Retro ReCAP, Round 3 - Love Live! School Idol Project

Warning: The following presentation contains major spoilers, reader discretion is advised.

Today, Tiger and Rabbit sit down to discuss phenom Rabu Raibu!, also known as Love Live! School Idol Project in the West. Launched in Dengeki G's Magazine, this multimedia project by ASCII Media Works, Lantis, and Sunrise has taken the world by storm. The many forms of Rabu Raibu! include music, anime, manga, music videos, video games, and much more. In this entry of Retro ReCAP, Tiger and Rabbit focus on the anime and its characters, music, and style.

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Rabbit: It's time for another entry of Retro ReCAP!

Tiger: What's the topic this time?

Rabbit: I was thinking of recapping Rabu Raibu!

Tiger: What? Why? What made you pick that anime?

Rabbit: Uh... because I thought it would be a fun one to talk about.

Tiger: Why? I don't like it; I mean I'm not a fan or anything.

Rabbit: We've watched it a couple of times though and you've even bought me a few of their CDs and live concerts too.

Tiger: Well, I knew it was something you'd enjoy but I'm not into it at all.

Rabbit: Why are you being so defensive?

Tiger: Me? Defensive?

Rabbit: Why are you answering my questions with questions?

Tiger: I'm not doing that; I just don't want to talk about this because I don't like the series.

Rabbit: We've watched the anime a half-dozen times so far, you've even gone as far as suggesting we watch it when I wanted to watch something upbeat. We now even own all of their singles and albums. I know you play their mobile game too. You also play the music when we're in the car together...OMG!

Tiger: What?!

Rabbit: You're a closet Rabu Raibaa, aren't you?

Tiger: No, I'm not!

Rabbit: Well, I know you like Ayase Eri a lot.

Tiger: It's Eli not Eri.

Rabbit: And you hate that Koizumi Hanayo always says “Nico Nico Nii!”

Tiger: Hanayo doesn't say that, her catchphrase is “dareka tasukete!”

Rabbit: I also know your favorite singer is Uchida Aya who is the Seiyū for Sonoda Umi.

Tiger: Ucchi voices Minami Kotori, Mimori Suzuko is Umi's Seiyū.

Rabbit: ^shocked face^ You are so a Raibaa!

Tiger: I'm not, I swear it!

Rabbit: Why are you denying it? It's not a big deal that you're a fan, a little surprising since Rabu Raibu! isn't something I'd peg you to like. Still, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Tiger: Of course it is! Rabu Raibu! is the sugary happy-go-lucky upbeat anime garbage you enjoy! It's not something I should like... but I do.

Rabbit: Hey! I'd be offended by that statement if it wasn't true. I think it's great that you can get in touch with your inner happy kitty instead of always being the overly violent and heartless cat that you are.

Tiger: Hey! I'd be offended by that statement... if it wasn't true.

Rabbit: ^claps hands^ I think this is so awesome! This is going to be fun. Do you want to explain what Rabu Raibu! is since you're our resident expert?

Tiger: *sighs* You can do it; I'll just correct you when you get something wrong.

Rabbit: ^giggles^ Also known as Love Live! School Idol Project, Rabu Raibu! is a cross-media project that debuted in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. It tells the story of a group of high school girls that become school idols to save their school from closing.

Tiger: Kōsaka Honoka, a second-year student at Otonokizaka Academy, was the one who came up with the idea to become school idols. She roped in her friends Minami Kotori and Sonoda Umi to become the group μ's, which is pronounced “Muse.”

Rabbit: Eventually other students joined in the fun such as first-year students Nishikino Maki, Hoshizora Rin, and Koizumi Hanayo.

Tiger: Rounding out μ's are the seniors Yazawa Nico, Ayase Eli, and Tōjō Nozomi.

Rabbit: What makes Rabu Raibu! special is that it's more than just a manga or an anime. LL is a phenomenon that includes music videos, video games, and a yearly live concert with the Seiyū! Nitta Emi is the voice of Honoka, Uchida Aya is Kotori, Mimori Suzuko is Umi, Pile voices Maki, Iida Riho is Rin, Kubo Yurika voices Hanayo, Tokui Sora is Nico, Nanjō Yoshino is Eli, and Kusuda Aina voices Nozomi.

Tiger: For the sake of clarity, let's just focus on the anime and the music from the show to start.

Rabbit: Start dash! The anime is produced by Sunrise, directed by Kyōgoku Takahiko, and was licensed for North America by NISA. There are two seasons which consists of thirteen episodes each. The first season follows Honoka as she comes up with the idea to form a school idol group to save Otonokizaka Academy from closing due to low admittance.  μ's gets off to a bad start and faces heat from the Student Council, but soon the group grows in size and support.

Tiger: The second season follows Honoka and the gang as they continue their pursuit to win Rabu Raibu, the school idol contest, as well as how they cope with the pending graduation of the senior members.

Rabbit: Finally, Love Live! School Idol Movie sees μ's traveling to New York to promote the Love Live competition.

Tiger: I don’t want to get too into the movie since it’s hard to talk about without spoiling the anime.

Rabbit: I definitely hate spoilers and the vulgar rogues who release them.

Tiger: Vulgar rogues?

Rabbit: Onii-sama!

Tiger: ^rolls eyes^

Rabbit: μ's is made up from some of the best anime girls ever in existence.

Tiger: Aren’t you being a little biased there?

Rabbit: You don’t agree with me?

Tiger: I love them but they aren’t the best, they kind of all into the stereotypical role that most of these shows take. I think it’s the Seiyū that really make μ's.

Rabbit: Very true but we shouldn’t talk about them until we discuss the lives.

Tiger: Fair enough, let’s talk about the actual characters first then.

Rabbit: We already mentioned them briefly but the members of μ's really deserve a closer look. First, there’s the leader of μ's, Kōsaka Honoka. She’s a vibrant and upbeat character that sweeps everyone up in her love of singing and dancing. She can be forgetful and spacy at times but her true love for her school, friends, and μ's are always present.

Tiger: Her best friends and fellow second-year students are Minami Kotori and Sonoda Umi. Kotori is a “go with the flow” type of person who oversees μ's costume design and early choreography. She’s also the daughter of Otonokizaka Academy’s director.

Rabbit: She really loves her pillow too.

Tiger: Umi is your stereotypical tsundere character. She has to balance her activities with μ's, archery club, and helping at her family’s traditional dance and martial arts school. She is the most down to earth and tends to come off as a little naïve. Don’t wake her up either, she is scary if you do.

Rabbit: Shameless!

Tiger: Then there’s the first-years. Nishikino Maki is the daughter of a wealthy family of doctors and she is expected to pursue the same career. She is a gifted pianist and composer who comes off as haughty but eventually fits in with μ's.

Rabbit: Hoshizora Rin and Koizumi Hanayo were best friends before μ's formed. Rin is very athletic and comes across as tomboyish. She even has a complex about wearing cute girly clothing because she was made fun of as a child. She’s cheerful and energetic much like Honoka. Hanayo is shy and has poor self-esteem but always dreamt of being an idol. She loves eating rice and becomes a totally different person when talking about idols.

Tiger: Next are the third-years of Otonokizaka. Ayase Eli is the mature president of the student council. She is determined to save the school but unlike Honoka, has a different plan on how to do that. Eli is good at academics and was also a ballet dancer, which leads to her eventually becoming μ's choreographer. Eli’s best friend is Tōjō Nozomi, who she met at Otonokizaka. Nozomi was forced to move often as a child and was never able to make any lasting friendships until Eli and the rest of the girls of μ's. She’s the oldest and acts as the voice of reason for many of the members but she also has a mischievous side to her. Nozomi’s main hobby is fortune-telling which she uses to predict the future with accuracy.

Rabbit: Last but certainly not least is the universe’s number one idol, Yazawa Nico. She is the president of the idol research club which merges with μ's. She is the most dedicated member in her pursuit of becoming an idol and has been trying to gain that status since she first entered high school. Even though she is a senior, Nico still comes off as childlike because of her young appearance and immature nature. Though she is an attention seeker and acts like a big shot, Nico truly cares about the other members of μ's.

Tiger: Oh my gosh!

Rabbit: What? What happened?

Tiger: It’s so sad!

Rabbit: What is?

Tiger: *cries* They’re seniors!

Rabbit: ^pats Tiger on head^ It’s okay. I thought we weren’t going to talk about the sad stuff so you don’t cry.

Tiger: *sobs* Like the final live?

Rabbit: Yeah, we’ll just skip over that.

Tiger: No! It’s over!

Rabbit: ^shakes head^ It is over but μ's will live forever on the CDs and BDs we own.

Tiger: *moans* It’s not the same!

Rabbit: Just to explain why Tiger is freaking out, μ's officially ceased activities on April 1st, 2016 when the seiyū performed the μ’s Final LoveLive! ~µ'sic Forever♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪~.

Tiger: SO SAD!

Rabbit: We’re not going to talk about it yet so see’mon, get yourself together!

Tiger: Just change the subject already.

Rabbit: Going back to the characters, who is your favorite?

Tiger: Are you really asking me to pick just one of the wonderful girls of μ’s?

Rabbit: Wow, you sound like me. Okay, then who’s your favorite out of the first-years?

Tiger: I’ll say Rin is my favorite, I love her energy and tomboyish-ness. She’s cute too, which goes to show you can be both cute and athletic at the same time.

Rabbit: Good choice, I’d have to agree with you though breaking through Maki’s cold attitude was always a highlight for me too. For the second-years, I’d say Kotori is my favorite. She is so adorable and is always putting the others first. It was so great to see her special ability shrine through when the rest of μ’s found out about her side gig too.

Tiger: I have to stick with Umi, she’s the first character I really latched onto way back in 2010. Her tsundere personality is just too cute and she tends to be the most grounded out of the group. She also knows when to work but still has fun too. She’s also super weak to Kotori’s pleading face, which is adorable.

Rabbit: You remind me a lot of Umi too.

Tiger: You’re more of a Rin type.

Rabbit: Nya~!

Tiger: As for the third-years, this is probably the hardest one to pick, they’re all so awesome!

Rabbit: I definitely have Nico as my favorite third-year. She was annoying at first but I really fell in love with her personality in the end.

Tiger: I’ll pick Eli, the student council president. She is mature and so cool yet has these cute weak points that only her friends see. I like that they didn’t make her perfect too, and her faults are her charming points. I think it’s time for us to talk a little about the music and what μ’s looked like before the anime.

Rabbit: When μ's sings in the anime, it is usually done with stylized CGI which mimics the original animation in the PVs aka promotional videos. These PVs were actually how μ's first got their start.

Tiger: Yup, first were the fan votes in Dengeki G to pick character names, themes, etc. Then they debuted the character designs and some of the first artwork.

Rabbit: But μ's didn’t come to life until the first PV of Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE came out.

Tiger: Looking back at that PV, the character art looks so different than in the anime. Especially since Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE shows up again in the anime.

Rabbit: Yup, the first PV released way back in August of 2010 before the anime was even in production. As you watch μ's PVs in chronological order, you can see them slowly morph into the characters that became the standard in the anime.

Tiger: That PV still has a special place in my heart, it’s where it all started. It’s crazy too because the single only sold 434 copies in its initial sales phase, making it a total failure. Eventually, LL gained traction and flourished. Since we’re already talking about the music, let’s mention how it works in the anime and in real life.

Rabbit: In the show, most of the lyrics are credited to Umi while Maki writes the songs but in reality, various composers write the music for μ's and their subgroups; Printemps, BiBi, and Lily White.

Tiger: While the composers change from song to song, Hata Aki has written the lyrics for almost every song. She even did some work on one of my favorite anime, Lucky Star.

Rabbit: There are a lot of great songs in a variety of genres, so it doesn’t all just sound like idol/pop music.

Tiger: The centers always change too, which is a feature I love. Even though Honoka is the leader, the center spot and the lead vocals are shared amongst the members. Many of the song centers were even chosen by fan vote.

Rabbit: There are fan favorites like No brand girls and Snow halation which have specific parts in the songs for fans to participate in, known generally as Wotagei.

Tiger: There are classics like Wonderful Rush and Natsuiro Egao de 1,2,Jump! Which both released before the anime.

Rabbit: Then there’s songs like Wonder zone and START:DASH!! Which were featured in the anime.

Tiger: There are also songs sung by the three subunits, solo songs, and some fan service songs such as Zurui yo Magnetic today.

Rabbit: All in all, μ's and its subunits released over 100 singles spanning their six-year career.

Tiger: And we own it all. It’s crazy just how prolific they were compared to other similar anime idol groups.

Rabbit: If you haven’t been able to tell, music is integral to Rabu Raibu. With a bunch of singles released before the anime was even shown, it was only inevitable that μ's would hold a live concert.

Tiger: How exactly do you hold a live when your idol group is made up of a bunch of anime characters? Simple, just dress the Seiyū up as the characters they voice.

Rabbit: The lives are one of my favorite things about Love Live! Getting to see the Seiyū sing on stage and interact with their fans is really fun. Plus, they’re very good performers and I found them a lot more entertaining to watch than The iDOLM@STER.

Tiger: Ooh, you did not go there.

Rabbit: I’m not trying to start a fan war and while I do enjoy The iDOLM@STER, especially Cinderella Girls, they don’t have the detailed choreography that μ's has.

Tiger: And μ's only has nine members. The literal hundreds of iDOLM@STER members are hard to keep track of.

Rabbit: The μ's Seiyū also have great personalities and they were just a blast to watch. I really enjoyed their streaming shows as well, which they hosted a bunch of along with radio shows. Too bad it’s all in Japanese making it hard to follow along with. Though there is a group of dedicated YouTubers who have been working for the past couple of years to sub the best clips from these internet shows.

Tiger: Going back to the lives, one of my favorite parts is seeing the animated PVs come to life. Not only did the Seiyū dress up in the same costumes as their animated counterparts, but they also replicated the dances. Heck, some of the Seiyū even copied their anime characters hairstyles and hair colors. I can even remember some of the dance steps since we’ve watched those lives so many times.

Rabbit: That’s what I call dedication because some of those hairdos are gravity defying.

Tiger: We’ve talked about our favorite characters but what about our favorite Seiyū?

Rabbit: Ooh, that one is tough because while the anime characters have their own personalities, I feel that the Seiyū are incomparable when it comes to their charm features.

Tiger: I definitely agree, it’s hard to pick but why don’t we pick our favorite from the different grades, just like we did for the characters.

Rabbit: For the first-years, my favorite Seiyū has to be Pai-chan who voices Maki. Her drama time skits are the best. She gets embarrassed easily and they always seemed to give her the most out there lines.

Tiger: I’m sticking with my girl Rin and going with Rippi as my favorite first-year Seiyū. Rippi is actually pretty similar to Rin in a few ways which I find endearing. She does a spot-on Kansai mother impersonation too.

Rabbit: I think Mimo who voices Umi is my favorite second-year. She’s more reserved than the others but I love her funny faces and cute voices she would do during the internet shows.

Tiger: Wow, we actually switched our second-year choices. Ucchi, who is Kotori’s Seiyū, is my favorite out of this group though Emitsun is a close second. Ucchi’s antics were some of my favorite bits from the lives and the other appearances the μ's Seiyū had.

Rabbit: The third-years are so tough to pick from. I really feel they are the best characters and the best Seiyū but in the end, I have to pick Kussun who voices Nozomi. She was one of the younger Seiyū but really held her own amongst the veterans of the group. She was also super funny which surprised me since she first struck me as kind of shy. Also, Kussun in pigtails and a gangsta cap will melt anyone’s heart.

Tiger: I’m going against the grain here and saying Soramaru is the best third-year Seiyū and maybe the best out of all the μ's girls. She is so quick-witted and charming, everything I’ve seen her in is entertaining. She’s also my favorite Milky Holmes Seiyū and I’ve kind of stalked her by buying all the games and anime she’s in.

Rabbit: That explains the Senran Kagura games.

Tiger: I feel like we can talk about μ's forever but I think we should move on to some of the other projects that they were involved with, like the video games and SchoolFes.

Rabbit: Not only are there a few Vita rhythm games for Love Live! but μ's starred in another game called Kamisama to Unmei Kakumei no Paradox for the PS3.

Tiger: Also known as The Guided Fate Paradox in the West, the nine girls of μ's voice characters as well as provided character songs for the game. The confusing thing about this is that the μ's characters are the ones credited as the CVs in the game.

Rabbit: Wait, so the real life voice actresses behind μ's don’t get credit?

Tiger: They’re listed in the credits too but on the character album, the vocalists are listed under their μ's names, not their real ones. Talk about bringing fictional anime characters to life.

Rabbit: μ's biggest hit game has to be SchoolFes, the mobile rhythm game that has over 30 million players globally. One of those, I know is you, Tiger.

Tiger: Yup, I’ve been playing SchoolFes every day for over a year!

Rabbit: Wow, that’s dedication.

Tiger: It’s a really fun rhythm game that features card collecting and building your digital idol group to compete in Love Live!

Rabbit: Cards, I should’ve known. How many digital cards do you have?

Tiger: I currently have over 200 though I’ve collected over 350 unique cards total.

Rabbit: LL also has two physical card games, one dedicated just to LL and the other is a part of a bigger collectable card game.

Tiger: SchoolColle and Weiβ Schwarz! Both of which I collect.

Rabbit: Excuse me?

Tiger: What?

Rabbit: I thought you only played Weiβ Schwarz.

Tiger: *shrugs* I do only play Weiβ Schwarz but I also collect SchoolColle cards.

Rabbit: Why?! Why on earth did you start another collection?!

Tiger: SchoolColle has cards for the songs too unlike Weiβ Schwarz which just has character cards. Plus, SchoolColle has the same artwork from SchoolFes, so it’s like I get to keep my SchoolFes collection in real life.

Rabbit: ^shakes head^ There is no hope for you.

Tiger: Well as much as I love μ's, I think we need to wrap up this Retro ReCAP.

Rabbit: Got somewhere to be?

Tiger: Actually there’s a SchoolFes event going on right now and I need to check in so I can keep pace and make sure I get my SR card.

Rabbit: ^shakes head^

Tiger: So, what where your first impressions of Love Live! School Idol Project and how have they changed since then.

Rabbit: I really thought LL was a cute and fun anime but I never paid too much attention to the other parts of the project until they were already in full swing. When I started to really listen to the music and saw their first live, that’s when I truly fell in love with μ's and their Seiyū. We’ve fallen in love with a lot of different groups like this, the first one I can remember is Ho-kago Tea Time from K-On! but they didn’t have the same pull that μ's has had on me.

Tiger: We’ve already mentioned The iDOLM@STER which was probably one of the earliest projects to combine anime, music, and live performances together but like you mentioned, we weren’t really into them from the beginning. Of course, after μ's, there seems to be so many of these groups popping up. There’s Wake Up, Girls!, BanG Dream!, Walkure, i☆Ris, and a bunch of others I can’t think of right now.

Rabbit: Notice how they all really like to use exclamation points?

Tiger: And while μ's is *sniffs* over, Aqours is already in full swing. They’re the next iteration of Love Live!

Rabbit: I still love Milky Holmes too but part of that is because two of their members were also members of μ's. What about you Tiger, you haven’t mentioned your first impressions or how you now view LL after all this time.

Tiger: I truly thought it was another one of your fluffy feel good anime that I hate and I didn’t want to like it as much as I ended up liking it. The first live really did help make a connection but I also think watching the streaming shows on Nico Nico opened my eyes to μ's. Then, I heard Wonderful Rush and I was sold.

Rabbit: Yeah, I never thought you’d actually enjoy the music since you are so picky.

Tiger: Hey! I’m entitled to like pop music every once in a while.

Rabbit: Yeah, like when hell freezes over.

Tiger: Anyway, I have learned to love the charms of LL including its fun and cute anime, the catchy music, the entertaining lives, and the addicting gameplay in the games.

Rabbit: At this point in time with μ's officially over, we’ve basically consumed all we can. We’ve seen all of their lives, own all the PVs, we’ve listened to all the music, and have watched the majority of their internet shows. There’s only one thing we haven’t seen yet and that’s-

Tiger: Nope, we aren’t watching it.

Rabbit: Why not? It’s the only thing we have left to see.

Tiger: Exactly! Once we watch the last day of their final live, there’s nothing left! I don’t want μ's to ever end!

Rabbit: But they did end! They aren’t going to make anything else. It’s not like you can’t ever watch it again either, we own the BD, we can watch it again whenever you want.

Tiger: But it won’t ever be new again after we watch it. That means there’ll be nothing new left for us to see.

Rabbit: Are we ever going to watch it?

Tiger: Never!


Love Live! School Idol Project ReCAP
μ's *sniffles*
Is *cries*
Over *sobs*

The CG animation in early PVs is stiff
The movie doesn’t have enough μ's in it
Seeing the Seiyū cry at the final live


The variety of music
The Seiyū and their wonderful performances
μ's is just awesome

Season 2 Episode 11 gets me right in the heart
Seeing μ's grow as a group throughout the anime
the 18 members of μ's

Retro ReCAP, Round 2 - 2015-2016 San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks just completed a historic season of hockey, making it farther in the playoffs than they ever had before. Tiger watched every minute of the 82 regular season games and every second of the 24 playoff games. Taking time to reminisce about the amazing journey, Tiger and Rabbit highlight their favorite moments and reCAP the 2015-2016 season of the San Jose Sharks.

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Tiger: You better buckle up, Rabbit, this is going to be a long one.

Rabbit: ^opens a grocery bag^ I already brought snacks and drinks. Plus, I ordered a pizza, pepperoni and black olives, baby!

Tiger: I thought rabbits were supposed to be herbivores?

Rabbit: But it’s pizza, you have to have pepperoni on pizza.

Tiger: You know what, it doesn’t matter. We have a lot of things to talk about and we shouldn’t waste time on your eating habits again.

Rabbit: Alright, alright. Well, what a run the San Jose Sharks had last season.

Tiger: It was amazing.

Rabbit: I saw you cry, I saw you cry three times.

Tiger: It was a very emotional experience.

Rabbit: The 2015-2016 season was the Sharks 25th anniversary and it turned out to be the most memorable season in the history of the team.

Tiger: Before we discuss all the amazing and some not so amazing events that took place this season, we have to frame the story by mentioning the seasons before.

Rabbit: It was a tough couple of seasons, wasn’t it?

Tiger: Tough is an understatement.

Rabbit: First, it was LA in 2013-2014.

Tiger: Effing LA.

Rabbit: Not still sore over that, I see. Anyway, in the first round of the playoffs against the Kings, the Sharks led the best of seven series with three wins and zero losses. LA stormed back and ended up winning four games in a row to eliminate the Sharks from the playoffs.

Tiger: The loss brought changes to the team and soon the 2014-2015 playoffs rolled around. This time, the Sharks didn’t even qualify and watched the entire thing from their couches. This was the first time they missed the playoffs, reaching the postseason the previous nine years straight.

Rabbit: The Sharks would be up for one of the biggest shakeups they had ever seen after two devastating seasons. Longtime coach Tod McLellan, who had worn teal since 2008, was let go.

Tiger: Peter DeBoer was hired as the eighth head coach in franchise history and a new era in Sharks Territory was about to begin.

Rabbit: Previously, DeBoer had coached the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers. Interestingly enough, he was also a finalist for the Sharks head coaching position back in 2008 but lost it to McLellan.

Tiger: At the time, DeBoer had little experience as a coach in the NHL, but in 2015 he proved that he had what it took to manage and guide a big league team.

Rabbit: So PDB was kind of an unknown to us when he was first hired.

Tiger: Being a coach in the Eastern Conference, we didn’t see his teams very often. To be honest, his Panthers team wasn’t that skilled and though he did make the Stanley Cup Final with NJ, he never had the firepower the Sharks possessed. We really weren’t sure what he would do with the team.

Rabbit: We’d soon learn just how impressive his coaching skills were but before we could do that, there were a couple of holes to fill in the Sharks roster.

Tiger: We’ve already talked about the free agent signings of Joel Ward and Paul Martin in a previous round. These two players would be key in the successful playoff run the Sharks would eventually construct. We’ll be discussing Wardo in a bit but I want to bring up the amazingly steady play of Paul Martin.

Rabbit: Yes, often paired with the affable Brent Burns, Martin had his hands full.

Tiger: Burns is a gifted defenseman but tends to be unpredictable in a both good and bad ways.

Rabbit: Suddenly charging into the offensive zone with the puck and powering his way to the net is something that you don’t see a lot of defensemen do but with Burnzie, he’s a highlight reel maker.

Tiger: He can also be so focused on the offensive aspect of the game that he leaves his partner high and dry during odd-man rushes. Luckily, Martin is a very skilled and often unnoticeable player.

Rabbit: Which is a great compliment because usually when you notice defensemen, it’s because they made a bad play.

Tiger: Martin is truly the yin to Burns’ yang. The tandem is amazing, Martin allows Burns to play his chaotic style of game and also seems to calm him down in the D-zone. Slotting Martin with Burns also allowed the other defensemen to really play to their strengths as well.

Rabbit: Those weren’t the only moves General Manager Doug Wilson made in the 2015 offseason.

Tiger: You could say one of the biggest trades in San Jose history happened on June 30th when the Sharks sent their 2016 1st round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly to Boston for goaltender Martin Jones. Jones had only been traded to Boston from LA a few days prior and now found himself back in California, abet on the right side this time.

Rabbit: Oh, I remember you screaming at your phone when this news broke.

Tiger: Freaking LA. But he’s not one of them now, suckers! He’s wearing a real color now, Team Teal!

Rabbit: Jones was a phenom in his brief stint as relief for LA’s Jonathan Quick and also had an exemplary record at the 2015 World Championships for Canada. Other than that, his resume was short and he had never held a starting goalie position in the NHL before.

Tiger: Like DeBoer, Jones was a variable that we just didn’t know how he’d play out. Now, I actually expected him to play well in the beginning of the year but as the grind went deeper into the season, I was unsure how he’d handle the workload.

Rabbit: Luckily, Jones did a stellar job since the Sharks backup goalie, Alex Stalock, had an atrocious season that resulted in him being traded.

Tiger: Jones would soon prove himself as the dominate goalie the Sharks have always yearned for since Evgeni Nabokov left the team. Jones set a new franchise shutout record in October 2015, going an amazing 234:33 without allowing a single goal.

Rabbit: Jones would also hold an impressive shutout streak of 156 minutes in the playoffs against the St. Louis Blues.

Tiger: An absolutely phenomenal season by Martin Jones. We weren’t exactly sure what we were getting with him but he’s proven himself again and again. Everyone in San Jose absolutely loves him. I mean, I haven’t heard a goalie chant since the old days of “Nabby! Nabby! Nabby!” Now, you can hear the crowd at SAP Center cheer, “Jonesy! Jonesy! Jonesy!” when he makes a great save, and he makes those quite often.

Rabbit: There was one final change that occurred before the 2015-2016 got underway and that was the issue of who wore the ‘C’ for Team Teal.

Tiger: The previous season, the Sharks did not have a captain and instead had four alternates.

Rabbit: Once Peter DeBoer took the reins, he declared that SJS would have a captain again. On October 5th, 2015 that captain was named and his name was Captain America.

Tiger: Joe Pavelski was named the 9th captain of the Sharks. Logan Couture and Joe Thornton were named the alternates for the team.

Rabbit: Pavelski was drafted by the Sharks in the 7th round of the 2003 NHL Draft. That’s 205th overall! He is the second most prolific scorer in the last four seasons, only behind Alex Ovechkin who was drafted 1st in 2004! Weighing in at an underwhelming five-foot-eleven and 190-pounds, Pavelski is definitely not the biggest out there which just showcases how much skill he has as a pure goal scorer.

Tiger: He has to be one of the premier puck deflectors in the National Hockey League too. Always giving his all and playing a complete two-way game, Joe Pavelski has truly earned his title as Captain America.

Rabbit: If that doesn’t sell you on this extremely underrated player, Pavelski had 38 regular season goals and 14 tallies in the playoffs. He also has an Olympic silver medal to his name too. Truly one of the greatest players to don teal.

Tiger: With a new coach, a new goalie, and a new captain; the San Jose Sharks were set to commence the 2015-2016 season against their bitter, bitter, most hated rivals.

Rabbit: There were so many curse words flying at our house on October 7th, 2015 as the Sharks opened their season in LA against the Kings. It was Martin Jones’ first game as the starting goalie and his first against his old team. Team Teal started off shaky, allowing a goal in the first two minutes of the game but once they settled the nerves, it was all Sharks.

Tiger: Jumbo started off with a one-on-one goal in the first followed by a powerplay goal from Pavelski.

Rabbit: In the second period, it was Burns lighting the lamp then Hertl following suit on the powerplay. Captain America himself capped off the night with his second goal in the third period, leading to a final score of 5-1 for SJS.

Tiger: The Sharks were out to a 3-0-0 start and looked like a team reborn but adversity would soon strike. On October 16th, 2015 during practice, Couture fractured his right fibula and would require surgery, forcing him to miss most of the 2015 schedule. Couture eventually returned late in the year but would only play two games. During his second game against the Edmonton Oilers, he suffered a more severe injury.

Rabbit: Couture left the game against Edmonton with what he assumed was a severe Charley horse but once on the team plane, he knew something was very wrong. Couture suffered from bleeding in his thigh and required another surgery to repair the tear. Couture would not return to the ice until January 2nd, 2016.

Tiger: If you haven’t seen the Sharks play, Couture is just as vital to the team as Pavelski. A determined player both in the offensive and defensive zones, Cooch is also called Clutchure for his ability to produce a goal when the team needs it the most. His loss meant that other players had to fill the hole in the roster, causing the team to look unbalanced at times.

Rabbit: The end of 2015 was shaky for the Sharks as they alternated wins and losses, never really recapturing the momentum from the beginning of the season. There were bright spots for the team as players like Joel Ward stepped up big time to fill the void left by Couture. One of those times was on October 24th against the Carolina Hurricanes. Wardo scored two goals in the first period, allowing the Sharks to control the game. With 57 seconds left in the 3rd period, Ward scored the empty netter to complete the second hat trick of his career and first in the only jersey he should ever wear.

Tiger: One of the biggest tests the Sharks faced was in November when they went on a six game road trip. Now, the Sharks notoriously have a terrible road schedule with grueling travel demands. The previous road trip saw the Sharks split 2-2-0, not a stellar result at all. They were falling in the standings and knew they needed to string some wins together. It would be no easy task.

Rabbit: The six games across ten-days road trip began against Detroit. The Sharks eked out a 3-2 win before flying to Buffalo to play the next day. The Sharks had not won a game in Buffalo since Joe Thornton’s first game as a Shark way back in 2005. It was looking as if Team Teal wasn’t going to win this time as they reached the end of regulation with a 1-1 tie. Mister Shark himself, Patrick Marleau, scored the overtime winning goal, making the Sharks 2-0-0 on the trip so far.

Tiger: Next was Boston and the Sharks found themselves on the right side of a high scoring affair, winning 5-4. They tightened up their play in Philadelphia and squeaked by with a 1-0 overtime win, earning Martin Jones another shutout.

Rabbit: November 21st, 2015 would turn out to be a special night as the Sharks faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Burns’ scored the first goal of the game and Patrick Marleau made an assist. This would be Patty’s 1000th point in the NHL, all with the San Jose Sharks. It was also special because Pittsburgh was the city which hosted the 1997 NHL Draft where the Sharks took Marleau 2nd overall. If you look at the record book for the San Jose Sharks, you’ll likely see Marleau’s name show up a lot. He’s played a total of 1,411 all in teal. He’s currently the all-time leader in goals with 481, all-time leader in even strength goals with 311, and all-time leader in power play goals with 153. He also has the record for points with 1,036, shots with 3,608, games played with 1,411, and most 30+ goal seasons with 7.

Tiger: There’s speculation that we may have seen the last of Marleau in teal whether he retires or asks for a trade but no matter what happens, Marleau will always be seen as one of the most influential members of SJS.

Rabbit: Getting back on track with the road trip, the Sharks were 5-0-0 with their last game in Columbus. It was a wild west type of game with the Blue Jackets leading 3-1 in the third but the Sharks charged back with three goals in a little over seven minutes. Joe Pavelski sealed the deal with an empty net goal in the dying seconds of the game to win it 5-3. This completed the perfect 6-0 road trip, the first ever done by the Sharks. Pavelski had seven points over the course of the road trip and Patrick Marleau would also tally three more points to add to his impressive milestone. Martin Jones cannot be overlooked with his spectacular 5-0-0 record and a 1.56 goals against average coupled with a .950 save percentage. Those numbers are so amazing that he practically shined like the sun when he played.

Tiger: It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns, as the Sharks were just 18-18-2 when 2016 rolled around. January 9th would prove to be a turning point for the team when the Toronto Maple Leafs arrived in town. It was a rare afternoon match and the game was broadcasted on Hockey Night in Canada, making it a game that many in the hockey world would see.

Rabbit: The first period saw both goalies tested but neither allowed a goal. It wasn’t until the second period when hulking Brent Burns was able to find the back of the net with a highlight reel goal. Seriously, check out the video which is linked above.

Tiger: This would spark an offensive onslaught as Matt Nieto from Long Beach, California tallied a shorthanded goal which was followed by goals from Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks didn’t let up in the third period and received goals from Melker Karlsson, Joonas Donskoi, and another from Hertl. The Sharks emphatically put down the Leafs 7-0 and ignited their game, going 8-0-2 in the next ten games. This game also started Joe Thornton’s point streak which would see him score the most points in the entire NHL from this point until the end of the season.

Rabbit: Jumbo Joe racked up so many points during this time that on January 26th against the Colorado Avalanche, he achieved his 1,300th point. Only 33 players in the history of the league have reached that total. Jumbo got his 1,300th in stereotypical fashion with a beautiful cross-crease feed to Joe Pavelski, who buried it.

Tiger: So I may have mentioned a name you might not be familiar with, Joonas Donskoi. Originally drafted by the Panthers in 2010, Donskoi played in the Finnish Elite League before signing with the Sharks. He tallied his first NHL goal in his first NHL game against the LA Kings during the Sharks opener. At 24 years of age, Donskoi was older and more experienced than other NHL rookies but he still surprised many when he took to the ice. The injury to Logan Couture allowed Donskoi to take on a more demanding role and he did not disappoint. He’s not an overly large or fast player but his skill with the puck has garnered him an impressive highlight reel.

Rabbit: Seriously, if you only click on one link, clink on this one, the goals are ridiculous.

Tiger: In his first season in the NHL, Donskoi scored 11 goals and 25 points with 6 goals in the playoffs including the Game 3 overtime winner of the SCF. The future of the San Jose Sharks is a bright one with Donskoi in the lineup.

Rabbit: We’ve already discussed Logan Couture’s series of injuries. When he finally came back in January, Cooch wasn’t the same player as he was before. It took him a long time to not only get back to speed but also find his scoring touch. He definitely had the touch on March 29th in Vancouver though. Couture had played a total of 426 games up to this point but had never scored a hattie. With the game tied 1-1, Couture would score three uninterrupted goals, giving him his first hat trick. Couture was on fire from here on out and was clutch in the playoffs with 30 points, which lead the league. Couture also scored three points in every series clinching game the Sharks had in the playoffs and contributed three more points to stave off elimination in Game 5 of the SCF. Couture would be one of the best players in the playoffs not only for the Sharks but NHL wide which was an amazing feat considering the injuries and adversity he suffered through in the early portion of the season.

Tiger: OMG, we’ve covered so much and we haven’t even talked about the playoffs yet.

Rabbit: Well, the pizza is here so maybe we should take a break, give our Qgers and Qbbits a breather too.

Tiger: You’ve got to be kidding me. Really?

Rabbit: I’m serious, I’m super hungry too.

Tiger: *sighs* Fine, we can take a short break

[an hour later]

Tiger: Now can we talk playoffs?

Rabbit: ^yawns^ That was so yummy! I’m sleepy now.

Tiger: Nope, nope, you don’t get to do this to me. We’re finishing this.

Rabbit: Hai, hai.

Tiger: The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs began with a familiar foe in the first round, the fu-

Rabbit: Fuzzy! Those very fuzzy LA Kings. Yes, it was a rematch in the first round as the Sharks had a lot to prove while everyone was questioning whether they would repeat 2014’s results.

Tiger: The Sharks took a commanding 2-0 before dropping the third game in overtime to LA. Again, the media and fans were buzzing with the nightmares of 2014. The Sharks, however, were a different team and came back to win Game 4. Game 5 started with the Sharks taking a 3-0 lead but the Kings came back to tie it. Going into the third, SJ responded with another three goals, winning the game and eliminating the LA Kings from the playoffs. Yeah, baby! That’s how you do it!

Rabbit: It was a battle with Music City as the Sharks faced the Nashville Predators in the second round. The Sharks won their first two games at home but Nashville matched them by taking the two games in Tennessee.

Tiger: Again, it was home ice advantage as the Sharks won Game 5 but lost Game 6 on the road. Would the Sharks be able to hold serve at home? That was resoundly answered when the Sharks shut down the Predators, winning Game 7 by a 5-0 margin. It was also Martin Jones first playoff shutout. The Sharks were going to the Western Conference Final.

Rabbit: For the fourth time in franchise history, the Sharks made it to the third round of the Stanly Cup Playoffs, this time facing off against the St. Louis Blues. It was a tight series with St. Louis winning the first game and the Sharks shutting out the Blues in the second.

Tiger: The next two games were also split, leaving the series tied at two games apiece. The Sharks were losing the game late in the second period of Game 5 until Captain America tied it up and then gave the Sharks the early lead. SJ would not yield another goal and were now one win away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Rabbit: Game 6 was back in San Jose and the Tank was rocking. The Sharks blazed out of the starting gate with a 4-0 and would win the game with a final score of 5-2. The Sharks had eliminated the St. Louis Blues and reached the first-ever SCF!

Tiger: The Sharks would face the Pittsburgh Penguins to see who would raise Lord Stanley’s Cup. The first two games in Pittsburgh were losses for the Sharks. The first SCF game in San Jose was nuts and it felt like the city was going to be set ablaze by the sheer passion. The Sharks would win Game 3 at home but lost the following. It was a scrappy affair on the road as the Sharks battled to earn the ‘W’ and bring one more Stanley Cup Final game back to San Jose. The Sharks would end up losing this game and thus lost the series 4-2 to the Penguins. While it wasn’t the result we wanted, it was an experience that no one was expecting.

Rabbit: I remember hoping that they’d just make it to the playoffs, I never thought about them playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Looking back at this whirlwind of a season, what are some of your thoughts?

Tiger: For me, the number one thing is how the team really pulled together and played as a unit. The previous season, there were so many times that you saw individuals put in individual efforts and it often didn’t feel like there was a team on the ice. It reminded me of seeing some of the Olympic teams play because those teams don’t have a lot of practice and rely pretty much on star power. This Sharks team; everyone knew their role, accepted it, and played it to the best of their abilities. Got to give DeBoer a lot of credit for righting the ship so quickly.

Rabbit: I also think infusing the new blood was really key. Players like Jones, Ward, Martin, Donskoi, and some of the young players that played in relief like DeMelo were great. We didn’t mention Karlsson or Tierney but they were young guns the previous season and came back with renewed confidence and really contributed to the team down the stretch. A healthy Hertl and better D-pairings were really important too. I know it wasn’t the end result that we had hoped for but you cannot take away anything from this team and the season they played.

Tiger: I’m actually really happy how things turned out. Yeah, they didn’t win the Cup but no one expected them to make it that far. Heck, when January rolled around, I thought we were out of the playoffs entirely. It reminded me of the horrible February in 2015 that killed the Sharks chances to advance to the post-season.

Rabbit: We didn’t mention Joe Thornton too much, there were a lot of players who had amazing years and we just couldn’t mention them all, but Jumbo’s season was a special sort of special.

Tiger: We witnessed probably the greatest season of a future hall of fame player. I can literally say Thornton played some of the best hockey I have ever seen from anyone in the 17 or so years I’ve been watching the sport. I mean, there were some Ray Bourque vibes going on with a lot of fans calling to “win it for Joe.” Now, Joe Thornton is not retiring next season but he is up there in age and I’d love to see him win it all, definitely well deserved. But he is one of the greatest players to ever play the sport. The records he holds and how he keeps smashing his way up those point total ladders; it’s just insane to watch.

Rabbit: Yes, the people he is passing on those lists are already legendary which makes him even more so since he’s still playing. I hope the Sharks can get it done for him before he retires, I really do.

Tiger: Seeing Jeremy Roenick have to eat his words was awesome too. But we’re getting a little off track, I think we should go ahead and wrap this up before we end up talking for another hour.

Rabbit: All in all, this was the best season we’ve ever seen the Sharks play.

Tiger: I totally agree with you there; my only regret is we couldn’t be there in person to witness it. But it makes me excited for the future, not just the upcoming season but the seasons to come. Is it October yet?

2015-2016 San Jose Sharks ReCAP
Couture’s injuries
Not being able to see the Sharks play live
Losing a game to the freaking LA Kings

Early injury troubles
November/December losing streaks 2015
Losing Hertl in the SCF


Martin Jones phenomenal play all season long
Beating LA in the first round
Couture’s return and his clutch scoring in the playoffs

Joe Thornton’s 1300th point
Donskoi’s highlight reel goals
San Jose hosting its first SCF game

Retro ReCAP, Round 1 - Mass Effect Trilogy

Warning: The following presentation contains major spoilers, reader discretion is advised.

Tiger and Rabbit introduce a new mode for the new year, called Retro ReCAP. Here, the reflective pair discuss a single title and examine their first impressions, how they feel about the title now, and their personal cons and pros. In this inaugural edition of Retro ReCAP, Tiger and Rabbit examine the Mass Effect Trilogy and how their opinions have changed over time.

^^**^^
Tiger & Rabbit: Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Rabbit: It's a brand new year which means we should do something new for TvR.

Tiger: What do you have in mind?

Rabbit: I think we should do reviews of video games, anime, manga, and other stuff that interests us.

Tiger: I don't do reviews.

Rabbit: Why not?

Tiger: I think you should go into a video game or other title with the mindset that you are going to write a review, that way you are really being analytical from the get go. I don't think you should just review something on a whim, you need to put deep thought into what you're doing. It's more than just an opinion when you review a game, you're basing it on past experiences, expectations, and examining the many facets of that title. It's too much work for me.

Rabbit: ^deep in thought^

Tiger: What?

Rabbit: ^crosses arms^ … there were a lot of “e” words in your statement.

Tiger: *shakes head* That's your takeaway from what I said? See this is exactly why we shouldn't do reviews.

Rabbit: How about we do something that's like a review but not a review. Like a recap!

Tiger: And we do what exactly?

Rabbit: We reminisce about the title but this isn't going to be just any old recap, this will be a retro recap!

Tiger: You know that's redundant, right?

Rabbit: We'll talk only about titles that we've played or watched multiple times. We can discuss our initial first impressions, how our opinions have changed over time, and list our pros and cons.

Tiger: But just to clarify, we won't be making a grand declaration of our like or dislike of a title with a score? I don't do scores.

Rabbit: Just our personal pros and cons.

Tiger: Okay, I think I can get on board with this. Retrospectives could be fun.

Rabbit: ^throws hands in air^ I got it, we'll do a reCAP!

Tiger: I thought we already established this.

Rabbit: No, don't you see? ^writes on paper^ We'll call it a reCAP because we're focusing on our Cons And Pros! Get it?

Tiger: Omae wa baka.

Rabbit: That's rude! I think that I should get to name the segment since I came up with the idea.

Tiger: Fine, fine, you win.

Rabbit: Woohoo!

Tiger: So, what's our first topic going to be?

Rabbit: The Mass Effect Trilogy!

Tiger: Wait, I thought we were only going to focus on one title at a time.

Rabbit: Well, we wouldn't talk about one episode of an anime series so I figured we shouldn't break up Mass Effect since it's almost like one gigantic game with three episodes.

Tiger: Does that mean we're going to talk about all three Uncharted games together? What about Golden Abyss? Or how about the Yakuza series? That one doesn't seem like it would be easy to discuss at once. What will you do with the Dragon Age series, are you going to treat that as one big game? Then there's manga like Rurouni Kenshin which is pretty long and has clearly defined story arcs, that could get out of hand.

Rabbit: Eh... I haven't thought that far out. Why don't we just keep an open-mind, remain flexible, and adapt as the situation dictates.

Tiger: You mean we'll just wing it.

Rabbit: ^giggles^

Tiger: I think we should preface our ME talk by stating that we played Mass Effect 2 first since the original game was Xbox 360 exclusive at the time.

Rabbit: I'm still surprised that your OCD allowed you to do that.

Tiger: It was tough and I felt like I was watching a movie after it was half over. I guess that validates your idea that all three games are really just one long journey.

Rabbit: See, I know what I'm doing here.

Tiger: At least that makes one of us. We've collectively played through all three games at least four times.

Rabbit: Each time playing a different kind of Shepard, romancing different characters, and making different choices than the time before.

Tiger: I think we should state that our canon Shepard was raised on Earth, was the sole survivor on Akuze, and is paragon.

Rabbit: Tali OTP!

Tiger: ME is just one big otome game to you, isn't it?

Rabbit: ^grins^ We've also done full renegade playthroughs or mixed it up and went fifty-fifty. We always play as a male Shepard though.

Tiger: I find the male romance characters to be pretty dry and boring. I'd rather play a male Shepard and make him my ideal guy and then romance a female character who is nothing like me.

Rabbit: That's not a very good fantasy. I personally would ship a MaleShep+Garrus romance option.

Tiger: You are strange. I wish Grunt were an option for FemShep. Or Legion.

Rabbit: And you think my romance choices are strange?

Tiger: Point of order, I'm just saying I would like that in-game, it's not like I have some strange fantasy where I have a robot lover who totally dotes on me, can be programmed to only care about my needs, and would also be immortal. I mean, c'mon, that's just weird.

Rabbit: You dug your own hole with that one. Now Miranda was an interesting choice, she-

Tiger: Maybe we should focus on what Retro ReCAP is supposed to really be and talk about our first impressions.

Rabbit: Oh, good idea. I have to say that the first Mass Effect was unlike anything I've played up to that point. We've had games based in space before but I really felt like it was a mixture of Gundam meets Star Trek.

Tiger: I definitely agree with you on the vibe. I've always loved space operas like Seikai Trilogy with its complex characters who fight in massive space battles. Mass Effect captured that well. No matter which Shepard you play, the adventure that you go on is entertaining from the start. There's space politics to deal with, a rogue agent trying to build an army, and an ancient enemy who everyone believes is a myth.

Rabbit: As Shepard, you don't really know what your involvement is until you receive a vision from an ancient artifact.

Tiger: And like every good hero, you make it your sole mission to save the galaxy. I have to admit, I hated the gameplay in the first ME. The controls were clunky and there was just too much going on with the guns and mods. If it wasn't for the story, I probably would've never beaten it.

Rabbit: I think the colorful supporting cast really made the game for me. They all had distinct personalities and you actually influenced them throughout the game. Like with Garrus and the choice to harden or soften him during his loyalty mission.

Tiger: The stupid Mako though, those missions were the worst.

Rabbit: I liked the Mako, I even have a “see the moon in a Mako” poster in my room from Monkey Minion.

Tiger: The game would be so much better without the vehicle based missions. The save feature is a bear too, always having to wait for it to actually save before you can do anything.

Rabbit: It was hard replaying ME1 as well. Again, it has a great story but losing all the little things that were fixed with the sequels, like the cover system and loading, was hard to deal with.

Tiger: Not having a decent cover system was a nightmare when I played it on the hardest difficulty. I ended up just running around the level, trying not to die. I don't think I'll ever play ME1 again. I'd rather just go through the comic opener in ME2 to determine all of the choices.

Rabbit: You miss so many of the little references when you do that though. I really enjoyed seeing side characters from the previous games show up again. Overall, I think ME1 is a great story wrapped in bad gameplay mechanics. Luckily with ME2, BioWare seemingly fixed all of that.

Tiger: Going back to ME2 after playing through the first game made so much more sense, I actually understood the story more. You're right about the gameplay, ME2 is a totally different beast when it comes to actual combat. Ironically, I really disliked the characters initially but after playing through ME3 and going back through the trilogy again, I found that ME2 was my favorite game.

Rabbit: Why is that?

Tiger: The pacing of ME2's story is top tier. Even replaying it for the fourth time, I could feel the buildup as you hunt for the Collectors and prepare to jump through the Omega 4 Relay. I also really enjoyed working for Cerberus and the different treatment you got from old allies. Plus, the characters are all so cool. Miranda, Jack, Samara, Mordin, and then you have expanded roles for Garrus and Tali... it's just great.

Rabbit: I actually disliked the new additions. It felt like they replaced everyone with new actors and just expected you to like them. I also disliked having to scan every freaking planet for different materials. That got tedious quickly.

Tiger: It was rough if you didn't import an ME1 save, which gave you bonuses.

Rabbit: I don't know, I really didn't like being with Cerberus, especially after finding out what they were capable of in the first game.

Tiger: You do have the “I'm not with Cerberus, I'm just here because they resurrected me” line of dialogue to chose from.

Rabbit: Which I chose, often. Still, it didn't feel right not being with the Alliance anymore. I didn't like the whole Collector storyline either, I wanted to fight the Reapers but they were pushed into the background somewhat.

Tiger: Well, they did have to save something for ME3. Speaking of 3, man, my first impressions of that game were not good.

Rabbit: The whole fiasco about the ending was nuts. We didn't play that game right away either, partially because of all the negativity surrounding the game.

Tiger: Yes, I wanted to form my own thoughts on the game so I waited a bit to play it and I didn't really like what I saw. The gameplay was great, actually improved on ME2, but for me the story was not well done. I knew the Reapers were going to come and all the major civilizations were going to get attacked but the way it unfolded felt disjointed.

Rabbit: I enjoyed the experience. I wasn't sure what to think of the ending but I couldn't think of a better way to end it. I did enjoy having a last hurrah with all of my favorite sidekicks. There were a lot of nice throwbacks that fans who played the previous games could appreciate.

Tiger: They killed almost everyone from ME2 though! That bothered me.

Rabbit: I think you needed to have some of them die to add weight to the story. It's like TV shows, I hate when they threaten a character with death only to save him at the end. These NPCs who have grown to be your friends over the course of three games matter, so when they did die, it made a huge impact on the overall tone of the game.

Tiger: Wow, you wishing for people to die; you sound like me. I thought Miranda's death was poorly done, there wasn't much of an emotional pull for me. We all knew Thane was going to die but the manner in which he met his demise did tug at the heartstrings.

Rabbit: Mordin's death was so sad. Especially when he said he wished he could study the seashells.

Tiger: Legion really got to me though I've always been a fan of his.

Rabbit: What did you think of the endings?

Tiger: Synthesis is stupid! Absolutely stupid. I find it funny that the Illusive Man's wish turned out to be the paragon choice in a sense. I mean, you become a Reaper, how cool is that. I didn't like destroying them since it meant that EDI would have been killed in the process too. Plus, the idea that Shepard can survive feels wrong. He needed to die. I felt the same way about the Hero of Ferelden in Dragon Age: Origins. It just felt to unrealistic for Shepard to live, he needed to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Rabbit: I didn't mind the synthesis ending but I agree with you about destroying the Reapers, I wouldn't want to get rid of all technology.

Tiger: I wish they had a “major look!” ending where you push the button and nothing happens. Oops, there's just no stopping the Reapers.

Rabbit: That would have been a terrible ending!

Tiger: I do prefer the vanilla endings to the DLC that BioWare was forced to create by the fanbase. So what that everything wasn't wrapped up in a nice little bow, sometimes you won't always know the exact ending. Heck, I prefer vague endings anyway, I like the ability to put my own interpretation on things.

Rabbit: I wasn't a huge fan of any of the DLC. It wasn't bad but I felt like it didn't add too much to the story. Except maybe Leviathan, I felt that it explained some of the origins of the Reapers. And of course the Citadel DLC is awesome.

Tiger: I've been generally pleased with all the ME DLC. I enjoyed the additional characters in ME2 and felt that the story content was strong with Arrival and Overlord. So I was happy with what we got for ME3.

Rabbit: I did feel like it was a downgrade when ME3 didn't offer as many companions as ME2 did. Yes, I loved having Liara and Ashley/Kaidan back and it wouldn't be an ME game without Tali and Garrus but only adding James and EDI made it feel a little sparse.

Tiger: I'd rather have old characters return than a bunch of new ones though. It was the third and final game of the trilogy, not really time to add a bunch of new faces into the mix. Javik was kind of interesting but I never used him much. Speaking of new characters, I enjoyed Traynor a lot.

Rabbit: She was pretty funny and not as creepy as Kelly from ME2.

Tiger: We haven't even touched the multiplayer.

Rabbit: I never played it much but I can say it was pretty fun when I did. I liked the chance to experiment with the different abilities too since you can't change Shepard's class once you start the game.

Tiger: Okay, I think we've rambled on long enough. We've talked about our first impressions but how have your opinions changed now that we've played all three games a few times.

Rabbit: Personally, I still find the first Mass Effect worth playing even with its quirks. It's the beginning of this entire journey and even though it's a pain to play at times, I still think it's worth the effort if you haven't before. For ME2, I was pretty high on this game when it first came out but it's slowly become my least favorite in the series. I didn't get as attached to the characters like I did in ME1, it was strange working for Cerberus, and I didn't like the Collectors as an enemy. Plus, with so many people in peril, you sure had a lot of random sidequests going on. I felt ME3 had the tightest narrative pacing. From the very first moment you take control of Shepard to the final minute, it always felt like you were moving forward towards your goal of saving the galaxy. I also loved feeling like I was back home on the Normandy and surrounded by my best friends. And no matter which ending you chose, ME3 was a great way to say goodbye to the crew of the Normandy and everyone you've met along the way.

Tiger: I'm on the opposite spectrum when it comes to ME. I don't think it's worth playing again and I wouldn't recommend it if you haven't played it at all. Graphically, it isn't on par with ME2 or ME3 and the gameplay is terrible. Yes, the story matters but the comic intro for ME2 fills in a lot of the gaps. You kind of miss some great moments with Ashley/Kaidan and Liara but they aren't even in freaking ME2 that much. For me, Mass Effect 2 is the Godfather 2 of games. It is the best, it improves on everything. The graphics are cleaner, the gameplay is smooth, the story is more cohesive, the characters have depth, and the pacing is awesome. Yes, there are sidequests that take you all over but if you take too long before you jump through the Omega 4 Relay, people could die. People you know could die. And that final boss, oh man, ME2 is my favorite of the series. While I didn't like ME3 the first time I played it, it has since grown on me. I found that the story and pacing aren't that bad and you're right about the last hurrah with your best buds feeling. Citadel is totally worth playing through a few times and I was content with the vanilla endings. Overall, there's nothing quite like the Mass Effect Trilogy. If you're a sci-fi fan or an RPG fan and haven't touched these games, you really should get on it.

Rabbit: Well, I think this was a fun Retro ReCAP! I like this segment already.

Tiger: We should try and stay on track a little more next time and maybe get into the meat a little more.

Rabbit: Just remain flexible and adapt to the situation.

Tiger: Yeah, yeah, I know, just wing it.


Mass Effect Trilogy ReCAP
Poor controls of Mass Effect 1
Mass Effect 1's long load and save times
Mass Effect 3's DLC endings were unnecessary

Mass Effect 1 is diminished when compared to sequels
New characters in Mass Effect 2 weren't compelling
Mass Effect 2's pacing felt disjointed


Depth of Mass Effect 2's characters
Cover system and tighter controls of Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2's graphics upgrade

Mass Effect 1's initial levels set the tone for entire series
Mass Effect 3's pacing was the best of the series
The Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3 was a great way to say goodbye