Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ 08, 09 and 00

I finally gotten around to catching up on anime, so here is the post about the three Sekirei episodes that aired while I was busy settling in at my new place.

It's fun to see Karasuba stomping people once in a while.

Episode 08 and 09 summary:
Various group react to Minaka's announcement that Sekireis without victories will be deactivated. Later while out shopping, Minato and Musubi are approached by an Ashikabi/Sekirei pair who want Minato to help them escape from the city, but Minato turns them down because the Ashikabi made fun of Kuno and Shigi (the pair that escaped the city). When MBI forces begin to show up, the Ashikabi and his Sekirei try to escape but Karasuba catches up to them.

So that's where Miya's demonic aura comes from.

The next day, Minato's female Sekirei play a game to see who will accompany Minato out on a date. Kusano ends up winning and goes out with Minato. While returning home, Kusano runs off chasing a cat and ends up at the hospital where Chiho is staying, and the two have a friendly chat. Kusano goes back to Minato but she left the stuffed animal that Minato bought her beside Chiho. Meanwhile, Uzume is nearby talking with Kakizaki. Since Uzume has no official victories, Kakizaki tells Uzume to take out some of the Sekireis from the north (Minato's Sekireis).

Minato is out looking for Kusano when he bumps into an Ashikabi who is abusive towards his Sekirei. Afterwards, Minato reunites with Kusano but Kusano remembers she left her stuffed animal. The two go to the hospital to look for it but can't find it, and since visiting hours are over Minato decides to return the next day.

Back at Izumo Inn, Tsukiumi is tired of waiting for Minato to come back and goes out to look for him. On the way, Tsukiumi comes a fight between Shiina and the Sekirei of the abusive Ashikabi. Yukari went to the washroom so Shiina is just trying to evade the Sekirei's hammer. The Ashikabi quickly starts abusing his Sekirei just as Yukari returns, and Tsukiumi tells Yukari and Shiina to accept the battle. The abusive Ashikabi performs norito with his Sekirei, but Shiina easily takes the Sekirei out. The Ashikabi pulls out a knife, but Tsukiumi breaks the knife and Yukari beats the guy up, finishing him off with a groin stomp. After the battle, Tsukiumi leaves and soon meets up with Minato and Kusano and the three return home together. That night, Homura goes out on a night stroll and he witnesses six Sekirei battles in the process.

That hammer isn't as sturdy as it looks.

To bleed and fly like that after hit by a girl... this guy is a true lightweight.

The next day, Tsukiumi and Musubi accompany Minato and Kusano to the hospital. The group finds Chiho and Uzume and learns that Chiho is Uzume's Ashikabi. Remembering that she has to score a victory, Uzume leads Musubi and Tsukiumi away. Minato senses something is amiss and leaves Kusano in Chiho's room. Outside the hospital, Minato spots Kakizaki and listens in on his phone conversation with Higa. Back at Izumo Inn, Matsu also realizes that Chiho is staying at the hospital and Kazehana and Homura leave the inn to provide reinforcements. In front of the hospital, Musubi and Tsukiumi are confronted by Uzume in her battle outfit.

 

Not exactly a surprise attack.

Episode 00 description:
Based on two omakes from the manga, this fan-service focused episode features Minato's Sekireis going for a physical check-up and to a MBI-owned resort. Both outings end with Benitsubasa destroying the building after being inadvertently made fun off by Minato's Sekireis, and both time Homura did not join the activities because he couldn't decide whether he was male or female.

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Episode 00 was just a fan service special that doesn't have much to do with the overall plot. On the other hand, episodes 08 and 09 were pretty interesting because the story is departing from the manga once again. I don't remember reading about Minaka's deactivation rule in the manga, so most of the material following that is anime original. Since the series already had a go with the Disciplinary Squad at the beginning of the season, this anime original segment will have Uzume as the main threat to Minato's gang. With her Ashikabi is being held hostage by Higa, Uzume is in a tough and conflicted situation and I think that makes her a decent pick as the focus of these two or three episodes. There is the potential for some drama and action, although the ending to this segment probably won't be conclusive if the series wants to go back onto manga material again. I am a little surprised that Uzume would choose to fight Musubi and Tsukiumi instead of Kusano, but maybe Uzume isn't that evil or that calculating.

Next episode should be decent if there is as much action as hinted by the preview. With this new anime-original material, it make me wonder how ~Pure Engagement~ will end. I am hoping they'll go with a big battle like the finale of the first season, and I don't really care if they get that from the manga or some original material.

Durarara

Plot Summary: Ryuugamine Mikado is a boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn't want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, and a mysterious gang called "Dollars." Nervous from Masaomi's stories, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city, the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle. From then on, the existence of supernatural cases and a gang called the Yellow Turbans will rise to the surface, and Ikebukuro will pushed to the breaking point.



Genres: action, psychological, romance, supernatural

Format: Mini MKV / English Softsub
Size: 60MB
Quality: Good
Fansub: AnimeCouncil^2

Episode 01: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6D5MFOIX
Episode 02: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R1O7G63X
Episode 03: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BDNANB7T
Episode 04: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2JTTBYZ3
Episode 05: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OWVNAX45
Episode 06: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=33D6KPZM
Episode 07: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O896CA6O
Episode 08: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CXMIWS52
Episode 09: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2ZFAVR8M
Episode 10: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IXXWSAYU
Episode 11: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5Z0S8U0F
Episode 12: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UOSN3MYN
Episode 13: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EU647HHJ
Episode 14: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P5R23JP4
Episode 15: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YGZAD2CX
Episode 16: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U4ERSHY5
Episode 17: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KLIPEZKQ
Episode 18: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RBVR46FZ
Episode 19: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z9E1WQ3H
Episode 20: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0VTBW5G4
Episode 21: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSA8NTI4
Episode 22: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J18VWF1A
Episode 23: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DOMLIRH0
Episode 24: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OQ2LEUWS

Sekirei 104

Uzume and two other Sekireis attack the Izumo Inn.

It's Musubi's older, scrawnier sister on the left.

Summary:
In front of the Izumo Inn, Uzume demands the Minato hand over the jinki. Minato starts to talk, but Kazehana alerts Minato that there are two more Sekireis behind Uzume. While Kazehana is busy with Uzume, Sekirei No. 31 tries to charge into the inn but is stopped by Homura. The remaining Sekirei, No. 40, tries to sneak in, but Kazehana blocks her way. However, this allows Uzume to get past Kazehana and into the inn's yard towards Minato. Uzume fires her ribbons and tells Minato to get out of the way, but Minato stands his ground and gets cut on the cheek. Minato then explains to Uzume that Matsu and the others are not home and they went to rescue Chiho, and this causes Uzume to start crying.

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The attack has unfolded on Izumo Inn, but it's unclear how this is going to end. The two Sekireis Higa sent plus Uzume probably don't have enough firepower to take down Kazehana and Homura especially if Uzume switches sides, but I wonder if Higa has other plans in motion. Minato's side seems to be at an advantage right now, but that might not last for long. Matsu's group will likely run into resistance, and if an Ashikabi (Higa or Kakizaki) is there then they'll face Sekireis with norito while they don't have access to norito. There are lots of possibilities right now as to what happens next.

Naruto 507

The conclusion of Guy vs. Kisame.

Sharks aren't used to eating tigers.

Summary:
Kisame and Guy both unleash their ultimate attacks. Kisame thinks he has the advantage as his Giant Shark Bullet absorbs chakra, but to his surprise Guy's Afternoon Tiger flies right through and fries him. After the big explosion and the dust has settled, Guy stands over Kisame with the scroll in his hand and explains that the Afternoon Tiger is a shockwave created by a very fast punch and the blue glow from his body is actually sweat that comes from the Seventh Wonder Gate. Kisame tries to resist, but Guy knocks him out.

Later, Kisame is put in a stockade and the Konoha guy with the glasses (can someone tell me his name?) tries to extract information from Kisame. During the interrogation, it was revealed that Kisame was a loner who did anything for the sake of his village and that once included killing the village's intelligence squad so that they couldn't be captured by Konoha. Kisame eventually killed his boss because the boss was helping the enemey and Kisame was then approached by Madara who was controlling the Mizukage. Just as Madara was about to reveal his face during the interrogation, Kisame wakes up by biting his own tongue and breaks out of the stockade.

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That was a bit of an unexpected result. I knew Guy would win, but didn't think that he would recover the scroll as well. On the other hand, Kisame was defeated but not killed yet, so there is still a chance he can get the intel off of the island. The fight was a bit quick, but Kisame might make a comeback so there's probably a bit more to see. As for the interrogation part, it seems that Madara is a pretty good pitchman and managed to sell his plan to the always wary Kisame. Hard to say if this information will lead up to anything, but I have a feeling that Kisame is probably going to die now that he has given his life story.

One Piece 597

I finally managed to get internet access at the place I'm staying (for the time being anyways), so here is the long overdue One Piece post.

Conqueror is a pretty nice ability to have when you need some dinner.

Summary:
- Zoro has defeated all the humandrills, but he still wants to become Mihawk's student. Mihawk is amused by Zoro and agrees. Later, Zoro explains to Perona that Luffy's message is in the tattoo on his arm. The arm had the tattoo of 2Y which means the crew is to meet back in Sabaody in two years. In the meantime everyone is training to become stronger.
- A few days before, Jimbei says goodbye to Luffy and hopes to meet again in 2 years on Fishmen Island. Luffy is then brought to a deserted island by the Kuja pirates and Raleigh. The island has extremely quickly changing seasons and many formidable beasts, and thus Rayleigh thinks it's the perfect place to train Luffy in the use of haki. Shortly after leaving the Kuja, Rayleigh and Luffy are attacked by a giant elephant, and Rayleigh uses the elephant to demonstrate the three "colors" of haki: observation (predicting the opponent's moves), armament (offensive attack that can even defeat Devil Fruit abilities), and conqueror (making people faint with one's presence). Rayleigh plans to teach the basics of all three colors to Luffy in these two years, and Luffy is enthusiastic to learn.

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Looks like the rumored time skip is finally here. As people have mentioned, Luffy's secret message was his tattoo. I looked at the tattoo before but I didn't recognize the 2Y, so I was still fooled. Everybody is going training at the same time and when the series comes back it'll probably be two years down the time line. I'm guessing members of the Straw Hats will show up at the archipelago, show off their new moves, run into trouble and then each other and eventually form up again. I wouldn't mind seeing some of the training (like Sanji fighting the newkamas), but it doesn't look like we'll see anything. While the Straw Hats are on training break, One Piece is taking an extended four week break too. Oda and his breaks... at this rate Naruto will catch up and have more chapters. I'm excited about the story after the time skip though.

Bleach 417

I'm back! Anyone miss me? No? Well, I guess I wasn't gone long enough. I've moved to a place near my new school but still haven't really settled down yet. I probably won't be watching anime for a few more days, but I have time to read manga, so here is my weekly Bleach post featuring the new-look Ichigo showing off.

Talk to the hand.

Summary:
After setting his dad down, the new and improved Ichigo looks around to check that his friends are alright before telling them to stay put and let him handle things. Aizen starts trash talking Ichigo about how he doesn't have a reiatsu signature. However, Ichigo doesn't pay attention at all and is instead checking out Rangiku looking at Gin who share a glance with Ichigo. Ichigo wants to fight elsewhere to keep the others safe, but Aizen doesn't care, so Ichigo grabs Aizen by the face and pushes him a few miles away to outside of town.

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The more I read Bleach, the more it reads like Dragonball. The super-power-up after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, wanting to fight elsewhere to save the innocents and the possible teleporting... the parallels are quite obvious. As expected, new-look Ichigo is much more powerful than before and lands the first hit on Butterflaizen. If this turns out to be a classic power-up fight, Ichigo will smack Aizen around for a bit before Aizen unleashes some new power to one-up Ichigo. It won't be all that convincing but at least a fight is better than Aizen chasing Ichigo's friends around. This is most likely not the final battle though. If Bleach ends right after this battle then the series is admitting defeat, and at this point it's best for it to carry on and try to generate some momentum in hopes that we forget about the bad parts. I'm still hoping this manga will become good again eventually.

In other news, looks like Gin is possibly still alive despite having a pre-death flashback. If a "good" character doesn't get blown into pieces or have a funeral, we can't write him/her off.

Hiatus Time

This blog will be on hiatus for the next little while as I leave home to start grad school. Don't really know when I'll be back, but it'll probably take me at least a week to settle down. I will be back though... I hope.

Tenjou Tenge 136 (Final Chapter)

The final battle.

These two are tearing up the floor, literally.

Summary:
Mastaka and evil Souichirou engage in a fierce battle inside the Juuken Club house as many watch from the sidelines. Masataka lands a combo on Souichirou but ends being the one hurt as Souichirou calls upon his otherworldly powers for protection. Meanwhile at the Natsume residence, Maya and Aya (both naked) are about to perform a sacred ritual to help Souichirou and Masataka while Mitsuomi and his employees provide security outside. A bright column of light emerges from the residence and the ritual has begun. Through the special ritual, Maya and Aya arrives in Souichirou's inner world. The two sisters join Souichirou's soul to face Sohaku who is standing on top of a large pillar and in control of Souichirou's body. Even with Aya and Maya's arrival, Sohaku remains confident and states that he will usher in the 1000 year war.

Back at school, Souichirou has gained the upper hand and pounds on Masataka. Masataka tries to fight back, but Souichirou cuts off his right hand. Some of Masataka's allies want to interfere but they realize that they aren't powerful enough to do anything. The only hope now is for the Masataka to hold out. Hurting and wheezing, Masataka thinks back to his confession to Aya. Aya responded that she liked Masataka too, but she likes Souichirou even more. Aya then tried to comfort Masataka by saying that there are a lot of people who like him, and Souichirou is one of those people. These thoughts give Masataka renewed energy, and he forces Souichirou back with his left. Souichirou appears to be distracted by the conflict going inside his spiritual world, and this allows Masataka to charge up for one decisive strike. Masataka unleashes the punch, but it is caught by Souichirou. However, this is exactly what Masataka wants, and Masataka uses the Dragon-Ki Qigong Forged Needle technique to inject his ki into Souichirou.

I'VE GOT DA POWA!!!

Inside Souichirou's inner world, Sohaku is surprised by sudden shaking and warping. Souichirou admits that he can never beat Sohaku on his own, but with Masataka's added energy he now has the power to take down Sohaku. Senhime and Makiko appear to tell Sohaku that his time has come, and Souichirou unleashes the combined energy of himself and Masataka. This action causes a big explosion in the real world, blowing a big hole in the Juuken clubhouse and sending spectators flying. Souchirou's body starts to disintegrate as Masataka calls out for Souichirou. Back in the spiritual world, Sohaku slowly disintegrates. Sohaku states that he has learned that humans are strong and do not need a god, and Makiko states that she'll accompany Sohaku to hell and the two fade into dust.

Just like Luke Skywalker huh?

Some time later, the Juuken clubhouse has been reconstructed thanks to funds from Mitsuomi. Bob, Madoka, Masataka, and Jushi hang out in the clubhouse and Masataka tries to get used to the mechanical right hand he received from Jushi. Suddenly, Souichirou (back to normal) appears and leaps over Masataka with Aya hot on his trail. Aya wants to feed Souichirou her bento, but Souichirou refuses, and the chase finally stops when Bob restrains Souichirou. Mitsuomi and Emi arrive to check on the club and they note that the club appears to be livelier than ever. While the others are preparing for practice, Souichirou looks up at Maya's portrait hanging above the front door. It turns out that during the final battle with Sohaku, Maya who threw herself into the path of Souichirou's attack. Using her Dragon Gate, Maya absorbed Souichirou's Dragon fist and the bad powers that he had acquired and cleansed them. Maya's self sacrifice allowed Souichirou to live on, and Maya tells Souichirou and Aya to continue living before disappearing.

Back to the present, Souichirou, Mastaka, Aya, Bob and other members bow before Maya and Shin's portraits before starting their club practice. THE END.

Souichirou will always be a little different than everyone else.

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Considering the jumbled storyline leading up to this point, this was a decent ending for the series. There are some details in this chapter that I probably didn't get, and it is a bit rushed, but the overall narrative wasn't hard to understand unlike some of the other chapters in this series. I also liked that a couple of old characters made appearances, although I don't really remember their names. In the end, the bad guy Sohaku is defeated once and for all, and both male leads survive the series. It's a bit sad that smoking-hot Maya bit the dust (why can't Mitsuomi die instead), but I'm glad that the ending was generally happy and unambiguous. It could have been much worse. One thing the ending didn't elaborate on is the future of the relationship-chain/web between the characters, but with Maya gone, Souichirou back to normal and Aya rejecting Masataka, I'm guessing Aya will be sticking with Souichirou. As for Masataka, he always has Madoka right lol.

Overall, Tenjou Tenge has been an... interesting read. The series has some really good points going for it, but it also has some pretty bad points. Starting with the positives, the art is excellent and it gets better as the series goes on. There is no question that Oh! great can draw, and many of the female characters are pretty darn hot. The action can be pretty good as well when the author was up to it. The action is often glorious, graphic and detailed which is just the way I like it for a seinen action series.

The main strike against Tenjou Tenge is its storytelling, particularly in the latter parts of the series. Everything before the Feudal Japan arc was perfectly fine. Up to that point, Tenjou Tenge's storytelling wasn't exceptional, but it was pretty straight-forward schoolyard brawler that was easy to read. Once the series hit the Feudal Japan flashback arc, everything changed and the storytelling became a mess. There were a lot more random flashbacks/forwards, attempts at various metaphors or metaphoric images, skips in the narrative and other things that made the story really hard to put together. The narrative felt really disjointed at times, and sometimes it was if I was reading through someone's psychedelic dream.

Would I recommend this series? I don't really know. The first half up to the feudal Japan arc is decent enough, but after that... you read at your risk. Other than the storytelling problem, there is also some pretty nasty stuff (ex scenes depicting rape) in this series, so definitely not recommended for young kids.

Gantz 324

Kurono #1 fails to rescue Tae once again.

So close and yet so far.

Summary:
Kurono follows Tae's voice to the alien child among a crowd of aliens, but the alien child covers Tae's mouth and Kurono loses track of Tae. Kurono runs around crying and screaming, and he ends up running into a group of naked humans who escaped the slaughterhouse. Kurono wants to ditch them to continue looking for Tae, but suddenly he spots a bunch of aliens punks stomping away at the survivors. Kurono couldn't stand by and do nothing so he takes out his Gantz swords and cuts off the aliens' legs. The remaining humans sees Kurono as their savior and leader, and Kurono is forced to accept the role as alien troopers appear nearby.

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The "rescue Tae" operation has no end in sight. As expected, Kurono #1 doesn't quite get to Tae, but it looks like that particular storyline might be put on hold. Instead, Kurono is now trying to lead the other survivors to safety in hostile alien territory. Having Kurono play the survival game is not bad, but at this point I want to know what's going on with the other characters, particularly the jerks who hacked the Gantz balls. Some more hints on the grand scheme of things would do much keep the story interesting as well. Gantz has never really had a clear direction, but it's in need of a little direction right now. With Kurono #1 knocked off the track, Tae might be in a heap of trouble as the the alien child's new pet, but the story will probably keep her alive until Kurono #1 or some other friendly Gantzer finds her.

Naruto 506

Kisame tries to escape with the intel while Mighty Guy attempts to stop him.

It's not a shockwave; it's a Sharkwave!!

Summary:
Kisame is stunned by Guy's blow, but Guy, Killer Bee and the others let their guard down, which allows Kisame to drain Killer Bee and the other Konoha ninja of their chakra and escape through the river system. The group cannot allow Kisame to leave the island with the information he has collected. Guy volunteers to give chase, and Killer Bee throws him towards the coast with the last bit of his energy. Back in the temple, Yamato patches up Naruto who wrecked his ankle from the over-enthusiastic stomp on Kisame.

Guy catches up to Kisame just as Kisame was putting the information scroll into a summoned shark. Kisame summons many sharks to confuse Guy. Guy attempts to punch all the sharks to death but realizes he has to enter the water to box the sharks in. This is exactly what Kisame wants, but Guy opens his seventh gate and boils away the water around him with his chakra. Both Guy and Kisame decide to go for a superpower attack and this leads to an impending showdown between a giant shark and a giant tiger.

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Naruto's brand new form sure looked cool, but unfortunately the new Naruto is surprisingly fragile and hurt his ankle on his very first attack in that form. As predicted, Guy was brought to the island for the sole purpose of fighting Kisame, and the series goes out of its way to make it an one-on-one fight between the two. Guy and Killer Bee should have easily handled Kisame, but Killer Bee's stupidity finally costs the group. I'm guessing Guy will win, but regardless of who wins the battle, the info Kisame has collected will probably make its way back to Akatsuki.

One Piece 596

Members of the Strawhat crew vow to make themselves more useful before meeting Luffy again.

Luffy might be the main man, but Franky is a legend... literally.

Summary:
- Nami returns to Weatheria and wants to study the Grand Line's weather patterns to become a better navigator.
- At the Teena Geena Kingdom of the double-elbowed people, Brook vows to improve his music skill by playing a live concert.
- Instead of returning to Luffy, Nico Robin agrees to meet with revolutionaries.
- Franky finds Dr. Vegapunk's other secret lab and decides to remain there to absorb all the weapons technology. In the process, Franky starts another legend with the locals.
- Usopp tries to lose weight and asks Heracles to teach him some skills.

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The updates continue. There wasn't anything overly interesting this week. Franky was pretty funny once again though. The crew members in this chapter seem to have gotten Luffy's message and they all decided to study up a bit before meeting up together again. If everyone was going to get upgrades, I wonder why Oda didn't have that at the start instead of having several characters trying to rush to Luffy and then turn back. It's probably something to do with message that Luffy has passed out, but having the crew members try to leave then return was somewhat needless. The most interesting thing in this chapter was the cover page, and on that page there is a depiction of Sabo as a young man. The last flashback chapter did hint that Sabo survived having his boat blown up, so maybe we'll see him in a future chapter... perhaps sooner than we think.

Bleach 416

"Butterfly" Aizen pwns Gin.

You are not the only one who got a makeover, Aizen.

Summary:
Aizen slices Gin in the chest, pulls off Gin's right arm to retrieve the Hougyoku and then stabs Gin and throws him through some buildings to where Tatsuki's group is. While punishing Gin, Aizen explains that he had made a Hougyoku first but it was incomplete no matter how many souls he had tried to feed it. However, Aizen learned of Urahara's Hougyoku and stole it to give it to his own Hougyoku, and now his Hougkyou is complete. In his dying moments, Gin remembers his past where he told Rangiku that he'll become a shinigami to change things so they'll end without Rangiku having to cry. While the action was going on, Rangiku has regained consciousness and sensed that Gin was in trouble. Rangiku jumps down to cry over Gin's body while Aizen methodically approaches from behind. Suddenly, Aizen notices that a new-look Ichigo carrying Isshin has appeared beside him.

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The color spread of "the evolution of Ichigo" at the beginning was very nice. Otherwise, it's hard to be impressed with Bleach these days as the story is growing more ridiculous by the chapter, but having Ichigo appear in his new form is probably one of the better things that could have happened at this point. Since Aizen hasn't made it to his destination yet, Ichigo is probably not going to win (decisively), but a rematch between the chief hero and villain is better than Aizen chasing Ichigo's friends around. Ichigo's reappearance will likely be enough to save Tastuki, Keigo and his other friends. The same is probably not true for Gin though. Given that Gin has had his last words, I'm guessing he's dead. Have to hand it to the guy for going so far for his gal, and the scene of Rangiku jumping down to Gin's location was slightly moving. Just slightly though because "Butterfly God" Aizen was standing in the background.

Hopefully we'll get a half-decent fight this time from Aizen and Ichigo. It's hard to comment on Ichigo's new look right now as we only have one shot of him, but at least he looks 10 times less hilarious than Aizen. It'll also be interesting to see what Rangiku will do if Gin is indeed dead.

Mid-season Anime Thoughts Summer 2010

The mid-season anime thoughts post is back!!! Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but it's the first time I wrote such a post in half a year. I didn't do a mid-season review post for spring 2010 because I was on vacation, but now that I'm (still) at home there is no excuse not to write one. Here are my thoughts on the four anime series I've been following.


Highschool of the Dead

Scenes like this makes the show worth the watch.

The show about a group of people from a high school (many of whom are well endowed) trying to survive a zombie apocalypse has been going fairly well minus some hiccups... that is if you are only expecting violence, zombie carnage, and fan service. I am expecting only those things, and HOTD has been delivering those so far. Some of the survival drama in the series was pretty good too and the show is capable of creating a desperate and tense atmosphere. Most of the episodes that were focused on the survival and action aspects were entertaining. As for the "hiccups", there was the flashback in episode that we didn't need, and the fan service episode 6 was a bit much even for a show like HOTD. Fan service can be fun, but not when the plot revolves around it as in episode 6. I actually appreciate HOTD's usual style of fan service where the panty and boob shots are inserted into the middle of the action. At first I thought it was strange, but afterwards the fan service basically became a source of comedy.

If the show continues to provide the survival drama and zombie action interlaced with the fan service then I'll be happy. I'm not expecting any big revelations or advancements in the plot... at least not for this season of the show.


Seikimatsu Occult Academy

From real occult to fake occult.

Occult Academy started off impressively with its first two episodes, but since then things have slowed down. Instead of focusing on mismatched couple Maya and Fumiaki trying to find the Key to Nostradamus to save the world from an impending alien invasion, we have various episodes about Maya's friends and Fumiaki's attempt to impress the (somewhat suspicious) local cutie. The plot is wandering around right now and the action content appears to decrease by the episode. I'm still hopeful the show will turn itself around though. Occult Academy has a strong female lead and a decent premise, and the show should be entertaining if the story would get back to them.


Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~

Nothing special to report.

I don't really have too much to say about the second season of Sekirei. The end of the first season left the question of how the anime will get back onto the manga canon, and 7Arcs did a pretty good job creating the battle at the wine warehouse to lead into Kazehana's winging. After that it was back to the manga material, and that's been okay. The Homura arc is setup and a teaser for things to come, and there isn't anything really good or really bad to say about that part. I don't think I'll have too much to say at the end of the season either unless there happens to be a lot of anime-original material in the remaining episodes.


Sengoku Basara 2

Not enough of this.

The show that sells itself with over-the-top feudal Japan action tries its hand at actual plot and drama... I can't say that I'm impressed. Compared to the same point on the first season of the show, Sengoku Basara 2 has had less crazy fights and instead we have Kojuro getting kidnapped, lots of chatting, and Yukimura running around but not doing much. The new villain Hideoyoshi doesn't seem to fit the role as well as Nobunga did, but it's at least fun to see him split the land, the sky and the sea with his fists. The latest episode was a step in the right direction and the show needs more action-centric episodes instead of trying (and failing) at its attempt to come up with a sensible plot.

Highschool of the Dead 07

Takashi's group attempt to rescue a little girl.

Door to door salespeople can be pretty annoying, but stabbing them is still pretty cold.

Summary:
Takashi watches the chaos and carnage from the apartment balcony and wants to do something, but Kohta and Saeko tell him not to try and be a hero. Takashi continues watching the streets and spots a father leading his young daughter into the yard of a fenced home that has people in it (because they left their lights on). The father knocks on the door and begs that the people inside let them in. When the people inside refuse, the father threatens to barge in by force. The door opens, but the father is stabbed in the heart by the people inside and he falls in such a way that opens the front gate. The girl cries over her father's dead body and that leads the zombies towards her.

Not quite the dramatic entrance Takashi was hoping for.

Back at the balcony, Takashi has been watching the scene unfold and realizes that he shouldn't do anything, but Kohta goes against his own advice and taking down the zombies threatening the little girl with his sniper rifle. Takashi decides to go out and rescue the girl, and Saeko and Rei agree to help. Takashi jumps out of the apartment complex with his dirt bike and makes it to the girl's location thanks to Kohta's sniper cover, but Takashi wipes out at the end. Using his crowbar and revolver, Takashi clears the yard of zombies and locks the gate, but the zombies are piling up against the yard and Takashi can't escape using the dirt bike.

Watch where you are pointing that thing!

The dog doesn't care if Takashi falls since the zombies don't eat dogs.

That is just such a sight to behold.

Back at the apartment, Saya and Shizuka are finally awakened by the commotion. After learning what's been going on, Saya tells the group to pack up and leave, and Shizuka suggest that they drive to Takashi's location with Rika's Humvee. Meanwhile, Takashi helps the little girl say goodbye to her dad. In order to escape from the yard, Takashi walks on the front wall of the yards while carrying the girl and puppy she picked up. With zombies on both sides of the wall, Takashi has a few near falls, but he manages to hang on long enough for the others to drive over in the Humvee. Kohta and Saeko clear out an area around the Humvee, and this Takashi to jump onto the vehicle and escape. The group drives away from the scene and now attempts to find another way to cross the river so the group members can check on their family.

I know shotguns are devastating at close range, but to send someone tumbling through the air like that for 30ft...

This is Kohta's lucky day (above and below)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was definitely an improvement over last week. After lounging around last episode, Takashi and his band of survivors are doing something meaningful once again. I don't know if the little girl and her puppy will mean much later in the story, but at least her rescue was pretty fun to watch. I thought the early scene with the little girl and her father looking for shelter was pretty effective on the emotional level. I don't know if it makes a lot of sense, but the scene really drove home the point of how desperate people do desperate things during crisis situations, and desperate things are not necessarily good things. HOTD has the ability to create and maintain the sense of chaos and tense atmosphere when it wants to.

The rest of the episode was just hilarious. The fan service is still very prominent, but it's essentially a comedic device now that the plot doesn't revolve around it. Saeko in her apron and black thong was just too darn funny, especially the shot where she was standing above Kohta on top of a moving Humvee. The final action sequence is really over-the-top with Saeko's above-mentioned antics, boobs bouncing around, and Kohta sending zombies tumbling through the air with his hand cannon... I mean shotgun. The upbeat music transitioning into the ED was a nice touch too. The show didn't look like it was taking itself seriously, and I enjoyed it. Having the characters run around and bash zombies while various body parts jiggle is the way HOTD should be, and this episode did a good job carrying out those parts.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ 07

Matsu gives a Sekirei history lesson.

Summary:
At the site of the battle, Yukari and Shiina arrive to find that were a step too late. Moments earlier at the site, Minato asks Homura if he is going to continue his mission to kill the MBI chairman, and Homura decides to just go back to the inn with everyone. The rest of Minato's Sekirei welcome Homura into the gang. Homura is feeling happy but then he suddenly faints due to over-exertion.

Why so surprised, Minato? It's not like you haven't seen them before.

When Homura wakes up, he finds himself all bandaged up in bed at the Izumo Inn. Miya comes into the room and tells him that Musubi carried him back to inn after he fainted. The two talk a bit and Miya tells Homura that Minato has been at his side while he was unconscious. Minato, who had dozed off at the bedside, wakes up after Miya leaves room, and Homura asks Minato to help change his bandages. While his upper body is exposed, Homura reveals that he can become a female if Minato wants him to. After blushing for a bit, Minato tells Homura that to be the way that he's always been. Homura smiles and thanks Minato for his kindness.

If you ever wanted quick frizzy hair, make fun of Homura.

Minato walks out of Homura's room and finds Musubi, Tsukiumi and Kusano sleeping outside the door. Musubi wakes up and explains that they were worried about Homura so they waited outside the door, but somehow everyone fell asleep. Tsukiumi wakes up and demands to know if anything indecent happened while Minato was in the room with Homura. Minato denies anything of the sort, but Matsu (who probably peeked inside the room) reports that Homura' chest was almost entirely exposed when Minato was in the room. Unfortunately for Matsu, Homura is standing near the door and he punishes Matsu with a little bit of fire. After Matsu recovers, Minato and all the other Sekirei want Matsu to explain the Sekirei Plan and what will happen from now on. After hearing the requests, Matsu agrees and Minato and the others to her room where she starts telling the story, while Miya, Kazehana, and Homura also listen in on the conversation through a device planted in Matsu's room. The history of the Sekirei Plan goes like this:

Around a 20 years ago, a strange, uncharted island appeared off the Japanese coast, and two students, one male and one female, were the first people to explore the island which is now named Kamikura Island. On the island, the students discovered the wreckage of a giant spaceship, and within the spaceship were 108 life forms that would later be known as Sekirei. Of the two students, the male student was a genius, and he took all of the advanced technology found inside the spaceship and created a huge company that current dominates many industries in the world. That student is Minaka Hiroto, and the company is Mid Bio-Informatics (M.B.I.). Returning back to the Sekirei, of the 108 Sekirei found inside the spaceship, there was one fully grown specimen, eight infants, and the rest were in the form of fertilized eggs.

Some memories are better off repressed.

At this point, Matsu reveals that Sekirei must be "conditioned" before they are released into the world, and a Sekirei's abilities and personality depends a lot upon the conditioning technician. for example, the odd numbered Sekirei are usually naughtier. Musubi and Kusano, both even numbers, take this opportunity to make fun of Tsukiumi, who's a odd number. Matsu also explains that the fully grown and infant specimens were quite different because they were more developed than the rest of the Sekirei when M.B.I. started tampering with them. Sekirei numbered from 01 to 09 have some sort of innate ability that separates from the rest. Tsukiumi decides to interrupt the talk because she doesn't want to talk to about her conditioning technician. Both Musubi and Kusano were conditioned by Minato's mother Takami, while Matsu and most of the odd numbers were conditioned by Miya's deceased husband, Takehito Asama. Matsu explains that Takehito was another genius within M.B.I., and therefore even the fully grown specimen, which is technically not a Sekirei, was handled by him. After saying this, Matsu realized that she had said too much and decides to switch the topics, while Miya giggles in the other room.

Matsu then continues the discussion about the history of the Sekirei Plan:
Before M.B.I. became what it is today, there was one event that threatened the existence of all of the Sekirei. M.B.I. founder Minaka somehow made Kamikura Island his private properties and made it so that island does not appear on any maps, but the information has already been spread and many other people are after the technology on the island. One day, a military force from an unknown origin appeared out of nowhere and invaded the island of the Sekirei. At that time, M.B.I. didn't have its own military yet, and only five Sekirei had awakened. Nevertheless, the Sekirei Plan needed protection against the invaders, and therefore the five awakened Sekirei formed the first Disciplinary Squad. MBI researcher Takethito Asama made adjustments to the five Sekirei that made them more powerful than even winged Sekirei. Matsu starts off by remotely accessing a satellite (without using a computer) to pinpoint the invaders' numbers and location. The other members then go on a tear through the enemy forces: Kazehana smashes some helicopters with a whirlwind; Mutsu destroys some armored vehicles by causing the ground to crack; Karasuba slices up enemy soldiers in her typical fashion; and Miya just obliterates everything in her path. In short, the first Disciplinary Squad crushed the invading forces with their overwhelming power.

Mrs. Landlady is looking mighty fierce.

After annihilating the invaders, Minaka and Takehito step down into the battlefield to inspect the carnage. Takehito states that he doesn't feel any sense of accomplishment, because even though the Sekirei are superior to humans, they ended up doing the same thing as humans. Minaka, however, has a different point of view and wants to reshape the world with the Sekirei and the technology found on Kamikura Island.

Well, the Disciplinary Squad needed a data support person too.

After telling the story, Matsu reveals that it is Takehito who discovered/devised the system regarding winging and Ashikabis. However, Minato and the other Sekirei are still shocked over the fact that Matsu was a Disciplinary Squad member. Minato changes topics and wonders why Matsu left the Disciplinary Squad, and Matsu states that "escaped from" is the more correct term as she is on MBI's most-wanted list. In the living room, Homura wonders why Kazehana left the Disciplinary Squad, and Kazehana states that it's because Minaka dumped her. Back in Matsu's room, Minato receives a text message from Minaka that is addressed to all Ashikabis. In the message, Minaka states that in order to make the competition more fun, any Ashikabi who does not participate to win will have all of their Sekireis deactivated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was quite the informative episode. If you are wondering why the huge summary, it's because Sekirei anime has now reached the point where I can copy and paste my old manga summaries (like what I did for the latter parts of my FMA:Brotherhood coverage). Since this episode covered around four information-heavy chapters, and so the above was the result. The summary would never be this long if I was writing it from scratch.

7Arcs did a decent job adapting this part of the story. This was probably the most informative episode of Sekirei to date and shows that the series is a bit more than just attractive magical girls (and guys) beating each other up in ecchi ways and there is a potentially good narrative somewhere beyond all the fan service. A lot of the details revealed in this episode will probably become important later in the series and and can potentially set up future angles in the story. I thought this was a pretty decent episode, but it was an information-focused episode which is not the most exciting thing out there. There was a bit of action though as we got see Miya and the first Disciplinary Squad squash some faceless soldiers.

Next week looks like a transitional episode, which means we won't get to see the next phase in the Sekirei Plan just yet.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gakuen Datenroku - Final Thoughts

It's been a long time since I've posted a manga "review" on this site.. This post is for Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gakuen Datenroku, which is one of the many NGE-based manga series. I'm not too sure why I picked up this series since I'm not that big of a NGE fan. I blogged about this series from late 2008 to early 2009, but stopped because I couldn't find any new chapters for several months. The manga ended serialization in December 2009. I finally read the last chapter a month or two ago and it looked like the manga got canned and ended prematurely. Still, I thought I'd put a conclusion to my own coverage of the series with a final thoughts post, so here goes:

Rough description of the series (assuming you know the gist of Evangelion's story):
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gakuen Datenroku (translated as NGE: Academic Record of Heaven's Descent) is a manga by Ming Ming that ran from 2007 to 2009 in the shojo magazine Monthly Asuka. As a NGE spin-off, Gakuen Datenroku features most of the NGE characters that we have come to love (or hate) and the plot is still about young people from an organization called NERV using Evas to stop alien beings called Angels, but the details are very different from the original series. In Gakuen Datenroku, main characters Shinji, Rei, Asuka and company are students at a Christian academy run by NERV; Angels kill and inhabit human bodies and are after items called Cores; and the Evas are hand held weapons instead of gigantic robots.

- Gakuen Datenroku is one of several NGE-based manga series, but it stand out among them for two reasons. Firstly, the setting and details of Gakuen Datenroku are wide departures of the original. The story retains some plot elements from the original Evangelion (especially when it comes to character relationships), but the larger elements regarding NERV, the Angels and the Evas are completely different. Secondly, Gakuen Datenroku actually has a serious plot about fighting Angels. This is unlike the other NGE-based mangas which are either ecchi romantic comedies or parodies. I thought these two facts made the series a  more interesting read than its cousin series, but apparently not enough people thought so as the series seems to have ended prematurely.

-  I liked how the series retained many of the character personalities and relationships from the original series, the most prominent of which was the tension between Shinji and Gendo. Most of the characters from the original series retained their personalities, although the personalities of Shinji, Rei and Asuka are toned down slightly to make them a little more tolerable. The existence of these plot elements gave Gakuen Datenroku a familiar feeling despite its difference from the original. I also liked how Kaworu was a main character right at the start of the series. This led the way to a couple of amusing moments between him and Shinji.

- Being a series about fighting against the Angels, Gakuen Datenroku has a fair bit of action. Action is not bad at all, but Gakuen Datenroku spends quite a bit of time in between to set things up that can become a bit slow at times. Thanks to the abrupt ending, many of the story lines and characters from these build-up segments never actually went anywhere. The ending was pretty disappointing, especially since the build-up leading up to it was actually good. The plot steadily became more exciting but suddenly the story just ends and that was it.

- The art of Gakuen Datenroku is decent overall. All the characters from the original NGE are easily recognizable, but they've been skillfully adapted to author's own style which is nicely proportioned. The style is very clean and it's easy to make out what's happening in every panel. However, the art is sometimes a little too "clean". Shading and details are a bit sparse, and the lines are rigid to the point that they look artificial. This is particularly true in the last few chapters of the series. I personally prefer art style that have a flowing feeling to them, but the art of is Gakuen Datenroku appealing enough most of the time.

Overall, Gakuen Datenroku was an alright manga, although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than Evangelion fans who are interested in all things Evangelion. It had the potential to become something more, and it was disappointing that the series ended quickly.

Home Movies

Home Movies is a dialogue-driven American animated series that originally aired from 1999 to 2004. The plot surrounds an eight-year-old Brendon Small (voiced by the creator, head writer, and lead musician of Home Movies, Brendon Small), who makes films with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis in his spare time. He lives with his divorced mother, Paula, and his baby sister, Josie. He is also friends with his alcoholic, short-tempered soccer coach, John McGuirk.

Season 1

Episode 1 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=CJF0NX9C
Episode 2 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=SXCGL22V
Episode 3 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=0GDRIS70
Episode 4 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=0XB6FKFP
Episode 5 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=BNGYBEOH
Episode 6 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=RCBACV6W
Episode 7 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=TNZFUYDJ
Episode 8 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=MO7KLNRZ
Episode 9 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=C6DARIRW
Episode 10 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=KHSLCUTT
Episode 11 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=ONJIRKRW
Episode 12 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=I2T0CBG2
Episode 13 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=BSGWPL7K

Season 2

Episode 1 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LVEHQ1YO
Episode 2 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=070ODKL7
Episode 3 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=GB3X2HXV
Episode 4 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=GB3X2HXV
Episode 5 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=7OUWXEM9
Episode 6 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=PGA0U1MG
Episode 7 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=FU6X418P
Episode 8 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=SIW1EM82
Episode 9 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=L8S2XQO9
Episode 10 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XBU93E22
Episode 11 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=ZECZYT20
Episode 12 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=WYT662VO
Episode 13 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=39GBETQK


Season 3

Episode 1 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LE9LS0KU
Episode 2 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=N4V8UTRL
Episode 3 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=QDA4TTUN
Episode 4 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=BWZNPUWF
Episode 5 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=TX8KZ368
Episode 6 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=G7J48PEP
Episode 7 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=V21Q3IQ7
Episode 8 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=B4BYU12A
Episode 9 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XESP8MA8
Episode 10 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=RAM6282H
Episode 11 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=6V9AW6QG
Episode 12 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=Y2JUA3AD
Episode 13 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=JUEBUHRN

Season 4

Episode 1 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=8TI869I9
Episode 2 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=PASIQR4Y
Episode 3 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=AI45K11Q
Episode 4 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=U6C91U0Q
Episode 5 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LRTPHHJ1
Episode 6 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=236RZZGC
Episode 7 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=SS79VBF2
Episode 8 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=NSTSI727
Episode 9 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=JX3E6WMB
Episode 10 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=7E7QAKW8
Episode 11 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=3NU6YYFA
Episode 12 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=4N00PKWY
Episode 13 http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LLG59Y6J

Two Years of Wasted Time... and 500,000 Unique Visitors

A Product of Wasted Time is officially two years old today, which means I have wasted another year of my life writing up summaries that very few people read. I think I should have quit last year.

Another MS Office clip art, just like last year.

Just kidding! Once again, a big thank you to everyone who bothered to visit, comment on, or link to this blog over the last 12 months. Coinciding with this anniversary, this blog has also drawn its 500,000th visitor, so there is one more reason to celebrate. I'm going to keep the thank you speech short this year, because I only have one speech and I used it last year. There are a few people who probably deserve special mentions, but I have grown lazy over the last year and I've never been good with names (excuses excuses...). I hope you all know who you are :D.

Since this is the most self-centered post of the year, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't a big stats dump. Just like last year, I have inserted my own artwork to break up the wall of text. If you are not interested in reading the numbers, feel free to skip to the end.

Stats graph for the last 12 months courtesy of Statcounter. 

Green is page loads, blue is unique visits, and orange is returning visits.

This is the 911th post of this blog, which means I've made 398 posts this year, down from last year's 513. As of now, this blog has had over 500,000 visitors and 830,000 page loads in total, which means that the last 12 months has drawn 370,000 visitors and 620,000 page loads. Over the last year, visitor numbers grew slowly but steadily, and nowadays this blog is averaging 1200 visitors and 2200 page loads a day with 170-200 feed subscribers. The numbers aren't that impressive compared to some of the more popular blogs out there, but this is easily the most popular website in my collection. The increase in visitors is a surprise since I certainly didn't put in any more effort than before and I went on an extended vacation in May (noticeable dip in the graph above), but I'm thankful that more people are finding their way to this site. Maybe the traffic growth is just for being here for long enough. If nothing else, this site is getting more hits from Google Image Search, especially images from the Queen's Blade series (I wonder why). Another piece of good new is actual readership or at least commenting seemed have increased too. Currently, the total comment count stands at over 4800. As the comment count was around 1600 at the end of the first year, it means commenting has doubled last year compared to the first year. 3200 comments in a year is still not much considering I've made 400 posts, but I realize that summary blogs that aren't really popular or have a big team of authors don't draw a lot of comments. I'm happy with the progress though, and those who bothered to leave (non-spam and non-flame) comments last year have my appreciation.

I believe I can fly...

Here are a few more possibly interesting statistics (courtesy of Google Analytics):

• Most visited post in the last year: Tenjou Tenge 134 with over 5100 page views. The top ten consists of three Tenjou Tenge posts, two Queen's Blade posts, two Gantz posts, a To-Love-Ru post and my scathing review of the Eureka Seven movie (which is by far the most commented post on this blog). I'm not surprised Tenjou Tenge took up three spots as it is a fairly popular series with a spotty translation effort, but I definitely underestimated the popularity of Queen's Blade.
• Most popular blogged series of the year: Fullemtal Alchemist (anime + manga), which is no surprise at all given that it's a massively popular series that ended within the last year. Even though Brotherhood was covered by so many blogs out there, it's still the biggest source of traffic for this site over the last 12 months. It's just an indication of how large the fan base is for this series.
  The second most popular series was Queen's Blade thanks to all the hits from Google Image Search.
• Top (non-search engine) referrers: Random Curiosity (reborn and stronger than ever), AnimeBlips (takes your feed without notifying you first, but decent source of traffic), and the old and reliable Anime Nano. 
• Top three blog referrers: Random Curiosity, Sea Slugs! and Star Crossed. This is no surprise given that these are three of the most popular episodic blogs out there, and I admire those guys for finding ways to keep their sites running for so long while keeping things interesting at the same time.
• Top commenter: Anonymous. I didn't need a stats tracking program to know that lol.

The only thing I've drawn that has green as one of the dominant colors.

As mentioned before, this was the year I started getting lazy with this blog. Over the last year, I posted less, commented less on other blogs and made less effort to reach out to new blogs. Part of my decreasing effort was due to real life commitments, and part of it is just lack of motivation. The "new blog smell" is wearing off, and I'm just not as driven as before and more content to sit back and do my own thing. I'll try to be less lazy next year, although I make no promises. Since I'll be in grad school soon and will likely be busier than I have ever been before, there might even be the question of whether this blog will survive to its third birthday. I will do whatever I can to keep this place alive, but next year there might be even more cutbacks. Then again, I managed to write through my last undergrad year, so maybe next year won't be so bad. A busier schedule will also be more motivation for me to improve my writing style, especially when it comes to conciseness. I'm not aiming to be insightful, but I think more conciseness and humour would benefit both myself and the readers. Shorter summaries may be in order, although I keep saying this but haven't followed through yet.

Mecha is about the only thing that I can draw reasonably well.

So to sum up my plans for next year: I'll try my best to keep this blog alive, but posting might suffer a bit. To try to make up for the decrease in posts, I'll probably make a new theme since this blog is due for a makeover. There is nothing majorly wrong with the current look, but it looks a bit generic. I have been designing mascots for this blog, and I probably should incorporate them into the look of the site. That's all the plans I have now for next year. I'm not thinking about moving this blog any more despite what everyone told me in the first anniversary post. Thanks to those suggestions though, I now run a few self-hosted WordPress blog these days and they have a lot of advantages over Blogger, but Blogger isn't horrible enough to make me want to move two years of posts, comments, and readership. If I wanted to move, I should have made up my last year and did it, but it's too late now. Unless Google suddenly pulls the plugs on Blogger, this blog will be staying right where it is.

Finally, a piece of artwork that's actually anime/manga-related. Maid guitar rocks!

Once again, I have wasted hours writing about a bunch of unimportant stuff that's not even anime or manga related. If you read up to this point, thanks you very much for bearing with me and thank you all again for the support. Hopefully I'll be writing another one of these posts the same time next year, and let's see if this little blog can get into the 1 million visitors club.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Eiva

At the beginning of the film Layton receives a letter from the famed opera singer, Jenice Kaitly, inviting them to see her newest performance. She also asks Layton, Luke, and Remi for assistance in a mystery, saying her friend Melina went missing one year ago but returned later as a seven year old girl saying she had found the secret of eternal life. Naturally, the case fascinates Layton and his apprentices, so they head to the Crown Petone opera house. When they arrive, something is very strange: the pianist, Ozro Vislar talks of a game, and the winner will win the "eternal life." It is up to Layton, Luke, and Remi to solve the mystery of the Eternal Diva before it is too late.

Year: 2009
Genre: Puzzle solving


Format: Mini MKV / English Subbed
Total Size: 270MB
Quality: Good
Fansub: Anonbro

Part 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=20IYR4G5
Part 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NFNASLSB
Part 3: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3I9YBUX3
Part 4: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2IAERZ0L

Highschool of the Dead 06

T and A, plus cops and protesters going nuts.

If I were to pick one screen shot to describe this episode, this would be it.

Kohta is in heaven.

Summary:
At Rika's luxury apartment, Shizuka, Rei, Saeko and Saya take a bath together and fool around in the process. Meanwhile, Takashi and Kohta pry open Rika's weapon locker and discovers an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, a shotgun and a crossbow along with plenty of ammo. The two guys then look outside and spot a TV crew and commotion growing on the nearby bridge blockade, so they decide to turn on the TV.

Kids are a pain in the neck.

Shooting people is a great way of making people calm down. Right...

At the blockade, a group of protesters have gathered to condemn the police practice of shooting zombies. They believe that zombies are still people who have been infected by a secret biological weapon developed by the US, and they are making a big fuss. The police are undermanned and overwhelmed, and the section chief gets the command to maintain order by any means necessary. And so the chief goes up to the protest leader and shoots in the head, and the police orders its fleet of front loaders to charge the people/zombies that are trying to breach the blockade. In the midst of the chaos, the section chief commits suicide.

Kohta is in a different kind of heaven.

What are you complaining about, Takashi?

Back at the apartment, the girls have finished taking their bath and Shizuka has some fun with the two guys before falling asleep with Saya. Meanwhile, Saeko is cooking rations while wearing only an apron. Takashi flirts with Saeko, but he is called away by the jealous, tired, and possibly delirious Rei. Takashi and Rei start an argument when Rei brings Hisashi up again, but the two makes up and starts making out. Unfortunately for Takashi and Rei, their make out session is interrupted by the barking of a dog. Takashi rushes to the balcony where Kohta reports that the dog has drawn a large group of zombies to the apartment building.

Rei: Takashi baby?

Takashi: What's up, honey-bunny?

Rei: You didn't brush your teeth yet, did you? That horseradish smell coming from your mouth is ruining the mood.

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I thought this episode would be completely dedicated to fan service, but I was wrong. This episode was 80% fan service, and the other 20% was people doing stupid things at the bridge. The pro-zombie protesters were out of their minds, and the police were clueless, but we shouldn't be surprised to see counterproductive idiots and incompetent authorities, given that HOTD is supposed to be a homage to zombie disaster films. At least what was happening on the bridge had zombie biting and people getting shot, which helps to offset the Highschool of the Boobs show going on in the apartment.

The main focus of the episode was of course the girls and all their jiggling assets. I found the fan service to be laughable (especially Shizuka and Rei's perverted antics), which meant at least I wasn't bored. There wasn't much of a plot, but I wasn't expecting one this week. The series also tried its hand again at the Takashi and Rei drama, but an argument that suddenly turned into a make out session doesn't really say much. Maybe Rei realizes that there are at least two other hot girls in the vicinity who have their eyes on Takashi, and so she is trying to stake her claim.

Overall, this episode was better than I predicted, but then again I came in with low expectations. The episode was fan service interlaced with random acts of stupidity and violence, and it probably won't be winning any awards. Judging from the preview, the girls still aren't wearing their cloths next week, but at least our main characters will be in action... the kind of action that involves killing zombies.