuzzy. He decided to TRAIN Gohan in Goku’s abscence. Awwwwwww.


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Sesshomaru of InuYasha

Ah, Mr. Perfect Killing Circle of Death, or something morose like that. He had a SEVERVE “I think my Dad hated me” issue during the beginning of this saga. One of THE most arrogant characters to be drawn on a piece of paper, Sesshomaru pride in being a full demon was a total eclipse of any other ability, characteristic or mannerism that he may have possessed. The first handful of episodes, Sesshomaru did his best to A) Let Inuyasha know he was a worthless hanyou and he better not EVER forget it B) Kill said hanyou because he owned a sword he believed to be rightfully his C) Ignore the a decidedly huge chunk of the plot for his own version of righteous justice. It wasn’t until he came along a human child name Rin, that we see the cold hearted older brother of the series protagonist, lighten up. This is compounded by his introduction (to what could have been one of the greatest demon love stories EVER), the demon Kaguara and eventually him witnessing her death. Angst galore. By the end, he’s even HELPING Inuyasha.


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Gaara of the Sand of Naruto

Excuse me, I just need to say this really quick. GAARA OF THE MUTHAFUCKING SAND. Whew! By far one of my favorite characters, I can now say, without fear of ridicule, that he scared theeee shit out of me when first introduce. Gaara’s introduction to the anime Naruto, allowed us to witness him squishing a man to death. With sand. Without batting an eyelash. If you wasn’t at least shook a little when Gaara completed his Sand Coffin, then you have a heart made out of steel nerves. Gaara was presented to us as a cold hearted killer with no connection to human emotions other than his Sand siblings. Gaara was he son of the former Kazekage. As with any child, he was bright and loving, but due to his role as the jinchuuriki of Shukaku (which was sealed into his mother’s womb before he was born, causing her death), his ability to manipulate sand without even actively willing it, Gaara became an outcast. His uncle, who still grieved his sister’s death but was forced to play the loving role towards Gaara, eventually attempted to assasinate him by orders of Gaara’s father. Finding this information out, was was stripped Gaara of his childlike innocent and made him into a killing machine. Not until the introduction of to what would turn out to be the greatest friend Gaara even knew, Naruto, did Gaara eventual remember his human-like emotions and rise to be the Kazekage of the Sand and also the General Commander of the Shinobi army.

Aww look at him now 🙂 With his soft “I got a heart now” eyes.


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Gin Ichimaru of Bleach
Much like his Shinigami leader, much wasn’t known about Gin or his motives, or even his past (save Rangiku). All that is known about Gin was that he was a child prodigy, surpassing those twice his age. He has a very close relationship with Rangiku and heavily implied that they were lovers until Gin’s betrayal. Taken in at an early age by Aizen, he followed in his footsteps closely, through Aizen betrayal of Soul Society, his takeover of Las Noches and his eventually plot to destroy all of Karakura Town. Gin’s likable character clashed with his supposed role at Aizen’s side, so it was hard to really grasp the fact that he was a villian.

Because he wasn’t.

Towards the end of the Arrancar arc, we find that Gin was doing all of this “following” as the biggest act of betrayal the series had ever seen. As the one closest to Aizen, he knew exactly what needed to be done to stop him. This included sacrificing his Shinigami family, his relationship with Rangiku and his upstanding history is Seireitei, to stop one man’s maddening streak towards destruction. He didn’t succeed, but his ace card, by the name of Ichigo, did. Sacrificing his life, he left it up him to destroy Aizen.


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Uchiha Itachi of the Leaf of Naruto

I kinda don’t even have the heart to write this story, because of ALL the stories listed here. This one is the saddest. I…can’t. Just know that Itachi did everything he could for the love of his clan and his little brother and is one of the most, if not THE MOST, important intergal peices to the plot. Without Itachi, the series Naruto would have fallen apart. Don’t believe me. Think about it. Where would Sasuke be, if not driven by his revenge for Itachi? Where would Naruto be, if he hadn’t of developed this skewed relationship with a skewed man named Sasuke? Where would the Leaf be, if Naruto didn’t have a reason to become a stronger person? I can keep going.

But THIS shit right here? Heartbreak City.



Nah, I need ya’ll to see this in motion.

You Scared? I Know You Scared. I’d Be Scared Too.

I was sitting around, watching my old Sailor Moon tapes, (because that’s what I like to do sometimes) and I was commenting on how “Evil Chaos” was, but not really all that scary. Then I began to think, well who WAS scary? And maybe not even scary, noteworthy? These probably aren’t the worst anime villians of all time, but they were good.

Sosuke Aizen.

Why?
Because of the sheer intelligence of this one man. Not only was he the very essence of diabolical, but he was meticulously evil, prideful, snooty, classy. Overbearingly arrogant, but never being discourteous. And let me expound on meticulous. The intricacies of his plot, which he never REALLY explained until the final moments, were extraordinary. No one ever really knew what Aizen was planning until he told you. His next move? Calculated and deftly planned. Every step accounted for until you know…he was overpowered, by the very thing he held the dearest.

Then he pulled this little juke move on us.

“I will not take your lives. With the measure of power that you possess you are unlikely even to lose consciousness from those wounds. Stay there, helpless and defeated and observe carefully as this battle reaches its conclusion.


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Onigumo / Naraku /

Why?
As with most anime villains, his maliciousness was masked behind a veil of beauty. But, however effeminate Naruku seemed, nothing outweighed his focus. A complete Shikon No Tama. An ultimate goal is a necessary evil when it comes to villains. But for Naraku it was his willingness to use every dirty trick in his book to get what he wanted. Slaughter of complete villages, pitting friends against each others, former lovers against each other, supposedly dead family members up against the one that survived. Hell, he even used a henchman that resembled a baby! All to corrupt the balance of the Shikon No Tama, that he got but neeeever quite “got”. And to get the girl…which he ended up killing.

“I will not kill you…I will break you!” (to Kikyo)”


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Orochimaru

No, I DON’T give a fuck. And I LOOK evil.

Why?
Because he ain’t give a fuck, that’s why. Orochimaru wanted to do what he wanted to do, and nothing else mattered. His former team, his clan, his village, his master. None of that mattered. He wanted to know ever jitsu known to man, and anybody be damned if they stepped in his way. This involved waking the dead, destroying his village, corrupting Young Sauske, Poor Anko, and poor poor Kimimaro (who was so geeked to have his body taken over I didn’t know WHAT to think.) He held no allegiance, and the closest thing he had to an ally was Kabuto (probably because he was batshit crazy as well). And then there are the snakes. *shudders*

“Everything… will be mine!””


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Vicious

Why?
Insane? Yeah. Bloodthirsty? Perhaps. Posessed some of that Orochimaru “Fuck it”. YES. Power-hungry and pure manifestation of his name, Vicious was a katana-wielding B.A.M.F. whose reputation was a glowering beacon of fear to anybody that crossed him or his path. Former partner to our protagonist, Spike, they fell out after Spike left the Red Dragons. Believing that he is Spike’s only equal rival; he places a bounty on Mao (a surrogate father) in order to bring him back to the surface? To do what? Kill him and anybody else who dares to oppose him.

“I’m the only one who can keep you alive. And I’m the only one who can kill you.”


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Shishio Makato

Why?
Here’s your insane villain. But not the complete loss of sanity villain. Shishio Makoto was always a bloodthirsty man, he thought processed revolving around the single thought that a sword was made for killing. A Sociopath used by the very same government to be a killing machine (not for the same idealistic reasons as his predecessor Battousai, but just because they knew he enjoyed killing). And when the war was over and they had no use for him? They burned him and left him for dead (mistake). With a charred mangled body, a bloodlust and countless connections, Shishio rose to the top of the infamy by challenging the entire Meiji government, to best some of the most legendary fighters of their period (including the Wolf and Kenshin himself) only to succumb to the death the government had planned for him from the very beginning.

“ I was burned, every inch of my body in pain shouting for death, and it’s hell. Now, do you think that hell is not here on earth? If hell is not here, then why the hell should I keep you alive?”


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Yukishiro Enishi

Why?
Unlike his villain-any predecessor, Enishi was completely driven to maddening revenge by heartbreak. A misunderstanding yes, but watching the death of his beloved sister at the hands of her husband, Kenshin, had tipped over the sanity jar. Tomoe was the only person Enishi had in the world, so it’s understandable that he would be devastated by losing her. But Enishi wasn’t devastated; it changed his world (his hair turning completely white from stress being one of the first indicators.) Enishi used his intelligence and connections to surround Kenshin and everyone he held dear, under his own brand of revenge called Jinchu. Here he meticulously mentally mindfucks with all of our main characters, Kenshin getting it the worst (yeah, I cried so what).

“My name is Yukishiro Enishi. You killed my sister. Prepare to die”


( Ha! Not really. Couldn’t find one I really liked.)

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Frieza

Why?
To tell you the truth, besides Sailor Moon, this was one of the main animes I watched as a child. Imagine being 11 years old, a girl, and then watching the introduction to one of the most fearsome villains a cartoon had ever seen? I was scared shitless. Then he did ALL THIS?


“BALD AND BOLD. OH MY, WHAT AM I TO DO!”

 

Oh you wasn’t scared? You lying.

I See What You Did There.

But in reality nobody knows, right?

Producers in the music industry do a lot of moving and shaking. Much like the artist, they do so to get their name, and sounds known. Unlike artist tho, they tend to have a stonger staying power because they tend to be able to adapt their sound. There are producers that stay primarily within a realm comfortable them ( a particular genre or sound ) and then there are artist who go beyond that. FAR beyond that.

Teddy Riley? Yeah. Mr. All I Wanna Do Is a Zoom Zoom Zoom in Yo Boom Boom? It’s been years since I’ve heard his name come up in a conversation about music that wasn’t mocking him in years. Teddy Riley, of GUY and BlackStreet fame, has two stepped his way into the Korean music market with groups such as Big Bang, Jay Park and his new love, the girl group Rania.




Guys, you may REALLY like this video…hell Gals, too.

Teddy was recently featured on a popular TV show Inkigayo, where he witnessed first hand artist such as the legendary DBSK and Big Bang and apparently liked what he saw.


(Here is Teddy in Korea, living it up, meeeting up with Big Bang, and speaking on working with Rania.)

Kanye West and Darkchild. Yeah, ya boy Yeezy took to the group JYJ extra hard, by actually featuring himself on one of their tracks. All you stateside bums couldn’t get Yeezy to press the beat machine two times for you, but here he is. He brought along with him Rodney “Darkchild” Jenkins to help him produce JYJ’s first English language track “Aye Girl”. Malik Yusef, a famed poet is also featured on the song.

If you want to see Rodney speak highly of Junsu, Jejung, and Yuchun, read this article.
Living Life Like There’s No Damn Rules

Will. I. Am has always marched to the beat of his own drum. So it’s no wonder that when we found out that Mr. I Am had pretty much adopted the group 2NE1 and is intriciatly involved in their Stateside American release, we weren’t surprised. Will. I. Am has been flying to Korea often to meet up with the four girls of 2NE1 (Dara, Pak Bom, C.L, and Minzy) to discuss everything related to them becoming the next best thing here in America.





Movers and Shakers, for real. They get their work in. And I appreciate it.

What did he just say?

It’s actually hard for a lot of people to realize that Hip Hop isn’t just an American thing anymore. Although we are the founders and pretty much the embodiment of it here, Hip Hop is a culture that has spread beyond the boundaries of the States. Canada, Russia, Africa, England…all of these places have taken a piece of that culture and made it a bit their own.

Zico from recently debuted idol group Block B, isn’t what we considered a bubblegum artist like some of his other Korean counterparts. He’s a little bit grungier and has a street appeal that a lot of the other idols in his line of work don’t possess (Minus the glitter and guyliner that he wears from time to time…(._.).



So that leads me to a freestyle that I happened upon on my ownst (yeah I made that word up) Tumblr wall.



Lyrics:
(Rough Translation)
I’m only 19 and still full of energy

I wear my headphones and don’t stop my gesture

They react and say “What the?”, when this kid starts rapping with a tongue twister

Now I’m going with any beat boom pow

Now you tell me you can’t handle this rap game

These pedestrians are lurking in the back

These slackers see blood from a killer

An arrow with poisoned criticism shot but missed

One bill mentioned above another

Little kids are stimulating into porn

They challenge themselves to penetrate some girls

Going steady but instead a blowjob for me

What’s this… A K-Hip Hop military ready to bite you

Typing up the skills along with the context, but I’m already like Lee Oi Soo

uh…? I don’t have time to waste like the others

I allow myself to breathe when I’m free

Not Lupe Fiasco on the mic, but it sounds awesome, and like I said, compared to his other rap cohorts, this is X Rated.