By now you've probably heard about the death by cardiac arrest of Micheal Jackson. My "inbox" was inundiated with journals on the subject. The sad thing is that despite the fact that someone died, most people have chosen to take the opportunity for pedophile jokes. This pisses me off for a couple of reasons. One: A person died, and I personally was raised to show at least a little sensitivity in these matters. Two: Have you ever wondered why he was found innocent? IT WAS A PUBLICITY STUNT! It was engineered! The first time this happened it was near the end of his prime in 1993. "Dangerous" was about to come out and there was not a lot of quality, hit making material on it. Then this first scandel happened. Micheal was accused of molesting a little boy and breach of contract against said little boys family for trying to withhold a promised contribution towards the boys medical bills. (F.Y.I. Jacko withheld the funds because the family turned out to have plenty of money.) In the end the molestation charges were dropped (And the family convicted of purgeory over them) and The agreed upon amount was paid for the Medical bills. They do NOT let you settle out of court over child molestation, by the way. The free publicity from the incident drummed up the sales of Dangerous to near Thriller levels. MIkey learned somethin'. Soooo over the next decade he stayed crazy. Because how else is an aging pop star with no ideas left and a Disease that's dissolving his natural pigmentation as well as deteriorating the cartilage in his face (Vitiligo) gonna stay in the spotlight? In 2001 M.J. was getting ready to release his first album in nearly a decade. Thanks to mounting debt he needed good sales. So he invited kids with psychological problems to his house. Naturally he got accused of molestation. His plan? To get found innocent in what was sure to be the most entertaining trial in history thereby drumming up sales for an album thats single featured vocals by Chris frikkin Tucker! Why was there was no way he could be found guilty? Because every single room in neverland ranch was being monitored by a third party security firm! Even the bathrooms! Now before you say, "Ewwww! Perverted!" The Jacko covered that base. He never had access to the footage. Only the firm did. Unfortunately for him, The Los Angeles court decided to hold a closed court, and although he moonwalked into court everyday and even tried to have Kermit the Frog testify on his behalf, It didn't get as wacky as hoped. And although He was found innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt in court, he was found guilty in the court of Leno/Letterman and would never regain his former popularity as anything but a boy hungry joke. In closing, Yes, Micheal, you made some mistakes, turned into Skeletor, and ran out of talent, but "Beat it" was awesome and you will be missed.

----To: Micheal Jackson----Not a pedo, just crazy.--

Now on to happier things like... LISTIES!!!

------------THE 10 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS IN MANGA/ANIME!!!-------------

10) Lupin the Third. A simple red (or green!) sport coat and black slacks, along with his lanky build and awesome side-burns come together to make him one of the most iconic characters in anime history!

9) Vash the stampede. Red leather duster? Check. Little round sunglasses? Check. Lots and lots of buckles? check. Big Fugging Gun? Oh, hell yes check. in an anime full of awesome looking characters, he was the awesome lookingest.

8) Straw Hat Luffy. Once again, in a world of absolute insanity, Simplicity stands out. Luffy's rubbery movements and simple red vest with cut off shorts represent Luffy's carefree attitude perfectly. And leave ample room for flowing bad-assery at fight time!

7) Edward Elric. Ah, the white gloves. The white gloves that serve the duel purpose of hiding Ed's shame and complimenting his powerful red coat. On the back of which is the a modfied caduceus, the symbol of medicine, science and alchemy.

6) Soul Reapers. I can't choose a single soul reaper because they all essentially wear the same thing. But I have to include them for three reasons: One: The way Kubo makes every one unique depite being uniform is nothing short of brilliant. Two: Their all black design and flowing quality makes it a perfect medium for showing movement in action scenes. and Three: If I failed to include it this guy, would kill me. In my sleep. With spider poison.

5) Goku. Oh Goku, you trend setter you! You, the purveyor of spikey hair, wild color combinations and unstoppable optimism who inspired so many others! Forever shall you be in our hearts and on our action figure shelves.

4) Naruto. Yes, while Naruto was inspired by Goku his design, in my humble opinion, he surpasses it. Yes, he's a Ninja who wears prison orange, but it looks functional. Like a heavy canvas, thats tough but baggy and easy to move in. And when his jacket opens there is chainmail underneath it. Also, that thick headband is perfect for shading his eyes when he's pissed. On a personal note, I think Kishimoto is the best character designer working today. Is there really ANY bad designs in the series? From Kakashi to Habichi they are all iconic.

3) Kaneda. Although the character is from the 80's (Akira, BTW) and his look screams it (As well as, "TETSUOOOOO!!!"), Is there any cooler look than a red leather bike suit with a big pill on the back? I have two of his action figures. So I could take one outta the package. Hell yes.

2) Vampire Hunter D. A character in novels, his on screen persona was developed by Yoshitaka Amano of Final fantasy fame. D is one of the most striking characters to ever come out of the medium. And he is also the reason why a lot of Otaku from my generation are Otaku to begin with. When this guy first came on screen on TNT monster-vision all those years ago, I knew I was hooked.

1) Captain Harlock. [link]
Seriously. Every nobel pirate, every scarred anti-hero,Every black wearing bad-ass with a heart of gold owes something to this guy. From his traditional navy uniform, only black and skull adorned, to his black, red lined high collar cape, everything about Leji Matsumoto's greatest creation screams, "Fugging Awesome."

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Tha Biscuit Manga update:
Naruto: Ha! Tobi says Naruto is stronger than Sasuke! Woot!
(Also, the latest episode of the anime made me sympathize with Orochimaru. Now I feel dirty...)

One Piece: BON CLAY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Bleach. Ukitake is awesome when he's not being sick.

Later days!