Baka to Test to Shōkanjū – 08

Is there any episode of Bakatest that is not epic?! Oh gosh, all the spoofs and references this week KILLS me. Especially how the entire episode is done in NGE-style.

You don’t need Geass to mind-control others into purchasing Hideyoshi’s pics.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! I’m willing to pay triple, no, quadruple!

That’s why they got Mario to go on a diet and be paper-thin, thus creating Paper Mario.

S&M in my Bakatest?! AWSM. I mean, wow.

If you need any proof that Bakatest ep 8 is just like NGE…

You should at least recognise the Gendo pose, right?

Scroll down for more pictures of the “adult” characters!

Ooo, look at the wings~! (am not a boobs-supporter)

… No boobs, no legs, no wings. Meh. Any DFC-lovers out there?

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF *dies of blood loss*

…… *Looks left, looks right* Good thing Shouko is not here.

LOL, definitely her dream. I mean, (almost) hadaka apron + wedding ring…

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF, this is handsome!

[Via http://rinerei.wordpress.com]

Anime Review: SHUFFLE!

SHUFFLE! シャッフル!

Plot Summary:

In present times, Gods and Demons coexist together with Humans after the door between each of these worlds had opened. Tsuchimi Rin is a normal young high school student attending Verbena Academy, spending his days living peacefully with his childhood friend Kaede. Unexpectedly, one day the King of Gods, the King of Demons and their families move into be Rin’s next door neighbors. Apparently the daughter of the Gods, Sia, and the daughter of the demons, Nerine, are both deeply in love with Rin after having met him the past. Along with his playful friendship with upperclassmen Asa and his encounter with the silent but cute Primula, Rin has much on his hands dealing with the affections of each of these girls. Based on the eroge by Navel.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, School, Harem

Age Rating: PG-15 – Teens 15 or above

No. of Episodes: 24 episodes

Story

Pros: Story distribution | Character development | Good starting | Surprises

Cons: Draggy drama | several characters gone missing during the finale

SHUFFLE! is one of the classic eroge adaptation. The beginning of the story is just like you average harem anime adapted from its original game, a male with five females mix of childhood friend, eccentric, tsundere, shy and loli. Everything are just normal except they spice up the story a bit by adding some supernatural elements – god and demon races. However, to my surprise, I enjoyed the series a lot because of its unique storyline.

Distribution of the story is done very well, basically it is divided into 3 parts. First is the introduction part which each major characters gets one or two episodes air time. This part is done particularly good and audiences would get to know the characters better. Then, right after the characters introduction, the drama kicks in. This part contains several arcs and I think this is the weakest part out of 3, because some arcs are too dramatic and draggy. This annoys a lot and I don’t like draggy story at all. Then the third part is the finale part, which is full of surprises and very good if compared with the second part.

The character development of this series is very good and the overall flow of the story is excellent, I enjoyed a lot.

Points: 31.5/40

Animation

Studio: asread

Year: 2005

Type: Series

Pros: Colouring | constant moving background | Characters design and detail

Cons: certain unnatural movements

The animation quality of SHUFFLE! is above average and quality is kept constant throughout the series. There are several points that I’m very satisfied with. First is the colouring, the use of bold and distinctive colours lightens the overall feel of the story and I think the colours has their importance in this series. Second is the characters design and its minor details. The characters looks very nice and to my surprise, the characters costumes do change according to the occasion. Unlike some anime that their character has only have 2-3 costumes.

Points: 25/30

Audio

Opening Theme(s):

1. “YOU” by YURIA

Ending Theme(s):

1. “innocence” by Hashimoto Miyuki

Insert Theme(s):

1. n/a

Theme songs are great and caught my attention, other than that the sound work is just average and nothing really special with it.

Everything is within the acceptable range.

Points: 16/20

Personal Rating

If you’re looking for a decent Rom-Com (Romance-Comedy), this might suit your requirements.

8.5/10

OVERALL POINTS

31.5 + 25 + 16 + 8.5 = 81points

81points, EXCELLENT anime [26/02/2010]

More Anime Reviews and Rating – Click HERE How I Rate Anime – Click HERE

[Via http://johndiew0107.wordpress.com]

There is a Trigun movie?!

My weeaboo days are behind me, but I still think I peed a little. It’s been years since I’ve even heard the word “Trigun.” If you plan on going to Sakura-con this year you will be getting a special treat.

Trigun: Badlands Rumble will be premiered at the con. The convention will be taking place April 2-4, while the theatrical premier isn’t until April 24th. So if you attend the con you get to see it before anyone else does!

Or you could be like the rest of the American Anime fanbase, download it…

Source: Japanator and Sakura-con

[Via http://angrybuilding.wordpress.com]

Hanamaru Kindergarten – 07

This show is “Hii-chan approved”.

Can’t resist posting that as the first pic, lol.

Hii-chan in a kawaii dress!!!

Hii-chan’s the only one never with a ? above her head.

Aspiring biologist Hii-chan

Less like a mermaid, more like fish bait.

Tsuchida is “Hii-chan rejected”.

Adult(…?) Hii-chan

Kawaii Hii-chan in yukata!!! (More kawaii if she didn’t tie the hair up..)

Let’s play the Hii-chan counting game!

Hii-chan riding on a paopu fruit? XD

[Via http://rinerei.wordpress.com]

The Growing Rift - Questions I have.

Yet another chapter in The Growing Rift saga…

With the recent announcement that NIS America’s anime releases of Toradora, Pandora Hearts, Persona Trinity Soul and Our Home’s Fox Deity will be English subtitle only, its yet another blow to the English dub fandom. Then the additional news that Media Blasters’ will be releasing Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei in subtitle only DVDs. I’ve decided to compile a list of English dubs that are currently being produced and will be dubbed. It goes without saying, they are a dying breed without a doubt.

From Media Blasters, we have the fanservice and breast-oriented titles like Kanokon, Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny (and Great Guardians) and Queen’s Blade (also the second season). Otherwise, all the remainder of their titles will be English subtitle-only. Nozomi Entertainment, RightStuf’s anime wing, hasn’t dubbed a title in English since The Third: Girl With The Third Blue Eye finished its U.S. release run a few years back. Sentai Filmworks, formerly ADV Films, has yet to produce a new dub, they’ve gotten dubs from their various license rescues, but nothing from Seraphim Digital. Rumor has it however, that they are working on a couple of titles. Funimation continues to dub everything they acquire in English, however recent information has com to surface that the Vandread recap OVAs they acquired a while back, will be sub-only. The real interesting player in all this is Bandai Entertainment. I don’t even want to begin to speculate what is going on in their head.

My questions are as follows:
A good portion of the North America’s industry is moving in the sub-only direction. Will you be stubborn as a mule and keep your ground, or will you adapt to the ever-changing industry?

Are you perfectly fine with missing out on Toradora and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei?

I have to ask because some dub fans have the “why buy, when I can watch subs for free” mentality. Will you support piracy instead of buying sub-only releases?

[Via http://thegoldenwaste.wordpress.com]

"InuYasha Kanketsu-hen" review

Series: “InuYasha Kanketsu-hen,” or “InuYasha: The Final Act”
Genre: Romance, Action
Episodes: Still ong0ing as of right now, but I believe there’s 26 total.
Synopsis: This is the last series of InuYasha, picking up from where the series long ago started off.  InuYasha, Kagome, and their friends finally have the fated showdown with Naraku and decide what will become of the Shikon Jewel.
Opinion: 3 out of 5 stars

To my huge surprise, I actually haven’t heard of the recent release of InuYasha until early January. Before any of you get all high and mighty about how InuYasha is an insult to Japanese anime, it was my gateway anime and thus I believe that I should pay homage to the series that sucked me into this addiction in the first place.  That being said, this season has a much better artwork.  The earlier seasons of “InuYasha” seemed 2-D and lacking in color, while this has a more fuller look with shadows and everything.  Finally, the InuYasha series is getting somewhere since they have nothing better to do other than to hurry up and defeat Naraku, so there aren’t as many annoying filler episodes.  Yes, some of the episodes are still dumb and we could probably do without the over-exaggerated fight scenes, but I still have a touch of nostalgia upon viewing this series.

[Via http://otakugal.wordpress.com]

A good weekend

.Unconventional start.
I just wrote the whole blog post on my mobile phone (Opera Mini browser) and…. the text was not saved.
So no more bloging from mobiles for me… sometimes we have too much faith in technology… and me, as a tester, should have known better.
.End rant.

So what about the weekend?
Well, it was a good one. A bit of house chores (who doesn’t love them? ), a bit of food creation fiesta and lots of time spent with the kids.

Maya is a bit … difficult to manage/live these days. She’s stubborn, anxious, fast changing, eager and bored in the same time. We really have to emphasis alot on the NO and DON’T parts… She even stamped a wall… But, a sweety after all. And beautifull, soo beautifull. See the image at the end.

Now to the “little” part. Brian. He’s a lovely fast growing boy. Lots of laughing, gurgling and eating. I just love him. And Maya too. And my Lady too
We are glad Brian is OK now, just small irks and bits we have to watch out. I spent quite a chunk of my time watching over him (feeding, wondering, diapers and stuff).

What about the rest? Well, we had a visit from some family friends. Eating pizza, talking and watching kids playing was all about it. A bit tired after, but all is good.
And, the last but not the least, I had a good time spent with my Lady. We just wait for the weather to get warmer, to walk in the park, to be embraced by the Sun, to watch the kids play and laugh.

And me? As usual, family time, as described above. Beyond that I started watching Storm Warriors and Tears to Tiara. I just love animes. So touching.
And I got a fixation to try out Homeworld 2 (again..) and Freespace 2. But still, WoW eats most of my tiny spare gaming time.

Oh, and being weekend, I almost forgot. My dear Lady started teaching me how to play (on our “piano”) the great song Sirenia – Seven Sirens and a Silver Tear
All I can say is… listen to it. Great effect and sublime interpretation.

Now to end the brible, I’m back at work. Meetings, usual stuff, blah… Java-ing around.
At least my Lady and Brian visited and he made everyone around smile. A

P.S. ATM listening to Siebenburgen – Levande Begravd

[Via http://negaterium.wordpress.com]

Kowarekake no Orgel

The story centers around Keiichiro, a young man who lives alone in his house. He went through a lot of pain in his life, since a car accident, where his parents and younger sister were killed and only he survived, blaming himself for that accident.

One rainy day, he shelters in an old shrine. There he notices a little girl, sitting on a chair, surrounded by garbage, she herself is a garbage – an android who someone dumped. Something in Keiichiro tells him to take her with him. After going to the android repair shop, he was told that she would never function, so he put her in his bathroom. The next day, when he awake, Keiichiro noticed that the little android girl was standing in the kitchen, preparing him breakfast. She didn’t have a name, so while looking on a sunflower, Keiichiro give her a name – Flower. After that they started to live together.

[Via http://iwantblood.wordpress.com]

Show your support for Toradora Portable!

With a game publisher (NIS America) licensing the anime, it’s a bit of a long shot and it will likely depend on the success of both the Toradora! anime and their first major visual novel release (Disgaea Infinite), but I’d say localization is no longer as far out of the question as it used to be.

I’ve already made a request for localization on their forum in the “Game Request” section, so show your support! Tell your friends and as many Toradora fans as possible, even if you don’t have a PSP. This is a rare opportunity, after all.

http://www.nisamerica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=520

Registering for a forum account is free at the above link. If you want to see this game localized, now’s your chance to help!

[Via http://daverost.wordpress.com]

Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu 6

Obligatory pool/bathhouse episode. Which of course means obligatory fanservice episode. Which or course means the Hideyoshi levels were off the charts this week!  Minami’s DFC isn’t bad either!

Mmmmm.

Anywho, I personally found this episode to be hilarious. A lot of others at animesuki were complaining about how the gags were being constantly repeated thought the episode (especially Tsuchiya’s nose-bleeds), and on that point I agree with them. BUT, I happen to find the jokes and running gags (most of them anyway) to be still funny as hell! When a series can keep me laughing my ass off through six episodes, that’s good enough for me.

Beware the Shouko

Poor Yuuji’s eyes! It seems though that Yuuji is slowly starting to accept the fact that he’s tied to Shouko however, and they were even able to communicate normal at times! Hey, its progress! The bathhouse scene was especially cute: ‘It’s almost like you’re married!”"Don’t say unnecessary things!! AHHH!!”

"Is.....this...a biological weapon??"

This line had me cracking up. The perv-antics of Akihisa and Vouyer (I’m sorry I know this is [gg]’s take on his nickname, but I like it the best) never get old. And the blood just keeps flowing and flowing…

They even go through great lengths to sneak a peek in the bathhouse! Which leads to beings being summoned. Check out the girls summons, bathhouse style:

And now to your weekly Hideyoshi OMG WTF is he wearing!? (or not) coverage:

ARGH!! Trap overload!!!!

Ahh….better. ^_^

And just in case you’re wondering why Akihisa and Voyeur didn’t die from blood loss when seeing Hideyoshi change/bathe….
Seems they’ve decided to give Hideyoshi his own gender already. Poor Hideyoshi, although he doesn’t look very lonely bathing by himself….

MOAR Minami next week please. kthanxbai

[Via http://joewii.wordpress.com]