Image by Sangatsu Youka
Let's talk about today...tomorrow, which is today, which means I'm talking about yesterday!
Loooong post is long.
Image by Rinechun
I'm sure I've done a post on this at least once. ;o; Need to figure out how to get this on my PS3.
Project DIVA's back, this time in HD Ps3 goodness.
Image by lovezawa
Finally got the new template up and running. If you find any issues or have anything you want to say (that's constructive), drop me a message or something.
Image from Danbooru
What could possibly be better than lolis with guns? Aside from being half naked and flying in the sky.
Image by Kyuu Umi
Relates to this weeks Weekly Webcomic. Be sure to do the jump, because I included a video that has the lyrics to the ballad in there. Image Yuuki Tatsuya
Kind of makes you want a PSP now, eh?
Title: DJ MAX Portable 3
Developer: Pentavision
Genre: Rhythm, Music
Platform: PSP
Release Date: Fall 2010
Kenn's Comment: Props to Natural who told me about this. I take it that he isn't really interested in blogging anymore, but I'll get him to post something eventually. Anywho, the trailer is really quite nice, and it looks like they'll be sticking with the fully animated MV's and stuff. I'm still working on being able to play 6 button, and they're rolling out 10 button mode? Gah!
Trailer:
Image by Bioroid Hei
The tale of the little satellite that could.
Title: 探 査機はやぶささん, Space Probe Hayabusa
Artist: Orenji Zerii
Genre: Personification, True Story
Series: N/A
Description from Danbooru:
Kenn's Comment: For those who don't know about Hayabusa, you can read about the little satellite that could over at Wikipedia. Orenji Zerii makes astronomy awesome with his moe-ified personification of Hayabusa, formerly known as MUSES-C and the crew who worked with it. The mission may be over, but the comics haven't caught up yet. Though judging by Hayabusa's landing, I fear for what may come in the web comics.A story personifying the space probe Hayabusa sent by Japan to collect parts of an asteroid and bring them back to earth.
Illustrated by Orenji Zerii
Inb4 MIIINEEEERRVAAAAAAAA!!
Image from Media Factory (by Houden Eizou)
*naughty face*
Title: あそびにいくヨ!, Asobi ni Iku yo!
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Airs: 07/10 25:28
Animation Studio: AIC+
Summary from ANN:
The story centers around Kio Kakazu , a high school freshman living in Okinawa. During a memorial service for one of his family ancestors. A mysterious girl with cat ears appears before him indroducing herself as Eris and claiming that she is an alien. However She be more troubling than he first realizes.Kenn's Comment: Similar premise to ToLoveる. Very similar. But that's fine with me. TLR was a fun series. Series that take place in Okinawa are always fun too. They always feel like a summer series. Chiraumi!! Anywho, it's adapted from light novel by Kamino Okina. SPHERE is in this by the way, so that's Toyosaki Aki, Takagaki Ayahi, Tomatsu Haruka, and Kotobuki Minako. For those who don't realize it, but most of them are in Dai Maou. Takagaki is the only one not in Dai Maou. For those who don't recognize her, she's Ein (Phantom Requiem for the Phantom), Karisawa Erika (DRRR!!), Noe (True Tears), Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios) and a few other notable characters. Btw, the english name for Dai Maou is redundant. Demon King Dai Maou. Considering Maou already means demon king, the title translates to Demon King Big Demon King. Can English-ificating titles ever get it right?
Trailer:
Feel like I've posted this one up before.
Switching up Webcomics with SoTW this week for the sake of continuity.
Title: じぶんROCK, Jibun ROCK
Artist: ONE OK ROCK
Genre: Rock
Single: じぶんROCK
Album: Niche Syndrome
Vintage: 4/28/10
Kenn's Comment: The animation in the PV is kinda creepy. Anywho, it's more OOR goodness. Kind of old, but I had this on my list, so I figured I'd take care of it now. Not the first time OOR has been up on the SoTW. If memory serves me correct, it was 完全感覚Dreamer that was up.
Image ripped by Kenn ;D
Well, I've gone through another one. First one being Wanko to Kurasou. This time it's The Sagara Family.
Compared to Wanko, this one is fairly short. I can get through it in one sitting. Also unlike Wanko, the story isn't all that great. The story for Wanko wasn't spectacular either, but it was better than this one. I didn't like the characters all that much either. With the exception of Sanae (who happens to be my favourite of the 5 possible characters), all the characters are kinda whore-y. I apologize for the lack of a better word, but you get into the pants of every girl pretty early, of course with the exception of Sanae.
;D That was the best scene in the game. After a day of er...'fooling around' so to speak, the family comes home to find Yuusuke and Sanae er...all over each other, if you know what I mean.
You pretty much don't get into Sanae's pants until the end of her route. Of course to make up for that, they end up having oodles and oodles of sex, but she never acts whore-y. The fact that she's a tsundere gives her points, and that she's a strong female character (both physically, and somewhat emotionally). Is it wrong that I find a character like Arisa, who can barely take care of herself, quite irritating? Arisa's route seems to be the most popular though. Probably because she has the most sex scenes.
Anywho, I went through and finished a few routes. Emiru & Ruruka, Sanae, and Ruruka's routes. I was planning to try and finish Maria's route, but I really don't want to go through the novel again. I'll try looking for one that's good. xD Or at least maybe better than this one.
Image by Itsuki
Oh and for those of you who are wondering about what happened to me switching to the new template, here's my explanation. I've been trying to install a few jQuery things into it, and the CSS for it doesn't seem to be working, so I've been looking around for solutions. You can head on over the test blog, Test Lab (the mini banner on the right of the home page). It should be named HG2 once you get on the page.
Image by Suzuki Kensuke
You'll never look at vikings the same way again.
Title: ヴィンランド・サガ, Vinland Saga
Author: Yukimura Makoto
Genre: Seinen, Action, Adventure, Drama, Historical
Serialized in: Kodansha Morning Two, Afternoon
Total Volume Count: 8 (ongoing)
Summary from MangaUpdates:
Kenn's Comment: Not for the faint of heart. Also, it can get pretty bloody and violent, so the usual warning is in effect. Don't read this if you're under 13. Compared to last week's Ubel Blatt, this one is relatively tame. Anywho, it's nice to see a realistic viking story. I recently watched a program on the History channel about the vikings, and the details in the manga are pretty darn accurate to what I've learned. If you like shounen heroes like Naruto or Ichigo, you're out of luck. The main character (Thorfinn) is nothing like them. And yes, this is an award winner. The Japan Media Arts Award is an award given to media under five catergories: Art, Non-interactive digital art, Interactive Digital art (games, etc.), Animation and Manga. Vinland Saga is the grand prize winner of the 13th JMAA. ;D Summer Wars was the grand prize winner in the Animation one. Forgive any typos. I haven't gotten my glasses back yet.Thorfinn is son to one of the Viking's greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, he swears his intent to have revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd's group in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.
The series was nominated for the 2008 Manga Taisho award. In 2009, it was awarded the Grand Prize in the manga division of the Japan Media Arts awards.
Turn the volume up. Waaay up. This song sounds great loud.
Title: 9 (Nine)
Producer: AVTechNO!
Illustration: Kazune
PV: anri
Genre: Vocarock, Electric
Vocaloid: 巡りルカ
Vintage: 11/06/10
Kenn's Comment: Not sure about that date. It's the date AVTechNO put it up on his YT channel, so I'm not actually sure about the date. But I like the song. You might notice that the english pronounciate is spot on. Sometimes it sounds like some of the Japanese is pronoucned with an english accent, but maybe that's just me.
In other news, I was playing a VN last night. Cosmic Break was down, and I still can't start it up. Anywho, I noticed I hadn't saved for an hour or so, so I decided to save. But the Save and Load screens look exactly the same, and with my lack of glasses they were the same thing to me. So I ended up loading a save file from an hour before. I rage quitted, though I'll probably have to get back to that spot again. "orz
inb4 FFXIII rage.
SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFE!!
Title: 君がいるから, Because You're Here
Artist: Sugawara Sayuri
Genre: Ballad, Pop
Single: 君がいるから
Album: First Story
Vintage: 12/02/09 (MM/DD/YY)
Kenn's Comment: For those who don't know, this is the opening song to the Japanese FFXIII. The International version got a song by Leona Lewis. I like this song better than the Leona Lewis's song. The lyrics are a tad bit more fitting for the story. Currently racing against the clock to see whether I can get this post up before the day changes, or else I lied about having the Song of the Week up later today.
Image by Yuuki Eishi
Song of the Week later.
Title: 手土産は桃, Peaches as Souvenirs
Artist: Strange Chameleon (circle) / Mikogami Hiyori
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Kenn's Comment: Tenshi drops in on the Scarlet Devil Mansion, much to Remilia's dismay. It's an entertaining doujin, and Tenshi's portrayed in a slightly better light than she usually is. Flandre, on the other hand, is her usual destructive self.
Image by mtyy
Totally forgot it was Thursday yesterday. I'll have the Weekly Touhou doujin and Song of the Week up later today.
Image by gebo
Let's start off with the most current news, then go back to the beginning and outline the week. I went to the optometrist earlier this week, and after an eye exam, I learned that my left eye's degree increased by quite a bit. So I dropped off my spectacles to have the left lens replaced. Now, it's not too bad since I'm not actually doing anything at the moment. But since I turned my glasses in on a Thursday, the earliest I'll get them back is Saturday. The clinic isn't open on Sundays, so if it's not Saturday, it'll probably be Monday.
And that's the reason why I didn't get the Touou doujin up yesterday; I can barely see my screen.
Image by Wakaba Illustration
Another reason why I didn't get the Touhou doujin up yesterday was because I was off playing Cosmic Break. Kind of. It's really, really hard to play any game when you can't barely tell what you're looking at. But Mecha-musume is always great, even if you barely see the moe designs.
So, I spent most of yesterday playing Lunar on my PSP. It's easier to see on the PSP since it's closer to my face.
From a while back. I can't even remember when I took this. I lied. I do. June 6, 2010, 1:06:34 AM. I spotted this guy back when I still had my glasses. Chased it around with a broom and dust pan to try to shuttle it out the door, but it ran off and disappeared. I spotted in the washroom just a few minutes ago (without my glasses), so it might be that guy.
Anyone get this reference? You should be over 18 if you do get it. Might be a bit difficult since my box happens to be really crappy, and my apple isn't very detailed. Hint: it's a game that involves apples. Answer: Illusion's HAKO
A light lunch from a while back. A cuppa green tea and a dorayaki. You'll know what dorayaki is if you've ever watched Doraemon. He loves these. They're essentially two castella pancakes around a red bean filling. I can only eat one every once in a while because I'm not too fond of castella.
Impressive, no? Spent a few minutes gauging the apple with my trusty knife. Not very hard if you know what you're doing. Nowhere near the level of Hirosaki though.
Yes, I know it looks kind of gnarly, but it didn't taste all that bad. My mom bought a bunch of these things a while back, and they've been sitting around in the freezer, so we decided to just eat them all. My brother and I describe things like these as being 'heavy'. They sort of stick to your insides on the way down, making it hard to eat a lot of it. It's plum sauce and black pepper covering by the way.
Aisu~. The first thing you'll probably notice in this picture is that Kenn needs to cut his nails. I know that, and I will. Anywho, snacking on some ice cream (Neapolitan) after lunch. My parents and my sister can't pronounce the name of the flavour. My sister calls it Napoleon, and my parents follow suit, much to my dismay. I don't think this ice cream was exiled to Corsica...
Again, I realize it looks a tad bit unappeatizing, but that's probably because I made the bad decision of zapping it in the microwave. Not too sure whether I should eat it warm or cold. I don't think it really matters too much. Anyways, it's called Banh Tet Chuoi. I'm missing all the accents, so I'll just put a photo of the wrapping up. I'm not actually sure what it means, aside from the fact that Chuoi means Banana, which is in the mushy looking center of the rice. The black things embedded into the rice are red beans...I think.
Image by Hajime
Hey, it had to be done.
Title: デジモンクロスウォーズ, Digimon Xross Wars (Xross = Cross)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, SciFi
Airs: 07/06 19:27
Animation Studio: Toei Animation
Kenn's Comment:
Well, I couldn't find any official summary or descriptions, so I'll put together what I've learnt so far.
Main characters: Kudo Taiki / Shoutmon, Hinomoto Akari / Dorurumon, Tsurugi Zenjirou / Ballistamon
Shoutmon 'digivolves' by merging with other digimon, while the other digimon can either merge with Shoutmon, or convert into other forms, like swords or cannons.
There are three sets of characters on a team:
Team Xross Heart (main characters)
Team Blue Flare
Team Twilight (oh god)
Blue Flare seems to be the enemy, no clue about Twilight. Slim chances I'll be watching this, but I've been lacking trailers, so when I found the trailer for this one, I figured I might as well put it up.
Trailer:
Image by Ueyama Michiro
Recycled image is recycled.
Andrew said I hadn't had a post in a few days, so here's a post to make up for those few days.
Title: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Developer: Game Arts, Japan Arts Media
Publisher: GungHo (JP), X Seed (US)
Genre: RPG, Fantasy, remake
Release Date: 11/12/09 (JP), 03/02/10 (US)
Summary from GameFAQs:
Kenn's Comment: I've talking about this in the last Week with Kenn. Yes, the summary sounds kind of tacky, but it's a great game, and has been remade a number of times. Each time it gets better...or at least the PSP remake is better than the GBA one. I do feel that the English dub does take a bit away from the original version though... I guess I can't ask for the option of two dub settings in every game.While seemingly placid on the surface, the world of Lunar is slowly descending into chaos, as the Goddess Althena, the creator and guardian of the world, has disappeared and the valiant efforts of the legendary Dragonmaster Dyne and his faithful companions fade into obscurity. With Althena gone and no one able or willing to become the next Dragonmaster, a shadowy figure, known only as the Magic Emperor, has started plotting to usurp Althena's place and become a god. In a remote village far removed from the decay that is slowly spreading throughout the world lives a young man named Alex, who dreams of one day becoming the next Dragonmaster like his hero Dyne. One day, Alex's friend Ramus convinces him to head towards a cave near town, where it is rumored the legendary White Dragon resides. With Alex's adopted sister Luna and his mysterious pet Nall in tow, Alex heads off on what seems to be a meaningless adventure, not knowing that it would be the first step in an epic journey with the fate of the entire world at stake.
JP Opening
US Opening
Nocturne of the Wind (風のノクターン)
This is one of the best scenes in the game. Posting the JP dub one because the English dub doesn't quite deliver. Lunar's cut scene cinematics are fully voiced and animated and ones like these are beautiful.
Image by Lily
LET'S PARTY!
Title: 戦国BASARA弐, Sengoku Basara 2
Genre: Action, Comedy, Historical
Airs: 07/-- 17:00 (date not yet known)
Animation Studio: Production IG
Summary from ANN:
Kenn's Comment: Fans of the games will probably like this. I really don't have much to say about it. It's fun stuff if you need your testosterone fix. Second seasons starts off where the first season left off. More characters will likely to introduced in the second season. TM Revolution does the opening, 'Sword Summit'.In the bloody Warring States period of feudal Japan, many generals fought in an endless struggle for power, but one man proved to be too big a threat - The dark lord Oda Nobunaga. Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune, two young warriors from different regions who become heated rivals, begin to form an unlikely alliance with the rest of the generals to take down the Devil King.
Trailer:
Image from Animepaper.net
Definitely not safe for children or work.
Title: Übel Blatt, ユーベルブラット, Evil Blade
Author: Shiono Etorouji
Genre: Seinen, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Total Volume Count: 10 (ongoing)
Serialized in: Square Enix Young GanGan
Summary from MangaUpdates:
Kenn's Comment: I'm warning you: this series isn't safe for work, thus shouldn't be read by those under 16. With that out of the way, if you're the type who really likes to read stories with great characters, this isn't for you. The character comes off as being a tad bit flat. Story wise though, it's not bad. Lots of action and girls and blood, and chopped limbs, and blood, and nudity. I'm pretty sure the manga is on hiatus for a while, and I think the last chapter was 98, 99 or 100.When the Wischtech threatened to invade the fiefs of Szaalanden, the Emperor dispatched fourteen youths. Of these, the Seven Heroes halted the invasion to herald a time of prosperity while the four Lances of Betrayal were supposedly defeated.
Two decades later, the Lances of Betrayal have reappeared and formed a bandit militia near the frontier fief Gormbark. A man with a black sword and a scar over his left eye slays an entire troop of that militia. He is identified as the boy, Koinzell, and becomes as much an object of fear as of hope even as his own past, motivations, and purpose are a mystery to those he meets on his journey.
Volume 0 encompasses a plot arc which leads directly into the main plot of Übel Blatt in Volume 1. It also introduces and develops the attitudes and motives of a few other characters aside from Koinzell.
Image by Ueyama Michiro
'Twas a lazy day today.
Started playing Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, a remake of the 1992 Sega CD game. I've played Lunar Legend (a 2002 remake of the 1992 game) for the Game Boy Advanced, but the PSP remake is by far superior. Wish more games had the dual voice track so I could use the Japanese audio. The English voices aren't bad, but I like listening to Japanese voices trying to understand what they're saying without reading the text.
Started playing Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, a remake of the 1992 Sega CD game. I've played Lunar Legend (a 2002 remake of the 1992 game) for the Game Boy Advanced, but the PSP remake is by far superior. Wish more games had the dual voice track so I could use the Japanese audio. The English voices aren't bad, but I like listening to Japanese voices trying to understand what they're saying without reading the text.
Image by Watarai Keiji
Went to a random Japanese restaurant for er...lunch today. My mom had to return cups my dad got from McD's because of cadmium in the paint. Had a gyudon (beef bowl, 牛丼) to make up for my breakfast and lunch. It's pretty heavy to put down the hatch as your first meal of the day, so it's not surprising that my stomach didn't like it for the first half of the bowl. The restaurant was okay at most. The tea tasted a bit like household cleaner...
Now, going back in time. Put the pedal to the metal on your DeLorean and gun it 142 km/h (88 mp/h)! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!
This is an avacado. These things are great if you stick them in the blender with a bit of vanilla ice cream, milk and bananas. Can't handle them like this though.
The dark liquid is...something I can't remember the name for. It's made from pandan leaves though, and has a rather distinct taste. I added a bit of this to a milk shake I made earlier in the week. Couldn't taste it at all.
One of those half cups would go perfectly with that half muffin. 'Tis a blueberry muffin with a coffee.
Made mapo tofu again. This time, my mom wasn't home to make things go her way. On the left is everything you need to make your very own mapo tofu. The black beans got cut out of the photo. The black pepper's in front of it. Middle is during the cooking. When I added the chili paste and black beans, the heat from the pot instantly sizzled the two and put out a huge wave of aroma which made it hard to breathe. Had to open up a window and get some fresh air ^^;. On the right is the result! Some delicious tofu, with rice. Nom'd a bit too much though, and had to get my brother to finish my second plate.
A late night plate of exotic fruits from last night. On the left are magosteens, sweet, juicy tasty fruits from Southeast Asia. Sometimes their shells are hard enough to be used as a throwing weapon. On the right are rambutans, which I've had up on the blog before.
A small plate of fried noodles. It was originally a full plate, but I only remembered that I had my camera after I finished half of the plate.
^^; Another muffin. I actually ate this after the plate of fruits and fried noodles. It's a chocolate chip muffin.
Now, going back in time. Put the pedal to the metal on your DeLorean and gun it 142 km/h (88 mp/h)! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!
This is an avacado. These things are great if you stick them in the blender with a bit of vanilla ice cream, milk and bananas. Can't handle them like this though.
The dark liquid is...something I can't remember the name for. It's made from pandan leaves though, and has a rather distinct taste. I added a bit of this to a milk shake I made earlier in the week. Couldn't taste it at all.
One of those half cups would go perfectly with that half muffin. 'Tis a blueberry muffin with a coffee.
Made mapo tofu again. This time, my mom wasn't home to make things go her way. On the left is everything you need to make your very own mapo tofu. The black beans got cut out of the photo. The black pepper's in front of it. Middle is during the cooking. When I added the chili paste and black beans, the heat from the pot instantly sizzled the two and put out a huge wave of aroma which made it hard to breathe. Had to open up a window and get some fresh air ^^;. On the right is the result! Some delicious tofu, with rice. Nom'd a bit too much though, and had to get my brother to finish my second plate.
A late night plate of exotic fruits from last night. On the left are magosteens, sweet, juicy tasty fruits from Southeast Asia. Sometimes their shells are hard enough to be used as a throwing weapon. On the right are rambutans, which I've had up on the blog before.
A small plate of fried noodles. It was originally a full plate, but I only remembered that I had my camera after I finished half of the plate.
^^; Another muffin. I actually ate this after the plate of fruits and fried noodles. It's a chocolate chip muffin.
Haven't seen this week's Vocaloid ranking, so I'll throw a song I like up.
Title: Holography
Producer: ダルビッシュP
Genre: Vocarock
Vocaloid: GUMI
Kenn's Comment: Vocarock! With GUMI! Haven't had a Gumi song in a while, so I decided to put one up. Last week's #1 wasn't all that great imo, but if you want it, here's a link.
Imaeg by Maisie
Fangirls and boys rejoice! Now with 200% less Ciel and Sebastien, and 300% more Alois and Claude.
Title: 黒執事II, Kuroshitsuji 2
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Historical, Supernatural
Airs: 01/07/10
Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures
Description from Kenn: There's almost zero information on this that I can find. ANN doesn't have anything up, so I'll make use of what I know.
- The main characters are an entirely new cast. Alois Trancy, and...his butler, Claude Faustus.
- The setting is 19th Century England
- No word on whether Ciel and Sebastien will make an appearance, or when the second season takes place in respect to the first season.
- Takahiro Sakurai plays Claude, while Mizuki Nana plays Alois.
- the GazettE's Shiver is the opening
Image from...here...I think xD I lost the link
inb4 some idiot says that the maid is Viletta Nu (Code Geass).
Trailer:
More teasers over at the official site.