By: Michael McCarrick, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, mqm5415@psu.edu

Bored with conventional TV programs? Then explore a more creative part of fiction with the big colorful world of anime and check out the anime club. Now sure, most students used to traditional animation will probably cringe at how weird and violent the content in anime shows can be, but it should be noted that those who grew up watching cartoons like Pokemon, Powerpuff Girls, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, might not realize that those were American shows influenced by Asian anime culture.

The club is comprised of a small group of students who sit back and watch their favorite anime show with the dialogue redubbed to sound more hilarious on a Youtube channel. Attack on Titan, a brilliant, yet depressing, anime show about a war between giant “Titan” monsters and a young group of soldiers defending their city, has its dialogue redubbed from intensely serious to laugh-out-loud funny. Another club meeting presented an anime which also does the same dialogue dub in Tokyo Ghoul Abridge; another dark anime about supernatural diseases spreading into humans and turning them into creatures (creatures who, of course, can grow out tentacles, because it’s anime).

Anime club leader and student Julia Gallagher perfectly simplifies the purpose of the club which is,“to watch anime.”

She followed that up with the statement, “I don’t force people to watch certain anime, it’s more of a place to relax, and they can still go on computers and do their own thing.”

So even if a student isn’t interested in watching anime they can still get some privacy in the dark room and work on any of the computers available. Students are allowed to choose pretty much whatever anime they want to because of the vast archive of anime available on YouTube and Crunchyroll. Those who aren’t as experienced in the genre can get help from the club members who can recommend shows to watch and try to make sense out of it.

For older students who might have grown up watching Cartoon Network shows like Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Dragon Ball Z, they can visit the anime club to rediscover the genre that inspired their childhood and become more enlightened by those type of cartoons.

Club meetings take place every Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in room 205 in the Main Building. If there’s a place that is perfect for unwinding and being entertained for a little while during a busy day, it’s the anime club.

By: Jake Gibbons, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, jmg6173@psu.edu

I’d like to begin by saying that I’ve never had any serious experience with the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and my knowledge of the series before I began was limited to the ranting and raving of friends and relatives and about five cumulative minutes of total seat time spread out across a the years since the series’ conception. So, after being subjected to an especially long and almost violent rant given by my close friend about the latest title, Unity, I decided now is the time to try the game for myself and see just what eight titles worth of hype is actually like.

Unity is the latest game in the series, and the second one to appear on next-generation consoles (PS4/Xbox One). The story follows Arno Dorian, a son of a nobleman, during the heat of the French Revolution in the late 18th century. After Arno’s father is killed, he learns that his father was part of a secret and ancient order of assassins, which he must join in order to uncover the true force behind the revolution and defeat the Assassins’ rival faction, called the Templars.

The story is littered with history, merging real world events and historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and King Louis XVI with a fictional sort of sub-storyline. Overall, it’s an interesting theme, but not much else; the narrative is fairly weak and at the end you don’t really care about what happens to Arno one way or the other. The Assassins and the Templars are a long standing theme of the series, and the game is presented as though you are a descendant of the Assassin bloodline in the present and have to use a Templar developed system to access past memories and develop the story. It’s all sort of confusing and, honestly, a bit silly.

As this is a next-gen game the developers of Unity intended to use every ounce of the new consoles’ processing power, and it shows. The game is a gorgeous thing to behold, each district of Paris pulsing with life, all with a distinct feel and culture that oozes from every wall of every home, church, and palace. There are a number of side missions in Unity (which you’ll want to play) which help to define them even more; things like murder mysteries, heists, assassination contracts, or entirely separate subplots. The character customization is strong too, with a slew of weapons, armor, color schemes, abilities, and equipment to suit individual play style, from stealthy tactician to haphazard barnstormer.

Though the game looks amazing, playing it isn’t as rewarding. Before you actually start the game for the first time, there are nearly seven gigabytes of patches and fixes to install, and even with those in place, the gameplay is still shaky at best, with a lot of frame skips, glitches, and general awkwardness, especially with the game’s free running system, which never really gets your character to do exactly what you want. This, coupled with torturous loading screens, makes it feel like a remastered PS3 game instead of a brand new title.

Multiplayer is where Unity really begins to come alive.  Four players can freely roam Paris and complete jobs together, or a player can jump right into another’s solo session and request assistance. Each online mission follows a separate storyline as well for some added depth to the online play. This system is all new for Unity and it serves as an excellent framework for all future titles to be based on.

Sadly, I cannot compare this game seriously to the others in the series, and sadly, I have only a finite amount of space to tell about Unity. After playing it, I feel like raving for hours like my friend did to me before I experienced it.

Since I can’t do that, just think of it like this: everything it does well, it really does well, and everything it does wrong it really does wrong.

If they keep the good and ditch the bad, the next installment will be the stuff of legend.

By: Alexandria Hatchett, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, anh5454@psu.edu

On January 22, the Student Affairs Office sold tickets to see the film Selma for $2 at the AMC Painter’s Crossing Theatre in West Chester.

Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma is an historical drama about the march to secure the African American’s right to vote. The march was from Selma to Montgomery and led by Dr. Martin Luther King.

The film took place in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement. Selma is number eight at the Box Office, and so far brought in over $39 million.

DuVernay was inspired to create the film from her memories as a child during the summer in a small town close to Selma. Because of this film, she is the first black female director to be nominated for both the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Picture.

When asked why the Student Affairs Office decided to sell the tickets to the Brandywine students, Director Ronika Money explained that, “[it] would be good for our students to watch.”

Many students are not aware of Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and of how much he sacrificed for equality. Money was “moved by the story and its authenticity.” The film brought attention to the struggles southern blacks faced daily. The Student Affairs Office believed that this film’s timing was perfect. This year marks the 50 years since the march from Selma to Montgomery.

In an interview with Melissa Harris-Perry, John Lewis stated, “America is a different America because of Selma (the town).” One of the marchers present was John Lewis, now a U. S. Congressman and Democratic Representative from Georgia. At 74 years old, he is the only living “Big Six” leader from the Civil Rights Movement.

He was also an activist for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Played by Stephen James in Selma, Lewis was a college student when he became active in the Civil Rights Movement. During that time, there were many other college students who stood up for their rights. This just shows that at any age one can make a difference in their communities and even the nation.

The Atlantic City Convention Center held the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival, also known as Celebration of the Suds, on April 4-5.  More than 100 breweries gathered from all over the country for the two-day sold out event.

Some people attended to see the wonderful live music provided, while others wanted to sample the different types of beers and ciders available.  And yet a couple people just wanted to experience something different.

“Not only was the music enjoyable, but also the whole festival was an overall great experience,” Raquel Given said.  “With the stage being right in the middle and being surrounded by unlimited beer samples, I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”

I walked from the Trump Plaza where I was staying and as I was walking, I noticed huge groups of people heading toward the Atlantic City Convention Center. Many groups were dressed in themes. Many had the same t-shirts on and others wore costumes. Some of the various costumes included a beer keg, sailor, captain of a ship and German beer girls.

When I walked inside the Convention Center, I noticed something amusing: people had yarn around their necks, and around the yarn, were pretzels.  I said to myself, “If I come next year I know what is going around my neck.” It was such a great idea. Why spend four dollars for a hotdog when you can bring pretzels around your neck, which also pairs really well with beer.

I noticed people were gathering around a booth after we handed in our tickets and got our IDs checked. They were handing out little plastic beer mugs that were about four ounces. Since I’ve never been to an event like this, I liked the idea.

Upon walking in, Shock Top was the first beer stand I saw. I love Shock Top Raspberry Wheat Beer so I decided to get that first. Walking around while sipping on that, there was so much to take in. From the familiar brands of beers and ciders to the local, unfamiliar brands, there was so much to try. Some of the familiar brands included Anchor Brewing, Dogfish, Flying Fish, Magic Hat, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Victory, Woodchuck Ciders, Yards and Yuengling.  I sampled all of the new summer flavors some of the companies were releasing. I would have to say that my favorite that I sampled at the event and I even went back for thirds, was Woodchucks Apple Blueberry Cider.

The Saturday afternoon session featured the one band I have been very eager to see. The Dirty Heads closed out the afternoon with their reggae/hip hop vibes. I’ve been listening to them for a while now and it was my chance to finally see them live. They really put on a great show to close out the first Saturday session.

In all, it was a great, fun experience and a chance to get a huge group together to go out and try new brews that you or your friends would not normally try on a night out at the bar. I know I will definitely get a group together to go again next year.

Chelsea Ebling

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, cme5177@psu.edu

It’s an opportunity to wine and dine in Media!

More than 20 restaurants participated in Media Restaurant Week from Sunday, March 9^th until Thursday, March 13^th. Participating restaurants offered three to five course meals for just $30.00.

The one restaurant I’ve always wanted to try was Picasso, located on State Street. My coworkers and I have ventured in there after work for drinks but I’ve never known anyone who has tried the food.

The layout is very open and modern. In the summertime, they have a glass wall in the front of the restaurant that they open and there is outside seating.  The bar is very well lit, showcasing the beers and liquor.  The restaurant has 13 beer taps, which are always interchanging, along with wines, cocktails and bottled beers.

During Media Restaurant Week, Picasso put together a separate menu. It offered a choice of soup or salad, an appetizer, a choice of one of two entrées and a choice of dessert.

I picked the salad, which had mixed greens, plum tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette. The next course I chose a flatbread that was on the special menu. The flatbread consisted of arugula, gorgonzola, prosciutto and fig with a balsamic reduction. It was very sweet and I love how well gorgonzola pairs with sweet things, like honey.  My brother chose the grilled calamari for this course and I tasted it and the olive oil, lemon and chili peppers made it very flavorful.

For the entrée course, diners could either pick the fish of the day or the free range chicken breast. Since I am a huge fish fan, I went which the fish of the day, which happened to be grilled swordfish topped with a dragon fruit and mango salsa. The swordfish was also served with asparagus and potatoes. The plate was so full of flavor and the salsa worked really well with the fish. My brother chose the chicken, which was stuffed with sundried tomatoes, manchego cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and served with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. He must have enjoyed it because by the time I looked at his plate, it was clean.

While enjoying the meal, there was live acoustic music playing in the front, which made the meal relaxing. The artist played popular music as well as music he has written.

Other patrons agreed with me.  This meal was great.

“Well four courses for $30.00 was a great way for me to try new things off the menu I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise,” Brittany Maloney said.

Picasso is open Tuesday through Sunday with live acoustic sessions on Tuesdays and live music on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chelsea Ebling

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, cme5177@psu.edu