User blog:Appelmonkey/Monthly News August 2019

Wiki News

 * In case you missed it SPARTAN 119's Nobody Survives Forever Battle Royale has won Battle of the Season. Once again, congratulations.


 * Leolab got his own section in the Monthly News where he reviews manga, anime, and visual novels. Scroll down and have a look.

Battle Advertisement

 * Heinkel He 111 (Germany) vs. Mitsubishi (Japan). The Axis are losing the war and the Empire of Japan can feel the way the wind is blowing, with the German invasion of Italy was only the last straw. Striking up a truce with the Allies, Japan starts to provide air support to the Soviet Union. As each empire's bombers meet each other in battle, two former allies clash in the skies.


 * DIO (JoJo's Bizzare Adventure) vs. Alucard (Hellsing). Strange reports have been coming in from Egypt. A strange assortment of colorful characters has been seen entering and leaving an old mansion in the heart of Cairo. People have suddenly gone missing, disappearing without a trace. Telltale signs of vampire activity. Alucard has been sent to investigate and if necessary, eliminate the threat. Meanwhile, DIO is patiently waiting for the Joestar Party to finally arrive in Cairo, but if his agents were to believed a mysterious man in a red coat and hat has beaten them to it. Is this man their ally or an independent actor? It matters little, he too shall fall before The World.


 * Joestar Egypt Party (Stardust Crusaders) vs. Team Bucciarati (Golden Wind). Golden Wind might have ended, for those who are still hungry for some more JoJo content can vote in this battle between the Star Dust Crusaders of part 3 and the Golden Gang-stars of part 5. Will the Crusaders prevail? Or will the Gang-stars' golden shine keep on shining? Vote so you can decide yourself.


 * Apache Warriors vs. Ancient Egyptian Soldiers. Daggers, spears, bows, clubs. When people think of "primitive" weapons these four come to mind. But for all their supposed simplicity these weapons have always been used to very great effect and only began to fade away after the adaptation of gunpowder weapons. In this battle, two ancient groups duke it out to see who truly mastered these weapons. Will the unconventional tactics of the Apache prevail? Or shall the discipline of the Egyptian see them through this fight?


 * Chinese Commnist Guerrillas vs. Filipino Guerrillas. The Imperial Japanese military seemed unstoppable in its mission to create a pan-Asian empire. Many mighty nations were brought down to their knees by the Japanese forces. But where regular armies failed, soldiers and peasants who still had the will to fight took up arms against the occupying force, using cunning guerrilla tactics against their superior foe. Like the Chinese communist guerrillas: socialist revolutionaries who fight not just outside but also inside threats to the freedoms of the common worker. And the Filipino rebels: having recently gained independence from the United States, these guerrillas fight once again to kick out yet another threat to their independence.

World News

 * Alan Turing, the famous mathematician and code breaker will become the face of the new 50 note distributed by the Bank of England. Will contributions to the Allied war effort saved many lives of servicemen and civilians alike during World War II. This is also seen as a way making amends from when Turning was chemically castrated after being convicted for gross indecency in 1952.


 * Hope you all are liking that heat cause records finished up recently recorded that the past few months have been some of the hottest in Human history. This resulted in the major heat waves recorded in France and wildfires throughout Spain and other regions of Europe. Appel survived at least. (Appel's note: I barely did. I swear my room turned into a sauna.) The endless war against the sea was held at a truce as both parties attempt to get a break.
 * Chaos continues to descend on Hong Kong as protestors against recent transactions from mainland China, were suddenly and viciously attacked by hundreds of masked men leading to injuries as the men beat protestors with various tools. The Hong Kong police force has not investigated the matter, intervened and in some locations opened barricades to allow the men to attack protestors.


 * Mueller took to the stand following requests to further dwell into his investigation. Mueller went to explain despite difficulty with the panel who aggressively targeted him that the President has not been exonerated. That further looks into conviction and trial should be looked into following his presidency. This has further galvanized Democrat efforts to consider impeachment but as of now, there's no guarantee.

Popculture

 * Famous Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has died at the age 75 due to an unspecified illness. While Hauer earned his worldwide fame by starring in the science fiction thriller Blade Runner as the main antagonist Roy Batty, he began his career in the Netherlands where he better remembered for his writing and acting roles in Floris, Turkish Delight, and Soldier of Orange. Hauer also starred in numerous low budget films and tv series. But whether you know him as the heroic knight Floris or the deep and complex Roy Batty, it can't be denied that Huaer has left his mark on pop culture.
 * Rapper Rakim Athelaston Mayers, better known as ASAP Rocky, has been arrested in Sweden for assault after he posted two videos of him and his entourage beating up one Mustafa Jafari while on tour. While it was Jafari who began the attack, Swedish police ruled that it was self-defense after one of ASAP Rocky's guards grabbed him by the neck. In response, several artists, and fans of Rocky have called for a boycott in Sweden. In a strange turn of events, President Donald Drumpf supported ASAP Rocky in a tweet and offered the Swedish government money should they let him go. The Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven has declined the offer. The trail will take place on 30 July. (To be updated)


 * Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 has been arson attacked, killing 35 and injuring 34. Among the dead there were color designer Naomi Ishida, animator, scriptwriter, and director of Lucky Star, Full Metal Panic, and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Yasuhiro Takemoto, Akira and Clanned animator Yoshiji Kigami is still missing. The exact motives of the perpetrator is as of yet unknown, though reports claim that he yelled that the studio plagiarized his work during the attack. Japanese law enforcement is currently unable to question the arsonist as he is currently being treated at the hospital, and is under sedation. The attack is one of the deadliest massacres in Japanese history since the end of World War II and the deadliest building fire in Japan since the Myojo 56 building fire in 2001. If you wanna help the victims and families of those involved you can donate some money here.
 * Belle Delphine, one of the more famous e-girls, has put up a rather peculiar product for sale on her website. Among the t-shirts, stickers, and posters, fans of Delphine could for a limited time only buy a jar of her bathwater. The item was so popular that it sold out within two days. While the website claimed that this was solely for "sentimental purposes" that didn't stop some of her fans from drinking her bathwater and getting sick because of it. This wouldn't be the first time Delphine has done something to troll the internet as she once made a PornHub account where she only uploaded videos with a misleading title and thumbnail (i.e. "BELLE DELPHINE PLAYS WITH HER PUSSY" where she just plays a plush cat).


 * San Diego Comic-Con happened and as usual, a lot of new series, seasons, and movies got announced. Marvel revealed that there will be new entries in the Doctor Strange, Thor, and Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as new entries such as Blade, Chang-Shi, and Black Widow. There will also be quiet a few MCU related series on the upcoming Disney streaming service, Disney+. Other significant announcements include Star Trek: Picard which focuses on the titular star fleet captain, a Watchmen adaptation for the small screen, and series adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

The Film Bros Best of the Month

 * Upcoming: As the blockbuster season begins to wind down, we've still got a few exciting releases to look forward to. Most notable of these is Hobbs and Shaw, a spin-off of the Fast and Furious franchise starring two of it's most popular characters: Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, as they're forced to team-up and defeat Idris Elba. It's directed by David Leitch (of John Wick and Deadpool 2 fame), which means it will almost certainly be a rollicking good time. Those looking for thrills of the spooky variety will be excited for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the adaptation of the smash-hit series of young adult horror novels, or 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, the sequel to the surprisingly okay shark thriller from 2017. And for the kids, we've got Angry Birds 2 and Dora and The Lost City of Gold, which will certainly be something.
 * Small Screen Success: A surprisingly light month for the big networks and streaming giants. To start out the month, Netflix rung in the 4th of July with Stranger Things 3, the 3rd season of the smash hit sci-fi/horror/adventure 80s throwback. While I felt it was a bit of a stepdown from the previous seasons, it was still nice to see the people of Hawkins again. The other major streaming release was Amazon Prime's The Boys, a crass, violent satire of superheroes bySupernatural showrunner Eric Kripke adapted from the very good comic series by Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson. It takes a few liberties with the comic, but it's still a well-acted, well-made blast that's definitely not for the squeamish. As for regular television, well...Legion's still pretty great, isn't it?
 * Frankly, a light month is fine by me, but with the Emmy nominations out my official recommendation is to check out some of the frontrunners there. Barry, obviously, has the full endorsement of Cfp and I, alongside great works such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, This is Us, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, When They See Us, Last Week Tonight, and Chernobyl. As for the shows that were sadly snubbed, the biggest ones may be True Detective, which had a standout run and was rewarded with a measly one nomination for Mahershala Ali, Daredevil, which was an incredible highpoint of the sadly departed Netflix Marvel collabs, and I Think You Should Leave, which had some of the best sketch comedy since Key and Peele went off the air. But hey, they found space to heap the most nominations ever on the final season of Game of Thrones!

Leo's Weeb Corner
It's your least favorite laconic weeb here to give a brief rundown of any anime I've picked up recently. This month has been a pair of new seasonal anime, Symphogear XV and To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts. Without further ado:


 * Symphogear XV: The most GAR Magical Girl anime this side of Nanoha is going true to form. There's lots of badass singing, lots of badass action, and some fucking crazy plot twists even in the first four episodes. Unlike most prior seasons, the enemies are weaker than the main team, and are fighting back using psychology and tactical know-how. Hopefully this gives best girl more screentime, because that's her department. Basically, if you've watched the first four seasons, you'll like this one. If you haven't, stop everything and watch them.


 * To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts: A monster-of-the-week drama, taking place in the Wild West with the serial numbers filed off and a bit of fantasy injected into it. Its anti-war message is a little on the nose - the soldiers literally turn into monsters and lose their humanity. Regardless, it's still got some good action sequences and one of the better crazy villains I've seen. Even if I have to wonder why the MC didn't see being betrayed by a dude named Cain Madhouse.

That's all I've got; I might be checking out Fire Force, Cop Craft, and Granblem in the coming months, so stay tuned. Or don't; doesn't really matter.

Birthdays
Will it be your birthday this month? Tell us in the comments and we'Il add you to the list. Happy birthday!
 * Jackythejack will be turning 18 on the 20th.
 * BeastMan14 will be turning 22 on the 20th.