Anime Blog Online

Archive for September, 2009

Original screencap count: 160
After 1st pruning run: 110
After 2nd pruning round: 90
Final screencap count: 86

So yeah, very loaded post for Bakemonogatari 12. Holy shit this was an awesome episode for the Hitagi x Koyomi fans.

God. damned. Cockteasing!

The inspiration of this post title.

HAHAHAHAHA WHAT! Mr. Senjougahara’s driving them ヽ( >∀< )ﾉ AHAHA AHAHA AHAHAHAHA

Sure starting to look like THE FIRST DATE FROM HELL here.

Oh god really, having the father tag along is just so weird.

You sure don’t just seem to like teasing him, it’s more like you absolutely love teasing him (and us the viewers too).

A…A…Are you i…i…implying something there, Senjougahara?! (；ﾟдﾟ)

Ouch, Araragi.

W….wha….??!! H…h…how?!!!

FFFFFFFFFFFFF

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

WHAT IS THIS I DON’T EVEN

ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ　ＯＲＺ

Waaaaaaaaait!!!! Don’t leave us alone like this!!!!! What am I supposed to talk with my girlfriend’s father on our first daaaaaaaate?!!!!

し￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣～～～～ん

Oh fuck. IT’S GENDOU! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII……..!

Wait does that mean he’s been given approval?

Oh finally, saved!

(;´Д｀) oh god that’s just so touching.

｡･ﾟ(ノД`)ﾟ・。 ｡･ﾟ(ノД`)ﾟ・。 ｡･ﾟ(ノД`)ﾟ・。 ｡･ﾟ(ノД`)ﾟ・。 oh god I BAWWW’ed.

( *=‿=*) moeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~~~~~~

And an episode to remember for all of us too!

Oh god, that was really a great final episode for Bakemonogatari. I really didn’t expect this to happen since Tsubasa Cat just started, but it seems they decided to put that on hold and dedicate this episode to the greatness that is Senjougahara. Fitting enough, since she’s been quite missing throughout Nadeko Snake.

While Nadeko’s extremely moe-moe huggable, but Bakemonogatari w/o Senjougahara just feels odd. And SHAFT surely did us all a good turn here by giving us this great episode for us.

What I really find touching the most is how Senjougahara opens up to Araragi so honestly; as Araragi puts it in the opening text, ‘laying out all her cards’. I find this as the final confirmation of her trust towards Araragi, to the point she manages to admit she’s still scared of sexual contact after the traumatic incident in her childhood, but she is willing to overcome it just for him. It’s just such a touching admission and I must say I shed a few tears when she did so.

Also, Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari sure cemented itself in my list of emotionally-impacting songs. The lyrics just seem to reflect on this particular scene and I wonder now… was the song written with this scene in mind or vice-versa. Nevertheless, every time I hear it now, I’ll be reminded of this starry first date between Araragi and Senjougahara.

Finally, there’s still 3 more episodes of Bakemonogatari, to be aired via webstream. I really want to see how Tsubasa Cat plays out to warrant an additional 3 episodes with SHAFT going to the trouble of webcasting it instead of cutting it down to size or dropping it entirely.

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.
Go to Source

So…. after nearly 20 mins of YURI OVERWHELMING (”It’s starting to feel awkward calling each other by our last names.”), we’re treated to an extended trailer of Saki S2: The Nationals. WTF IS WITH THE MIKOS AND THE COSPLAYERS #$$##@$@!#%#@$!!! As if the show wasn’t already ridiculous enough already…. oh well, nopan mikos. And really…. the effects are getting more and more overboard. I sure hope it’s just Gonzo!

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.
Go to Source

This past few days I was wondering what’s with the Angeburger meme…. then I remembered this;

LAMBDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)(╬ ಠ益ಠ)

(;´Д｀)(;´Д｀)(;´Д｀) Ange….. dur hurr hurr

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.
Go to Source

Those are True Tears btw.

woah, the resemblance between Kurosawa and Hei didn’t occur to me until I saw this fanart, looks-wise and otherwise.

I’ve been putting off reading Onani Master Kurosawa for the longest time now (as with the rest of my backlogs), and a rather unexpected turn of events finally got me to stop bumming around and actually read it. I’m not done yet (about 10 more chapters to go! hurray slowness!) and won’t get to until after I get back from the camp I’ll be attending for the whole of next week, but right now I can say I AM LOVING IT.

Who would’ve thought that this would turn out to be a coming-of-age story. Or more like, cumming-of-age. Feel free to quote me on that. For a manga whose premise runs around a guy with a fetish for cumming in the girls’ bathroom, I sure didn’t see that coming. Disregarding all the tweets and posts about it of course. I remember when Shinn introduced this way back when, and my impression could be summed up in three letters: W.T.F. with a “wow Japan, you never cease to amaze me with your creativity” snarky side-comment. “Disgusting” was enough for me to describe it. And boy was I so wrong.

There seems to be an unspoken rule when it comes to animes and mangas, that when you see the protagonist deep in his thoughts, with delicious stream-of-consciousness all over the place, expect that something magical is going happen sooner or later. Stream-of-consciousness with potent thoughts, of course, not simply of fappery and whim. It’s like a surefire sign that this character will grow up from being someone trapped in his own world, his own skewed narrow thoughts, to someone who gets to discover the vast world outside the confines of his mind — a Bildungsroman in the making.

Owen mentioned before that “guys reading [Onani Master Kurosawa] > girls reading this simply because girls would never be able to understand what it feels like”, and while I do agree with that to some extent (yes I have never fapped in my life, and will never understand how guys are hardwired with the said ‘function’), I’d say OMK holds within it a power that transcends gender. You think the OMK catharsis can only happen to guys? Think again.

OMK was, for me, an Ode to Introverts, a drug or remedy to those who, at some point, confined themselves to their own introverted shell. People who once regarded themselves as different from anyone else, set apart, either placing themselves on a pedestal so high they end up thinking “Hmph, I don’t need to mingle with you stupid commoners!”, or a burrow so low all they see are shadows of self-pity, “I’m a pathetic weak coward; I can’t mingle with people, I’ll never be good enough” — unable to embrace the simple truth that they’re lonely, that they’re thirsty for the company of people just like any normal person, and that all they need to do is to step out of that dark and dreary burrow also known as the stall in the girls’ bathroom in the semi-deserted 1st building.

Most of these people consider themselves different from all the lowlifes (in a condescending way), when the truth is, they wouldn’t want to be hated by these very people either.

This one scene in chapter 25 resonated with me so much I cried buckets of tears while I was reading it… catharsis through and through. “One little act of kindness could be enough to save a life” — that’s what I saw at work here. Responsibility and redemption are said to be two sides of the same coin, and Kurosawa stands as a testament to that.

I might be spoiling things a little bit too much here, so I’d just say: READ IT. More so if you’re a guy, which can make this both a really painful and even more powerful reading. I’m also pressed for time here since I have to head to the airport in less than an hour (by the time of this writing, which is the 27th of September), so as much as I want to babble about this a bit more, talk about this in an Diary of an Anime/Manga Lived style, I’m afraid I don’t have the time to do so. I’ll make sure to write about this once I come back. If you have suggestions as to how you want me to blog Onani Master Kurosawa, please do so

Ja mata! Off to discover how much more vast the world is with this week-long Christian youth camp I’m attending, gonna meet people from all over the country and all that jazz. I might not be a Magister just yet, though I want to follow her footsteps (not in the ‘giving someone false hopes and breaking his heart’ sense obviously), change for the better, till my Hontou no Jibun is finally one with my Naritai Jibun. Oh and yes I can see Shugo Chara in Onani Master Kurosawa.

Kurosawa’s pimp, signing off!

---

Credits to べあん・しどぅ for the Kurosawa fanart

No related posts.

Go to Source

Reporting for the recently concluded WordCamp Philippines 2009 last Saturday o>

I totally failed at giving the heads up about this early on in the blog, unlike last year. It was already too late by the time I realized I wasn’t able to inform hazy and Zeroblade about this, the two blogger friends I went with last year OTL

I ended up going to the event by myself, broke out of my anti-social shell, met new people and chatted up a bit with them during lunch and during the afternoon sessions. As an anime blogger (gotta wonder if I was the only anime blogger there) who’s still not in the know about the Filipino blogosphere, I was surprised to know that the girl I was seated to next during the lunch buffet was a prominent travel blogger. Nina Fuentes of Just Wandering. It was an honor

The Talks

The event itself was great, a learning experience for me yet again. Danny Arao’s talk, especially, was awe-inspiring. He zoomed in on responsible blogging, juxtaposing blogging with journalism, just like last year, with a focus on the upcoming 2010 national elections this time around. Even those who are apathetic to politics could leave the talk inspired and filled with insights.

Mr. Arao told us of the power we have as bloggers to shape public opinions, “a minority (considering bloggers only comprise about 2.5% of the population), but a force to reckon with”. “Blogs wield considerable power and influence”, he says, measured in terms of PageRank, Alexa, technorati authority, feed readers (or readership in general), linkage, among others. With this sphere of influence, bloggers could said to intervene by providing breaking news (one tweet is all it takes!), social commentary, mainstream media monitoring (bloggers as watchdogs of watchdogs, promoting responsible journalism), and fact checking, and in turn, be able to promote social change.

*in before Blogging is SRS BSNS comments*

Journalism, politics and social change talk aside, this also applies to small-fry anime bloggers like you and me. For as long as you have readers, you already are being an influence — you make your readers laugh, make them think, make them cry, or make them rage. “Responsible Blogging” sounds like a heavy word, since responsibility tends to be equated with burdensome or Serious Business, but in the end, it all boils down to being accountable to whatever we write or say on the internets.

Drawing the line between responsible and irresponsible blogging in the anime community is tricky because we can always give the excuse that “we’re only talking about 2D stuff”, “this is the internets and it’s got nothing to do with real life”, “this is my blog and I can do whatever I want with it”, so we shouldn’t be subjected to whatever standards. We can also get so bogged down by so-called blogging conventions and end up treating blogging as a chore. But all that said, having standards is good, for you and your readers. “Because people (readers) deserve no less”, as Mr. Arao said.

It’s a constant battle, having to fight your inner blogging standards demons to avoid blogging burnout, but for as long as we’re flexible, understand that taste and blogging style can change through time (while keeping standards in mind), evolve, all’s good. Realizing that taking a break from time to time, to actually consume anime and mangas than write about them, is good too.

Responsible blogging in the anime ’sphere can be as simple as “Don’t be pretentious, don’t pretend to know what you’re talking about when you really don’t”, you owe it both to your readers and to yourself.

If you’re trying to build credibility and authority, setting standards and practicing responsible blogging is a MUST. As Mr. Arao told us, “Don’t be irresponsible for the sake of having readers”. You can’t just say, “sorry readers, whatever I’ve been doing in the past is just a shtick to attract your attention, time for the real show ” and expect people to listen to you without questioning your credibility. Your name and blogging identity is what you make it.

Impz mentioned in a comment one time that the problem with writing on the internet is the lack of gatekeeper. “Anything can go out without restrictions” — a very tempting sorry excuse to be lazy and be irresponsible. But please please please, don’t say you are lazy datte hontou wa crazy. Having a blog is not enough. Don’t just blog, blog with a sense of purpose, that’ll be more fulfilling in the long run too.

WordPress In The Wild

have a break, have a piccie

For the WordPress geeks, this one’s for you. Then again if you’re a WP geek you most likely know this now.

Marku Seguerra’s WordPress in the Wild was a talk full of tips — tips on deployment, performance, optimization, and security, in particular. Here goes my summary:

Deployment
- should be simple, fast and secure
- only download from wordpress.org, for security purposes (no hacked codes)
- ssh/sftp is the way to go. Make ftp the last option, since it’s vulnerable to sniffing.

Performance
- use Super Cache!
- offload content to other sites, e.g. flickr or photobucket for photos, youtube for videos
- use 3rd party comment platform, Disqus, Intense Debate, etc. (kinda hesitant to try this)

Optimization
“WordPress takes care of 80-90% of [the mechanics] of Search Engine Optimization”, says Matt Cutts of google

- Highlight Your Content (plugins etc):

• All in One SEO Pack (for your SEO needs)
• permalinks – including %postname% at the end of the permalink is recommended
• Analytics 360, Google Analyticator (offloading site traffic info to Google Analytics instead of relying on other plugins which could possibly make your database bloat)
• Google XML Sitemaps (Create an XML sitemap for your site and submit to search engines. Help google’s tentacles caress your site, in the words of Kabitzin)
• FD feedburner (feedburner is <3, feed subscribers even more <3)
• Broken Link Checker for checking broken links in your posts (I have to go get this)

Security
- Using RSS footer plugin to fight content theft
- Removing the default ‘admin’ username
- Hide WP version
- Securing /wp-admin/ with server passcode, through .htaccess (More on making wordpress hack-proof [->])
- WP Security Scan (scans your WP installation for security vulnerabilities)
- Don’t forget yer backups! Use WP-DB-Backup for scheduled regular backup, download backups to PC, burn to DVD.

Sugar n’ Spice and Everything That’s Not So Nice

As per Mr. Arao’s talk (pardon me for using this in a different context), we bloggers are supposed to be watchdogs, so yes, this post won’t be complete without both positive and negative comments about the talks.

On WordPress as the Ultimate Content Management System (CMS)

From the looks of the title, one would expect a discussion about content management system, how WordPress is considered the Ultimate CMS compared to the likes of Joomla, Drupal, or Textpattern, but there was a sore lack of CMS discussion.

What comprised the majority of the talk was Karla Redor’s demo of 3 premium WooThemes themes — how to tweak them to suit your CMS needs — not so much about CMS. Perhaps it was assumed that the audience already knows what a content management system is?

In the end, though, with the lack of comparison with other CMS platforms to show what the edge of WordPress is, it’s like it was assumed that since WordPress is the recommended CMS for non-php coders and/or html/css beginners (and since this is WordCamp, and it’s all about WordPress), we just have to embrace the fact that WordPress is the Ultimate CMS.

On Editorial Voice and Taste in Writing Tech

Jeff Villafranca gave the talk on Editorial Voice and Taste in Writing Tech, and even those who are not into tech blogging could actually relate to and learn from it. The talk was great (even if he doesn’t think so), it just so happens that all throughout the session, our speaker would give remarks as to how the audience doesn’t seem to be interested with his talk, that they’re all giving him blank stares (mainly due to the lack of oxygen in people’s brains after the Scrumptious lunch), that he’s going to finish the talk much sooner than he thought because the people were despondent. Ugh, it was horribly distracting.

His talk was meaty (something so self-explanatory that we tend to take it for granted), he had much blogging wisdom to share, but it was sad seeing him not believing in the audience who believes in him. There’s Murphy’s Law, “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”, and there’s also “when you feel like something will go badly (or get any worse than the situation you’re in atm), it tends to do just that.”

All that said, gonna share a bit of what I learned.

The need to create expectations for readers

While expectations is most often associated with pressure, it’s actually good. Why the heck would people want to read/visit/subscribe to your blog if they don’t expect anything out of it? And you, dear blogger (yes you), without expectations (reader expectations and your own expectations), what the heck are you living up to? Why even blog when you don’t expect anything out of blogging?

This scene from Cross Game episode 16 comes to mind with the mention of expectations:

Expectation drives action, also evolution. It gives you the drive to improve, to become better than you were yesterday. And, it allows your readers to have something to look forward to.

The way to create expectations [in blogging], according to Mr. Villafranca, is by writing with a consistent voice, by sticking to your guns. Also by maintaining the quality of your posts. By really getting into the bones of things and not f*cking it up. You build up credibility that way.

With digiboy’s Don’t F This Up series (born out of this hilarious meme c/o ghostlightning), he has managed to create the said expectation(s). Now people are looking forward to the series of posts he’ll be writing, all the while thinking, “Will he or will he not f*ck it up?”

Do keep in mind, however, that you should be setting reasonable expectations. I, for one, can’t expect that I’d be able to write in an intellectual masturbatory level like that of, say, Wabisabi, gaguri, kritik, Owen, ghostlightning, IKnight, the Superfani guys, 2DT too. Each of us have our own strengths, and we should learn to capitalize on that.

I just wonder though, what exactly do the readers of Scrumptious look forward to? Fangirl posts (I’ve been failing in fangirling as of late)? Posts of valuable insights (if there’s such a thing)? Nihongo stuff? Emo posts? Feminist rage? Lulz? Whatever the answer might be, I’ll just keep on writing…

The Inverted Pyramid

As the above slide states, the Inverted Pyramid is a style of writing in which the chunk of the post is presented first, followed by less important details. From what I understood, this is supposed to give the readers a clear idea of what you’re talking about early on. Adapting this style, however, will depend from blogger to blogger and the effect he/she wants to achieve. Each of us have our own blogging style after all.

From the looks of it, though, the invented pyramid technique is frowned upon, as it is said to be “less efficient when it comes to more elaborate web news”. It could also potentially lead to loss of readership, since readers can just stop reading at any point and no value of worth will be lost. Bashing it further, it is also said to be “an uninspired and artless form of journalism”, designed specifically for the print media to allow flexibility in omitting portions of the article when space becomes an issue.

The suggested style is either that of the tumbled pyramid or the hourglass. Or so that’s what they say. I’m pretty much clueless about this since I don’t really pay attention to the style and structure of my posts, heck I don’t even make outlines for my post before writing, hence the lack of coherence and organization in what I write heh.

Sourcing, Attribution, Linking and In-text Story Tagging

Crediting / linking to your sources, giving credit where its due — that’s basically it. In-text story tagging refers to linking to your own post/s, in case the readers are interested to read similar posts, or posts with the same subject matter.

Best case in point of this in the anime blogosphere? ghostlightning’s posts.

Matters of Taste

• The need for flexibility, understanding that taste evolves. (Just remember to stick to a stand despite the said changes in taste, having a set of principles you abide in.)
• Don’t do something just because someone else does it, don’t just mimic other people’s style. “Give it your own spin.”

The wise words of Ira Glass that the speaker shared with us:

“Do lots of work, put yourself on a deadline. Put yourself through a volume of work and close the gap between where you are and where you want it to be. Keep at it.”

“It takes a long time to get good.”

Great bloggers are not born overnight. It takes skill perhaps, but more importantly, it takes practice. If your writing sucks, keep on writing, find ways to improve and evolve. Humble yourself, be open to criticism. If blogging becomes a chore, then find ways to make it fun again. Don’t whine that this is easier said than done, just do it.

See: tips on storytelling from Ira Glass. It’s about storytelling, but applicable to blogging too.

There are two other tips on that list which I like:

“Just talk like yourself, be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else. Don’t imitate someone else, some famous personality. Talk like yourself.”

“Be interested in the world and the people around you. You are a part of the story, but don’t be the main part of the story.”

Be yourself, but also remember that it’s not all about you. Whether you like it or not, blogging is social, and the community that blogging fosters makes it a whole lot more fun and worthwhile. Don’t let the social aspect get to you so much, but don’t take it for granted either. Cherish your readership and comments, s-s-silly snob bloggers (snobloggers?)!

…and that’s it, this post has been long enough as it is. A big thanks to Mindanao Bloggers who once again made this WordCamp possible. Looking forward to next year!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If there’s going to be a battle for the most tl;dr WordCamp Philippines entry, I’m likely to win. That might not really be a bad thing, isn’t it?

---

Credits to danbooru, しらこむぎさん and chry for the piccies. Can’t find the artist for the other ones

Related posts:

1. RSS, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…
2. In an Effort to Bring Back Old Posts from the ‘Grave’
3. Beyond the Blogging Crossroad Part 2: Why I Blog

Go to Source

Actor Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Animatrix, Johnny Mnemonic) told MTV News that the proposed live-action Cowboy Bebop film project is currently being rewritten. During a press event for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee film, he said, “There’s a draft of the script, but the writer did such a great job [that] in order to make the movie, you would need half a billion dollars. […] So the studio went, ‘This movie is fantastic and it would cost half a billion dollars. So he’s doing a rewrite.” Reeves added that the producers are “just trying to pull it back” in scope, and “the only challenge was to make a satisfying western narrative.”

Source: Anime News Network.

You know what they should do? Just sign Josh Whedon on and make a Firefly x Cowboy Bebop crossover. That idea’s so radical it might just bloody work!

Imagine, Captain Reynolds squaring off with Spike…. River and Kaylee and Edward…. Faye and Inara sharing some ‘women’ stories. ヽ( >∀<)ﾉ AHAHA AHAHA AHAHAHAHA

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.
Go to Source

When we last left the Macross’s recon team they were fighting hand to hand inside a Zentradi ship in an attempt to rescue Misa. Overpowered by Commander Britai’s hand to hand fighting ability, the team puts up a good fight but eventually Hikaru, Kakizaki, and Misa are captured and Max sucked out a hull breach in his Valkyrie. Now the Zentradi attempt to learn more about their foes, and investigate possible links to a ‘protoculture’ in the humans. Get ready for CQC, kissu, and the original Macross music and fighting scene!

As Crusader put it, Captain Kirk ain’t got nothing on Britai.

Still the most dangerous man in known space.

Hikaru put up a valiant effort though.

Mecha bodyslam!

Britai counters with the Vader throw.

The three humans wake up inside the Zentradi equivalent of a bug jar, with Kakizaki apparently no worse for wear from that devastating hit that Britai landed on his VF-1 at the end of the previous episode. Misa gets the idea to take video while on board to bring back as intelligence, but then she and Hikaru get into a stupid argument first about whether it’s worth it to try and take advantage of the situation for recon, and then about whether women should be in the military. And soon, the Zentradi will learn the hard way not to underestimate Max, the Blue Baron, as he is clinging to the ship’s hull waiting for the right time to strike. Then the ship folds, to destinations unknown.

They should have added one of those little hamster water bottles and an exercise wheel.

Maybe Minmay’s ideas have gotten to him. Or this is just a case of 1980’s/Japan.

Misa would kick your ass if she didn’t need your help to escape. Wait till you get back to the Macross…

Britai and I are on the same wavelength, I facepalmed too.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: infiltrate the Zentradi ship, rescue the hostages, escape, and become an even bigger suave, yet deadly, badass.

Since fold travel has a time dilation effect, ten days have passed back on the Macross while only a few seem to have gone by on the Zentradi ship. The bridge crew first holds out hope that the recon flight’s communications gear is malfunctioning, but after several days Roy decides to tell Minmay that Hikaru is missing, on the eve of her debut. Her fame having exploded since the Miss Macross contest, Minmay is constantly preparing for her singing debut and participating in advertisements and interviews while worrying about Hikaru. Hikaru meanwhile has a flashback to before he left, where Minmay tells him about the debut. Teasing him like the cruel, fickle idol she is, she says that the title of her song “My Boyfriend is a Pilot” is kind of like a joke, as if their relationship was, and then proceeding to try to lure him along by saying that maybe she’ll give him a private show. Facepalm #2. Back on the Zentradi ship, the captives see that the ship has folded into the middle of a massive Zentradi fleet, with an asteroid base at its center.

Now don’t get emo now Minmay, you’re already plenty crazy.

Now they need a commercial for the UN Marines with Minmay going through a series of traps and fighting a lava monster. (Wow, that commercial was cheesier looking than I remembered.)

Hikaru: “Why Minmay that’s so nice of you, I’m glad we’ve firmly established our relationship.”

And you’re like, a bitch.

Space Fortress Apple Core.

The Zentradi ship then docks with the interior of the base so that Britai can present his captives to Supreme Commander Bodolzza of the 118^th Main Fleet. Max, now having entered the ship, is sneaking around the corridors trying to locate his comrades. As he’s nearly spotted he ducks into the nearest door, which happens to be to a bathroom. He’s then surprised by a Zentradi entering the room, but uses quick thinking to turn what could be misfortune into an advantage. Quickly kicking and then dispatching the Zentradi, he steals his uniform and leaves the body in the bathroom.

The stern was obviously influenced by some WWII Japanese aircraft carrier design.

As can be seen here with the aircraft carrier Akagi (picture from GlobalSecurity.org.)

Pic only tangentially related (Zero from the Akagi at Pearl Harbor) but hilarious enough that I had to share. Found this on the blog Ant Sized Man, which has some really cool models. Check it out.

He didn’t have a box to hide in.

Check for the idol pictures in the lockers Max!

Shhhhh, shhhh.

The three captives are then brought before Bodolzza for interrogation. There is a great deal of misunderstanding and confusion on the part of the Zentradi in the course of their questioning. For one, the Zentradi don’t understand the concept of civilians, finding meaning only in battle. To demonstrate their power, the Zentradi let their captives witness the orbital bombardment of a nearby world, making it uninhabitable. While Hikaru is willing to keep answering their questions, Misa refuses, and then bluffs the Zentradi based on their apparent confusion and perhaps fear of the humans. Elsewhere, Max continues to search for his comrades.

Excellent Britai, these figures are very detailed!

In the grim darkness of the 3rd millennium, there is only war.

Best dressed VF-1 since the Armor Pack version.

Are they using mass drivers?

DC on that bluff check?

Then things get weird when the Zentradi ask their captives how they came to be miclones and where they come from. Kakizaki embarrassed, tries to be subtle and mentions love and kissing and Hikaru points out that they are born from mothers. These concepts shock the Zentradi, who apparently are cloned or grown and whose men and women do not mix. Bodolzza then demands that the humans show them how this works, and threatens to kill Misa if two humans don’t kiss. After a momentary standoff since the only two free humans are straight men, Misa gets herself released and orders Hikaru to kiss her. The Zentradi are then both intrigued and freaked out, with Bodolzza leaving the room in terror.

MacBeth would have met an earlier end were he a Zentradi.

Obviously you’re not familiar with fanfiction.

Participating in experiments under pain of death ain’t cheatin.

Quarantine the room, the cooties could contaminate the whole ship!

The Zentradi then reconvene without the captives to discuss their findings. The Zentradi Genshiken reports their ‘warm’ feelings in their hearts while their commanders and archivist discuss possible links to a protoculture, a race that has spelled doom for any Zentradi that have encountered them. They suspect that the humans may be somehow part of this civilization, one that was lost when the Zentradi began to focus only on war and conquest. Meanwhile on the Macross Minmay makes her singing debut before an enthusiastic crowd, while Hikaru, Misa, and Kakizaku start planning for their escape, with another kiss as a distraction suggested by Hikaru, though initially opposed by Misa.

Max continues to stalk the corridors, finally locating his comrades.

It’s no Kimi ni Mune Kyun.

Practicing those trademark hand movements.

I’ve always wanted to see more of this great couple.

Everyone wants a Misa kissu!

Concluding their discussion, the Zentradi commanders decide to put some spies aboard the Macross to find out more about the humans and their society. Volunteering is the Genshiken boys, despite having to ‘endure’ being miclonized for the job they’re eager to once again encounter the civilians and those things that made their hearts warm. In their cell, the three UN soldiers are preparing their escape attempt and Hikaru and Misa kiss as the door opens for the approaching Zentradi. All are eager to return, and Misa has recorded important intelligence during their captivity.They are then surprised to find Max in his VF-1, who proceeds to epically mock them before giving them a lift.

The Society for the Study of Modern Miclone Visual Culture has been given an important mission.

A final secret episode of Big O with an ending that actually makes sense?

Max knows a decent couple when he sees it. Get in the other pocket you third wheel!

Troll on.

Hikaru X Misa is Max’s OTP.

Shortly after being freed Max’s cover is blown, and the escape turns from quiet exit to open close quarters combat. Once again the Blue Baron demonstrates his prowess in battle, easily handling some Zentradi hand to hand and then flying down the corridor to evade others. Just as Britai is being informed of their escape, Max’s VF-1 bursts through the viewscreen for awesomeness and epoch lulz. The chase continues after the Valkyries gets shot up and disabled, with the four splitting up into groups of 2 on foot.

Improvised weaponry.

Breaking and entering.

The Zentradi uniform just makes it look cooler.

Utilizing his VF-1 to the last, Max’s Valkyrie explodes to take out the pursuing Zentradi.

While on the run and trying to find the other group and a way out, Hikaru and Misa find what the Zentradi appear to use to miclonize themselves into human size. Running farther along, they’re noticed by a Zentradi who grabs Misa and knocks Hikaru back into a pile of rifles. Misa’s video recorder is destroyed during this, but Hikaru at least manages to somehow prop up a rifle (they use very light plastics/composites?) and kills the Zentradi soldier. Misa succumbs to a moment of despair when the recorder is broken, but her spirits are quickly restored by Hikaru’s determination to get everyone back.

Ah, I remember these from a particularly traumatic scene in Frontier.

Max’s rifle reminds me a lot of the stormtrooper rifles in the old Star Wars movies. You know, the good Star Wars movies.

The previously pointed out to me galactic dust bin.

He built it in a cave out of spare parts.

What is it about Hikaru that brings out the “pull yourself together man” moments with the girls?

After being pursued further through the station Hikaru and Misa end up falling into the lower reaches of the ship. In an area flooded do to poor maintenance, they make several observations about the Zentradi as well as talking about Misa’s past and Hikaru’s current romantic prospects with Minmay. Apparently the Zentradi have lost the ability to do proper repairs, focusing only on actual combat. Misa also observes that it’s sad that the Zentradi have lost their culture, lives away from military campaigns, and their civilization in the pursuit of power.

The Zentradi are lucky they didn’t shoot their captives, I thought the orders to recapture them still stood.

Misa with her hair down is definitely better than those cinnamon bun curls.

So this is a Russian Navy ship?

Early ambitions, dedication, a lineage of military service, top rank at the academy. It must only be her relative youth that has kept her from rising beyond Lieutenant.

Doesn’t seem so harsh to me.

Misa, along with Max, is highly adept at trolling/teasing. That expression says it all.

The Genshiken Team finishes their miclonization and is put into a capsule for insertion into the Macross, while the task of deploying them is given to Commander Laplamiz, the first female Zentradi we’re aware of up to this point. Meanwhile Hikaru and Misa follow the moving air to an exit, and meet up with Max and Kakizaki who were following the same route out. Seeing a ship being loaded with supplies, Max surmises that it will be leaving soon and the group takes a chance on boarding it. Fortunately for them it’s Laplamiz’s ship, taking them directly to the Macross. Onboard the commander assigns the task of inserting the spy team to her ace pilot Milia, who launches in a new Zentradi design while the ship’s forces create a diversion. To escape, the humans team up to operate the controls of a battle pod, blasting their way out of the hangar deck.

Loli Dosel?

Misa and Hikaru, delighted to find the other pilots.

MUCH better looking than their male counterparts. Not a weird deformity or terrible haircut to be found so far.

The Queadluun: pretty cool for a Zentradi design.

Inside the battle pod the crew notices a battle going on, and after figuring out the communications system the discover that they are in fact near the Macross. Meanwhile the battle takes place to Minmay’s singing of “My Boyfriend is a Pilot”, showing us the first of the Macross signature space battles set to pop music. After contacting the UN forces, the captured Zentradi battlepod is brought back in to the Macross.

Size differences certainly produce some interesting situations in this series.

That expression may be a little too much.

As long as you don’t sing Aimo.

Got a MAJOR Zeta Gundam vibe from the interior shots of Milia’s Queadluun.

Milia is quite the pilot, easily dispatching several Valkyries and quickly dropping off the spy team.

Finally returning safe and sound to the Macross. Well, except for that redshirt who piloted the Cats Eye.

Final Thoughts: – Max is just going to be unstoppable at this rate. Am I seeing the prototype or original version of the main male character not being the best pilot like in Frontier?

- I’m hoping Milia provides some Ace Combat in the future.

- Need more Roy and Claudia.

- What fun episodes. The Max infiltration and rescue parts, good hand to hand combat, the weirdness of the interrogation scene and how different the Zentradi really are.

Go to Source

Yun Yun had to do it over 9000 times to get it right…

Apologies for being late again, but once again duty calls and I have been called upon to clean up someone else’s mess. So after the conclusion of Liang Qi’s love it seems that Canaan is quite depressed after seeing Hakko throw her life away. Maria and Canaan’s relationship is now marred by insecurities on both sides. Canaan can’t make sense of her new emotions and Maria realizes that Canaan is a baby, albeit a very deadly baby. Minoru gets the three girls their very own private rail car on the deadliest train in the world, I hear the line ends at some sort of machine world but I have never been. Yun Yun made some SUGOI sandwiches but before they can have a picnic, long time passenger, the mysterious Maetel Alphard decoys Canaan away from Maria as she steals into Canaan’s seat. Alphard tells Maria what her purpose is and tells the truth about how Canaan is crude.Maria gives her thoughts on the matter and they both reach an understanding of sorts. Ever eager to be come a light that can shine on her own Maria accepts the task that Alphard gives her. Maria knows that her infidelity and ungratefulness must be punished but requests that she be allowed to take Alphard onee-sama’s picture. Incidentally it was the best picture she ever took and after she took it Alphard shot her in the stomach so that she could limp her way unto the bombed up carriage. Canaan is easily distracted by ghosts and after getting annoyed with Hakko, shoots her. Sadly because Canaan is not a master troll like Alphard she forgot to use her airsoft gun. Canaan having been distracted by the ghosts of killings past finally realizes that she has left Maria all alone and hurries back only to have a BIG FIGHT with Alphard. While it wasn’t a total blow out like it their unforgettable night in the women’s bathroom, but Alphard maintained the upper hand almost effortlessly and recovered quickly from both of Canaan’s throws. Yun Yun tries to save Maria but Maria wants to have a SUGOI death and has Yun Yun detach her rail car instead.The sudden loss of added Maria SUGOI weight (gained from numerous parfaits and out of season crab buffets) shakes up the whole train causing Alphard to lose her footing and Canaan to recover after having a crushed thumb. With less than a minute to go on the time bomb Canaan is still struggling to match Alphard’s might.

Impression

While the yuri goodness was delectable as always like Kabitzin, I was overawed by the longest performance of Alphard’s skill at arms to date. It certainly was one of the most memorable fights this season and perhaps even this year.The fight in many ways vindicates Liang Qi as a decent enough fighter given that how Canaan was still struggling to compete despite conditions being optimal for Canaan’s power levels to be at their peak. At this juncture Alphard remains largely a mystery and I don’t think it is about proving she is the strongest, if anything she has proven to be the strongest for most of the series. Even during their fight Canaan was at a disadvantage for much of it and she struggled just to keep up despite Maria being trapped and dying. If it were only about superiority Alphard already had Siam’s acknowledgment that she is the strongest soldier, Canaan might exceed what he had in mind but Canaan lacks the kind of discipline that makes Alphard so deadly. Hallucinating right in the middle of it all pretty much proved it, and it wasn’t the first time Alphard had pointed out Canaan’s weaknesses.

I think the critical point here is Siam and the reasons why Alphard and Siam parted ways in such a manner that he ended up dead. A few episodes back Alphard mentioned that Siam took the same job twice and as such even with the accidental discovery it is hard to imagine a mercenary doing something for free only for Canaan to end up at Iron Strife’s top agent. Alphard mentioned that Natsume had contracted Canaan as a bluff to Alphard so it is possible that Siam was contracted to make Canaan the perfect killer as Siam is implied to have intimate knowledge of Canaan’s abilities than would have been otherwise possible if he had not in some way been involved in the ruin of Hakko’s village. Given that Canaan has the UA virus Siam probably didn’t just find her and probably was looking for survivors. In the first episode Natsume was breaking Unblooms out of the factory to further her own research, but was being attacked by the Snakes. Now towards the end it seems clear that Alphard had largely abandoned the facility but was still keeping people away from the area, so things do come full circle and past hints aren’t cast aside with reckless abandon. Hell even Cummings’ talk about short selling in episode 2 came back when the VP was in his war room.

Given that everything seems to come together eventually I think that it might be a bit premature to be like ghostlightning and dismiss this series as purely action and only look at things within a single episode. Early on Alphard disliked the idea of using Borners as weapons and in the end she completed the research with the sample population she already had, for the express purpose of negating any strategic value Borner bio weapons would have. Just about every one with killer intent glows blue, but Alphard being a master troll wasn’t glowing blue. If the intent was to simply make the perfect set up to bring out Canaan’s A game then why even bother asking for Maria’s cooperation? There might be more going on here since we still don’t know what Maria’s powers are as she is probably still a carrier despite having been “cured” given how the last bomb was a dud which resulted in Canaan struggling to shoot a shouta it might be the case. Killing Siam’s ghost could mean a lot of things, Alphard confesses that she has nothing personal against Canaan, and before Alphard dragged Canaan out of the rubble she wanted to see that Maria had become Canaan’s new strength. Alphard’s demand that Canaan demonstrate this might be because despite what Canaan says she is still tied strongly to Siam as Canaan was still having deep conversations with Siam’s ghost. I don’t think that it was being abandoned by Siam that got to Alphard but the realization of what it meant to be Canaan. Alphard was probably taught to feed on hatred, and despite Canaan protesting that soldiers who are born of hate are failures, Canaan is fighting out of hatred. Canaan still blames Alphard for the deaths of those around her despite Canaan being the one who actively killed half of them and in the case of Santana and Hakko got themselves killed. Like Alphard told Liang Qi, it is better to let got of hatred if one cannot control it. Thus I think Alphard had a little chit chat with Maria about how Canaan needed a person who could truly love her, because without that Canaan was easily enough controlled by Natsume and Iron Strife.

There is one thing that still bothers me a bit since Alphard claims to have met Maria before, but the latter had forgotten or pretended to forget, so that has yet to be dealt with, perhaps when that card is finally played everything will be cleared up for good. At the very least they seemed rather intent on setting up Alphard as the woman who went out to set things right again, perhaps this was her atonement for the UA virus, she did give Hakko the chance to live a normal life but she could not be saved. Perhaps if Maria is who Alphard wants her to be then Canaan will no longer be a ghost of Siam, a remnant of the his legacy which Alphard seems to despise. Alphard could have killed Canaan easily enough many times, perhaps her intent on killing the despair is to save Canaan from ending up the way Siam wanted.

Indeed Maria is so mean.

She’s like the lost puppy that you just have to take home…

Indeed Canaan has seen much more of Alphard than you ever have…

If only we got to saw that…

I guess they made him sleep on the floor while Maria had her fun time with Canaan and Yun Yun.

Way to go Maria it’s bad enough Hakko chose a corpse over him…

Come to think of it both of them tend to prefer kiddie food…

Canaan refuses to eat anything but junk food.

Copying Mino’s san’s courtship tactics eh?

Hey that big blonde guy looks familiar…

Maria is indeed the weakest…

PICNIC END!

WTF?

Hey a Mai Hime end…

….who dared to cheapen all these deaths?

Wait so you see dead people too?

They were seeing who could hold their breaths the longest…

Alphard thought it was about time to establish whose harem this will be…

I am surprised she even bothered to to be polite.

Alphard onee-sama wanted to make a formal introduction with Yun Yun.

That’s right Yun Yun Maria seems to have the slows…

Yun Yun believe in the Alphard who believes in you!

Alphard knows Canaan best, and clearly Maria has yet to fully understand or love Canaan given Canaan’s win loss ratio against Alphard.

Even now no one wants to hear Hakko speak…

Well that is one way to get Hakko to stop her awful singing…

Misfire! Misfire! THAT is why you always point your weapon in a safe direction Canaan…

Now this is what I don’t quite understand, how come these people were spared while some were simply killed? Was it because they were Snakes on the Train?

When cleaning one’s ear goes wrong…

A little late now considering how much you have dealt…

It’s because she doesn’t know any better.

And to think Alphard could have done it when Liang Qi was playing on her Wii HD.

Indeed Canaan had yet to unravel the truth of Alphard.

You don’t look too sure…

Maria had looked forward to that for a long time…

Alphard: “Yeah I bet you have…”

Though he has no name I dub this survivor Wedge.

Tag, you’re it…

Alphard always did prefer to do the chasing…

Canaan is BI!

Your heterosexual escapades have not gone unnoticed…

Given how most bombs in this series have ended up as duds I a cannot rule out that this is some elaborate troll…

Don’t be so modest my liege you could end it quickly enough if you wanted to.

Time for a quickie…

Alphard just wants to have a bit of fun…

Her troll-fu is mighty.

YOUR NAME IS TOBY DESPAIR.

Alphard is amused that this fight has come to ripping each other’s clothes off…

Oh dear Canaan brought a knife to a gun fight…

Stronger than he could have ever hoped to have become.

Says the one that has a poor win loss ratio.

A most just fate for cowards who cannot say that to her face.

Indeed she is my liege.

Indeed Siam failed to outfight his student…

Indeed instead Siam would have been tossed into a lake with cement shoes…

It’s like ballet but better.

Well at least you can hit the floor with you knife, Alphard on the other hand…

And yet she’s really embracing Alphard…

Canaan’s hands were going places they should not have been.

No means NO Canaan.

So how does it feel to be glomped by Alphard?

Now you are just trolling, Siam was dead the moment you became better than him.

Ah the sweet nothings Alphard whispers into Canaan’s ears…

Despite being older Alphard is far more agile.

Now it’s Yun Yun’s turn to have her way with Maria.

That’s going to leave a mark…

It is useless to resist.

Join her and together you can rule this miserable ball of dirt as Canaan and Canaan.

Canaan. Alphard has always wanted a night of you and her. A night of you and her that went on forever and ever. Alphard doesn’t want it to end just yet. So please just keep quiet…

Siam told shitty stories.

You Alphard will never despair and never give up.

You’ve got to be shitting me, Alphard has the highest win loss ratio and yet she only gets a C-?!

Yeah it seems that Himeko here has forgotten everything…if only she were Chikane.

So let’s snuggle…

Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of the BIG FIGHT. Until then may Alphard SHINE IN THE NAME OF ZEUS.

Go to Source

Quite some time ago, whenever someone asks me about the best way(s) to learn Nihongo, I’m sure to give “playing Japanese games/visual novels” as a response, because, according to me, it’ll boost up both your listening and reading skills — hitting two stones with one bird! pun intended. Part of this scheme of mine is watching chinese subs, which, as my know-it-all self once said, can help clarify what’s being said since you have sort of reference to the dialogues, which term/kanji matches the dialogue (assuming the chinese translator knows what he/she is doing).

Japanese language can be really vague, with their homonyms and all, similar to Chinese. Take for example “ken”, which can either refer to sword (剣), fist (拳), right/privilege (権), matter/case (件), Prefecture (県), etc. There are times when you can easily figure out what is being referred to by context (or the ‘kanji compound’), but there are also times when things can get really ambiguous, like when two or more of the homonyms are applicable, for intentional or unintentional pun/confusion.

And then came one eureka moment (albeit a few years late), as I realized that the reason why my listening skillz sucks so much up until now is because of this scheme.

Even in the medium where I’m supposed to rely on my ears and my ears alone, I was still dependent on visual text cues — TOO DEPENDENT. With the presence of [chinese] subtitles in what I watch and the text in the visual novels/otome games I play, my listening wasn’t improving because I’d unconsciously think, “I suck at listening anyways, so I’ll just read the text!“, and end up not paying attention to what’s being said. Here I thought I was hitting two birds with one stone, when actually, I was hitting two birds and failing at both.

Certain skills are born out of necessity, the kind you won’t acquire unless you stray away (or be strayed away) from something you used to depend on. Disability for example, allows people to acquire new set of skills that make up for this loss, going beyond it even.

When Usui of the Juppongatana lost his sight, he had to rely on his other senses, heightening them a thousand-fold. Yomi of Yu Yu Hakusho grew two sets of ears after he became blind, heightening his senses (and spiritual power) dramatically as well. Yin was born blind but was gifted in piano, and even gained the ability to see people by using water as a medium (assuming that her blindness actually contributed to that ability). When poor Shiryuu of Saint Seiya blinded himself, his other senses… didn’t really improve much, did it? Oh, he became immune to Gemini’s Illusion technique, good enough. Disability Superpower, so to speak.

Of course there’s no way mere mortals like you and me can gain such Superpowers, but I thought of the whole sense dependency at play here in my catching two birds with one stone technique which can rival chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire technique with its mouthful-ness. The moment I distanced myself from text and the visuals, I started focusing on what’s being said, relying on my ears, giving it my undivided attention. The improvements I’ve gone through isn’t all that dramatic, but what’s important is that I’m improving, a little slowly, but surely

Do note however, that simply listening (passively) is not enough. Let Ryan show you the way.

Further Reading

Ryan on Raw Watching (useful tips if you want to get into raw watching and you’re still not so l33t. Reminds me that I’m slacking off in note-taking when watching raw too, oh boy.)

I’m not a l33t, I don’t hold any claims of understanding what I watch (and read) 100%, and I’m not just saying this to avoid accusations of being a Raw Watching Connoisseur Poseur.

My take on raw watching / blogging, with tips I haven’t exactly been doing these months because I haven’t been watching / blogging raw the hardcore way.

---

Credits to danbooru and rk for the above piccies.

Related posts:

1. Nihongo Speech Files #1: On ‘Lettting Go’
2. Mouryou no Hako – 03 “A Sense of Release”
3. JLPT1 Left Me Devastated

Go to Source

Going off for a trip to Langkawi for the next 3 days, so there won’t be any posts about. Haven’t really been there before, so hopefully it’ll be a nice trip.

And hopefully, I won’t break any banks buying duty-free stuff there, although from the feedback I’ve read, there really isn’t anything worth it for me except for chocolates .

©2009 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.
Go to Source