Finally! Busou Renkin Complete!

Phew... after a whole week of downloading, I've finally collected all 26 episodes of Busou Renkin!! Yeah, yeah, I know. "Why the heck are you doing that in the middle of exams?!"

Well, :P to you! I don't need a reason other than "I'm an otaku!" Wahaha!! While y'all drown yourselves in exam depression, I'm still living my life like how I usually do, except with more sweets.

First Death (part 3)

Night 3
A year later, the old guy went missing. What's more. Discrimination between normal humans and mutants gets worse day by day. Although nobody talked about it, everybody knew that, soon, we would be witnessing an all-out war between the two sides.

By the fifth day of the old guy's disappearance, more than half of his disciples had left the city. It was that day which triggered the human-mutant conflict. I don't remember much of the dream that night, but basically, a whole mob of mutants came running into our school and started killing everyone.

Every student in that school were humans, so they probably assumed that we were training for war against them or something. Whatever they were thinking, we could care less. We just fought and fought. There were many casualties, that's for sure. Blood covered the walls like a fresh coat of paint.

Finally, only a dozen of us were still standing. Unfortunately, the mutants were still abundant and with their superhuman abilities, we would surely lose. Things I can't remember happened after that and we were outside the school, surrounded once again. I've reached my limit and so have the others. The mutants were slowly approaching us with their sick powers.

Then, we heard gunshots. The mutants stopped walking towards us and started looking for the source of the gunshot. Another few more accurate shots and they started panicking. We seemed to have been forgotten and the mob started looking around for the shooters.

Having seen this scene before (remember, I'm repeating history), I knew there were snipers hiding on buildings everywhere in the city. This was the first battle between humans and mutants. The humans started the fight and we were bait. I never liked the idea, but at least it gave us an advantage over the mutants. As I recall, the city was a strategic location and the control of this city and its surrounding areas would give us a chance to beat the mutant armies.

The gunfire continued. I never saw if every mutant was killed because I fainted after that. And when I woke up, I was in an infirmary and sitting next to me was my master. Of course, I knew and understand everything that happened. But I asked for an explanation anyway.

To summarise, the old guy was part of an anti-mutant army. He was summoned for an emergency meeting, which discussed the operation that happened today. He apologised for involving us, but it was a strategy to force us into the army. That was the only thing I've ever hated the old guy for.

And finally, before the end of the dream, there were once again images of people I met while in the army, as well as images of me rising in rank. The final thing that I remember seeing before waking up was me following the old guy to form an alliance with another anti-mutant army.

First Death (cont'd)

Night 2
The dream started with something like a recap of the previous one. I saw (and felt) that death scene again. Immediately after that, the scene switches to the old witch. She chanted something and the magic circle glowed with a purple fluorescence.

And the whole world went black. I was dead, but, for some reason, conscious. I could see nothing. It was just me in a pitch-black world. But there was one thing I was certain of. My body was whole. I could feel the weight of my arms and legs.

It took a while, but I managed to gather some strength to open my eyes. My head was resting on a wooden platform. I lifted my head to find myself in a bar. The place where it all started. My first encounter with the man who would change my life.

I knew I was supposed to keep events as close as they were before or things might change... a lot. So, I listened attentively for that string of dialogue. And I found it, which also confirmed that I was at the right time. There was a whole group of mutants there. Their main topic was discrimination towards humans, the very thing I hated the most for as long as I can remember.

"Normal humans are pathetic. They're weak, yet we have to treat them as equals! What a joke! If I was one of those lawmakers, I'd make sure every normal human on the planet be our slaves. Bwahaha!"

That event was historically correct. And my actions were correct too. I stood up, walked to the bunch of mutants and gave one of them a punch they'd never forget.

"Normal humans are weak, are they? Well, you seem to be bleeding even though I just used half my strength!"
"You picking a fight?!"
"Come on. I can take all of you mutant bastards on!"

I punched another guy in the face and he dropped unconscious. It was then I realised that even though time went back, I still had not forgotten how to fight. So, that meant that events wouldn't go as they did if I were to fight normally. As much as I hate to do it, I held back all my speed and strength. The fight took a lot longer than I had thought, but finally, the fight ended with me lying on the wet mud outside the bar.

"This guy is tough... Never thought a normie could be so strong. But he's still not strong enough to beat all of us." They gave me another kick.

I was really in pain. After all, I had to keep letting them hit me until it actually hurt or it wouldn't seem real. I was a terrible actor after all. So, I laid there, slowly waiting for the pain to subside. Funny, it actually went away quite fast. I wonder if it was because I've experienced death once or because my body was stronger than it actually was.

"Good fight, young man. You fought well."

I turned my head to see an old man. Yes, that was him. The man that would change my life. I recalled our conversation back then and repeated my lines (well, as much as I could remember).

"What? You want to give me a piece of your mind too?"
"Haha... Do I look like a mutant to you?"
"How am I supposed to know? We look the same, don't we?"
"True. Now, get up, boy! It feels awkward talking to a man lying on the street!"

But I couldn't get up. All I managed to do was sit on the road.

"Good enough. Alright, I'll get straight to the point, boy. I'm a martial arts teacher and I like how you fight..."
"Very funny. You're choosing a guy who fought in a bar, and lost, as your disciple."
"A guy who picked a fight against 8 people, lasted 10 minutes and took out 3 in the process. Now, are you interested?"
"I've got no cash, pal."
"The training is free."
"Then, what's the catch?"
"You'll find out if I find you worthy. Don't worry. It's a good catch."
"And I should trust you, why?"
"Well... that really is up to you now, isn't it?"

I grinned. He was a good man, I could tell. Now or then, he is still the nice old geezer I knew.

After this were random images of friends I made while training under the old guy. It was tough trying to hide all the skills and it was actually pretty boring learning the same things again, but since this was where time stopped going backwards, I would have to live with it until THAT time again.

And I woke up after seeing another few more images of the training.

First Death

Since you people seem interested about me dying in my dreams, I'll tell you about the first time I died in a dream. I saw this dream 2 years ago. It was a strange dream, y'know? Why? Because there were continuations. I'm not joking. The dream went on for a series of nights.

Night 1
I was standing in front of a huge computer screen. On the screen was a map of the city and on the map, there were 4 blinking dots. Each one represented one of my comrades. It was time for the final battle against the mutants (it's a world where mutants and humans coexisted until some wacko convinced the mutants to be the dominant species).

The human army had 8 leaders (There used to be 9, but 1 died prior to the story). I was one of them. There were 5 mutant leaders with armies of their own. They were coming for us from all four directions. We decided to split up and also leave someone to guard HQ. I was chosen.

Now, I regret it deeply. I regret splitting us up.

I stared blankly at the screen as another 2 dots disappeared. I kept screaming their names, names which I had forgotten by now. Soon, the last 2 dots disappeared as well. We had lost.

"Regret not listening to me?"

I turned to see an old lady. She was the grandmother of one of the leaders (the one that died prior to the story). She was a powerful witch, which I had never trusted because I considered her witchcraft as mutant powers.

"We lost... and it's my fault. Because I never listened. Because I never trusted you." I slumped to the ground and all I could do was cry.
"Get a hold of yourself, boy! There is still one more chance, but it's risky. So, are you willing to trust me?"
"How?" I still didn't trust that witch.
"I was born with the talent to master all magic, even forbidden magic. TIME magic, for example."
"You can't be serious! You made a vow! If you use that magic, won't you..."
"Yes, I will receive divine punishment. But using this magic may bring back my granddaughter too."
"Then, why didn't you use it from the beginning?"
"Because of the risk. You see, I can activate the magic, but I can't stop it. I may be able to turn back time, but I don't know how far. Maybe a second, maybe a year, maybe 100 years, or may be it won't stop at all. Are you willing to do it? Are you willing to risk the entire fabric of space and time for another chance?"
"... ... I haven't trusted you even once after so many years, and you're still giving me this chance... I'd be a fool not to take it. And I am willing to bear the divine punishment that you are supposed to suffer."
"How nice, child..."
"BUT, you will activate the magic only IF I lose!"
"And you must promise to keep events close to what really happened. You can't go around changing history, got it?" She then disappeared.

Suddenly, the siren went off. "They're here." I unsheathed my sword and charged out, but just when I reached the door, it flew open and I was knocked back. In front of me was the one of the 5 mutants, Shadow. It had the power to disappear as it moves in dark areas. And what sucks was that this room was almost pitch black, except for the computer screen.

Without a word, we started fighting. I won't describe the fight to you. Just picture one of the most intense anime-style swordfights (e.g. Cloud vs Sephiroth in FFVII: AC) you've ever seen. I have to admit. Even now, I still can't believe I did those stunts at will.

Anyway, I won. As Shadow lay on the ground mortally wounded, I dealt one final blow to end him.

Meanwhile, the witch was preparing the magic circle. At the same time, she watched the fight go on. Behind her was her assistant, a lady dressed in a purple cloak.

"He won... Maybe he can still turn things around!"
"Ha! Don't get your hopes up, my dear. Once he steps out of that building, he's dead. Now, hurry and prepare the circle before they find us too!"

Back to the battle ground. I had stepped out of our HQ and saw the gruesome scenes. My entire army had been obliterated. And the only ones standing were mutant soldiers. I clenched my fist and flew into a blind rage. I just charged with my sword and chopped down anything in my way.

But my offensive didn't last long. As I lifted my sword for another slash, something wrapped itself around each of my limbs. They were chains originating from the top of 4 buildings. I struggled but each chain was held with immense strength. It could only have been the remaining 4 leaders.

I glared at all of the mutants, but they just grinned. I felt the chains being tugged and I just howled into the sky. The tugging continued to grow stronger until... well... I got split into four pieces. That was the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life.

It was then that I woke up. Funny... the pain disappeared but I could move none of my limbs. They felt non-existent. I saw that my limbs were still there, but for a strange reason, I felt nothing in them. This lasted for about 10 minutes before I could finally bend a finger. In another few moments, I could finally get up, but for the rest of the day, my arms and legs felt very, very sore.

I open my eyes to once again find that I'm alive

I saw those climax scenes again. If you know me, you should know that every dream I have is fantasy-themed. And once in a while, I have dreams of battle scenes.

One thing I can assure you, it feels absolutely real. I can feel the weight of the sword in my hand, I can feel the air paving a way for me as I jump, and I can feel the impact of gravity when I land. Every one of my senses are fine-tuned, like it was all real.

And since I can feel everything, pain is no exception. That's right. The sharp pain of claws piercing into my flesh, the cold stinging pain of metal blades slashing my body, the pressure of being punched and kicked. And they're all measured by human standards. Basically, it's painful, very, very realistically painful.

Anyway, this time, I was in a warehouse. From what I can recollect, I was the leader of a team of demon slayers protecting the last of mankind. I was looking for something. Suddenly, I detected a presence. Don't ask me how. I just felt it.

But before I could react, something pierced my foot. I felt my whole leg going numb. I reached for a weapon, but my hand went numb. In about 10 seconds , I couldn't move at all. I knew of only one type of demon who could do that. Wraith, a high-classed demon with the power of invisibility. Its fingers contain toxins that causes numbing if it enters the bloodstream. Because of their dangerous capability, it was the first race of demons I destroyed. This guy probably came back for revenge.

"Damn! Am I gonna die here? Like hell I will!"

Wraiths are tough to beat, but they have one weakness. Their masks. For some reason (which I can't remember), a mask will always be hanging somewhere on a Wraith. We usually assume it as its face. Apparently, it's the one thing that keeps a Wraith tangible. If the mask is destroyed, the Wraith will become nothing more than air.

I found the mask quite fast. It was right above me. I mustered all my strength and forced my body to move. If I can make any limb move at all, it would change things.

"I will protect those people! So I... won't... die... HERE!!"

I could feel my right arm again, but I knew it would only be for a moment. So, I quickly reached out to the mask and grabbed it. Well, you can guess what happens next. I ripped it off the Wraith. It's easy to know, because it feels like you just pulled a piece of wood from mud on the ground.

Then, my hand collapsed again. I lost all sense of touch again and just laid there, waiting for the poison to lose effect. To pass the time, I started recalling things, but I don't remember much except for what I've told y'all above.

Suddenly, I felt a presence again. This time, it was from the outside. A rope pierced through the wall, wrapped itself around my right arm and pulled me out of the building. Before I could react, I knocked into someone's body and instantly felt a cold, sharp pain through my stomach.

"You lose, captain."

And I woke up then. It felt so real, you wouldn't believe it yourself. This is the second time I've died in a dream. The first time was 2 years ago. That time, before I died, I had made a deal to a witch. She would reverse time the moment I lose the fight, all the way back to when it all started, so technically, I didn't die then but it gave me a feel of death. It was painful.

I learned a new way of defining "Hard"

It's called Devil May Cry 3. I actually wanted to get Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, but they didn't have it. Since I wanted to get a game that day, I thought I'd give the infamous DMC3 a try. And the critics were right! It is freaking, freaking hard! It took me 6 tries to get past stage 2! And 4 to get past Stage 3 (and 1 try to get past stage 4). And I'm only on Normal Mode.

But the good thing is, you can pull a ton of insane combos using only the 2 attack buttons (3 if you use Gunslinger or Swordmaster). I've been kicking demon butt like there's no tomorrow with a sword and two pistols. Damn, Dante is cool! Oh, and I just got a three-ended nunchak and a shotgun (which does little damage but nice knockback).

But because some of the button pushing is quite similar, u tend to pull out techniques you don't want. Oh well, as long as it hits, you won't have to worry about a thing.

Then, there're the boss battles. I'm not sure whether I just suck or it really is like that, but it is HARD to land a hit on the boss with melee weapons. 99% of the boss battles consist of me spamming bullets. After just 1 boss battle, your fingers can really HURT since bullets deal a lot less damage than melee weapons. I managed to use my sword twice against Cerberus. As for the others, didn't even touch'em with the sword. They just parry and counter when I go near them.

Anyway, I better not get addicted to this game, since I still have 4 weeks of exams to go. But once it's over and my parents leave the house for KL, it's gonna be an all-nighter of demon slaying!! Warriors Orochi and Devil May Cry!! Woohoo! As Dante would say, "This is gonna be one hell of a party!"

I just picked a fight against 6 people...

And, boy, did it hurt... Ouch... But at least I won, right? Well, it was their fault. Who asked them to hit me first? All I did was rush to see someone. Sure, I got in their way when they were trying to do something, but that doesn't mean they should just come after me and try to kill me (I may not be exaggerating).

What hurts is my pride, by the way. The fact that they managed to land the first punch was really humiliating, but I guess it would be my fault if I attacked first, right? Anyway, I beat all 6 of them almost unharmed. I only got a few of my fingers hurt, so don't worry.

There were 5 guys and 1 girl in that group. I know I'm not supposed to hit a girl. That's one of my principles. That's why I didn't hit her until she hit me. Well, she didn't actually hit me with her body. But she did throw some hard things at me, like rocks. So, obviously, I had to either hit her too, or get barraged by rocks while the other 5 guys come after me. In the end, I took her down first. It took me a number of hits though, especially since I had 5 other guys to defend from.

Once I knocked her unconscious, I went after the other 5 guys. Damn, it's hard to fight 5 guys, especially when they're surrounding you. Good thing they don't take kendo lessons, or I'd have a problem. They just kept swinging sticks at me like I'm some pinata. And just like whacking a pinata, they miss A LOT. All I had to do was keep running and jumping around. Of course, there was one time when I had to duck and roll.

Funny though. Either I pulled my punches when I hit that girl, or these guys are serious wimps. It took me less hits to settle each guy than the girl. I think 5 - 8 hits each and they drop dead. OK, they didn't really die, just got KO'd.

Oh, and Nobunaga rocks! I took down 4 of those guys using just him. Wait... you weren't thinking that I got into a real fight, did you? Did you?

Can't study!!!

Gah!! I've struggled through till now, but I REALLY can't concentrate today! I can't even draw a Healing Touch right. Oh well, guess i'll stop for today and just game till night. Hopefully I'll have better focus tomorrow.

I've finished the Chemistry paper 2 past years already except 1 which I plan to leave till the day before the exam. So, I guess my level is so-so. May/June 2006 was a tough paper. I scored like 30+/75 there while I can get like 50+ for the papers... Hopefully nothing like that year will come out in the exam.

Oh, and if you're wondering about my progress for Bio Paper 31, I haven't touched it yet, but I'll start on Monday. Tomorrow... I guess I'll settle Stats and, if I have the time, Physics.

---

Busou Renkin has some pretty anti-climatic scenes. In episode 1, Kazuki thrusts his lance towards the Homunculus and they clashed. They started competing in strength and Kazuki won. The lance went right through the Homunculus and continued until Kazuki slammed against a wall... Sigh... just when you're prepared to shout, "Yeah!", they throw you a scene which makes you go "Swt!"

So far so good, though.

Aikoi - by FictionJunction YUUKA

Lyrics:
Dakishimete kisu shitatte
Kimi wo suki ni natteku kimochi ni hate wa nai
Fukiareru koi wo
Kattou to rakkan to takkan de norikiru dake

Susume koigokoro mayowazu ni kimi no moto he
Yoru mo hiru mo hana mo arashi mo kitto fumikoete

Sekai no kanjou zenbu yusabutte
Kodoku na shinjou sugu ni tsutaetai
Tarinai mono no nai, ari no mama no
Ai ga hoshii dake

Sakamaku junjou kimi no te wo tsukami
Kono mama souzou no sekai ni ochiteku
Kawaranu hibi wo kaeteyukuwa
Ai wo kono mune ni

Hanarenaide soba ni ite
Dakedo hontou wa nani ga hoshii no ka mitsukaranai
“Koibito” tte
Totemo sanman de aimai de tayorinai kotoba da ne

Konna koigokoro massugu ni kirei na mono ne
Natsu mo fuyu mo ten takaku aru hoshi ni te wo nobasu

Sekai no sanjou kimi ga inakereba
Yasashii kanjou kieteshimaisou
Kake ochita mune no ari no mama de
Kimi wo sagashiteru

Afureru junjou amai kisu dakede
Tayasuku souzou no genkai wo koeteku
Yume yori fukaku hitotsu ni naru
Ai wo sagashiteru

(Sekai no sanjou kimi ga inakereba
Yasashii kanjou kieteshimaisou)

(Sakamaku junjou kimi no te wo tsukami
Ai wo tsutaetai)

Sekai no kanjou zenbu yusabutte
Kono mama souzou no genkai wo koeteku
Kawaranu hibi wo kaeteyukuwa
Ai wo kono mune ni

Ai wo kono mune ni...

Translation:
Embrace and kiss me
My feelings of falling in love with you is never ending
We can only get over this passionate love with
Conflicts, optimism, and farsightedness

My hastening love will go to where you are without being puzzled
I will definitely overcome nights, days, flowers, and storms

Shake all of the world’s emotions
I want to convey my lonely mentality now
There is nothing which is lacking, I only want
True love

Within the surging waves of your pure heart, I will hold on to your hand and
Fall into an imaginary world
I will keep on changing the consistent days
Give love to this heart of mine

Don’t part from me, stay with me
But the truth is I can’t find what I want
“Lover” is
A very vague, ambiguous, and unreliable word

Such love is an honest and beautiful thing
I will reach out my hands towards summer, winter, and the stars high in the heavens

During the world’s disasters, if you are not here
That gentle feeling may disappear
With my shattered heart as it is
I will search for you

An overflowing pure heart is not only a sweet kiss
It easily crosses an imaginary limit
Becomes one that is deeper than dreams
I will search for love

During the world’s disasters, if you are not here
That gentle feeling may disappear
Within the surging waves of your pure heart, I will hold on to your hand and
I want to convey my love

Shake all of the world’s emotions
I will cross the imaginary limit as I am
And keep on changing the consistent days
Give love to this heart of mine

Give love to this heart of mine...

---

Yuki Kajiura is nice. By the way, FictionJunction is Yuki Kajiura's band.

Warriors Orochi Country Comparison

If y'all didn't know, Warriors Orochi is a combination of Dynasty Warriors (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) and Samurai Warriors (The Warring Period of Japan). Basically, they got teleported into a dimension by a demon. Both Chinese and Japanese forces succumbed to the demon's forces. Now, the greatest heroes of the four countries have teamed up to challenge this demon.

Anyway, I've played the beginning stages of Shu, Wei, Wu and Japan.

Japan offers the best starter team (Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Akechi). Nobunaga is powerful on foot and on a horse. His attacks are devastating (but a little slow) on foot with insane knockback power and his attack speed is mad while he's on a horse. Hideyoshi has good range and attack speed. Unlike Nobunaga, the chances of being hit first are low and he's very good to use when you're surrounded by many generals. Akechi is like the other "Speed" category warriors. You can dish out combos and immediately jump back or forward because of his aerial escape technique. Very confusing for your opponents. His drawback is his lack of knockback power and his low resistance to flinching.

Shu offers the second best starting team. Zhao Yun is, by far, one of the best "Tech" category characters I've seen. He's a balanced character with powerful jump attacks (which I spam the most) and jumping means that there's no way your opponents can counter especially if he's being hit in mid-air. Xing Cai is a "Speed" category character and is the same as Akechi. However, Xing Cai is one of the best characters on a horse since Ma Chao. Her attack level on a horse is much higher than her attack on foot. And I particularly enjoy her aerial charge technique because it's near impossible to predict where she's gonna land. The last guy is useless (Yoshimura). I switched him for Ginchiyo Tachibana later (a powerful crowd clearer).

Wei is mediocre. Cao Pi does well on a horse, but is very average on foot. Xu Huang has been a lousy character to use since Dynasty Warriors 3. And they seriously toned down Zhang Liao's range. Not a good team for me.

Wu is just plain terrible! Sun Ce is seriously weak compared to the Dynasty Warriors version where he's an insane 1-on-1 combat machine. Here, his range sucks and his grab-and-whack attack got changed to some pathetic stomp attack. Ieyasu Tokugawa has a cannon with terrible aim. He's meant to be a 1-on-1 character too, but how are you supposed to fight well when you can't aim properly!? Plus, he is SLOW! Hattori Hanzo...sigh... he is so disappointing. I've been interested in the guy because he was a great leader of the ninja army back in the Warring Periods of Japan, but here he just plain sucks. He has pretty useful attacks which would work A LOT better if they had given him a higher attack power!

---

They do balance out the levels though. Of all the 1st stages, Japan has the hardest and Wu has the easiest. Japan involves you trying to save two guys at the start of the game. And guess what. In 1 minute, 1 guy gets surrounded by 3 generals and in 5 minutes, the other guy gets ambushed by two generals. It was hard running around.

As for the second level, you're supposed to save a guy again. And unfortunately, this time, the guy is surrounded by 2 generals while you're miles away. In the end, you'll have to leave your allies and head for the guy as soon as possible. Along the way, you'll just have to ignore all the enemy generals and soldiers you pass. And when you get to the guy, you find that he's a fake and you get ambushed by 4, I repeat, 4 generals while your main camp is being attacked by 3 (main camp fall = instant defeat). So all together, you'll be facing 6 guys (2 characters and 4 regular generals) ALONE. And the mission is to beat all of them! 6 VS 1! And you have to win and make it back to save your main camp on time!! And this is only Stage 2!!!!

Damn, Warriors Orochi is nice. Oh, and now I see why Nobunaga was so hard to beat back in Samurai Warriors. Plus, he's the only guy in the whole game who DID NOT lose to Orochi's army. Everyone else (Shu, Wei, Wu and Tokugawa) lost. But Zhao Yun is still the coolest!

Chemistry sucks!!!

Chemistry Paper 31 began and ended today. I got through it really fast. I even had time to do each experiment (except titration) twice. I was glad that I could answer every question too.

And guess what? After exam finished, I found out that my values were like heaven and hell compared to the others. They got 27.00 cm3 for titration, I got 25.60cm3. They get 50% for percentage mass, and I got 35%. Great! Just great! JUST G-R-E-A-T! ! ! ! !

Lilian Too! Screw you!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now for something less negative. Here's the results for Round 1 of this year's GameFAQs (the #1 video game forum) Annual Character Battle.

Division 1
Group 1:
Cecil Harvey (FFIV)
Jade Curtiss (Tales of the Abyss)
Wario (WarioWare series) *Victor*
Zack Fair (FFVII series) *Victor*

Group 2:
Link (Legend of Zelda series) *Victor*
Luke fon Fabre (Tales of the Abyss)
Shadow the Hedgehog (Shadow the Hedgehog)
Zidane Tribal (FFIX) *Victor*

Group 3:
Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem series) *Victor*
Kefka (FFIV)
Marth (Fire Emblem series) *Victor*
Niko Bellic (GTA IV)

Group 4:
Altair (Assassin's Creed) *Victor*
Guybrush Threepwood (Monkey Island series)
Isaac (Golden Sun series)
Lucario (Pokemon Diamond) *Victor*

Division 2:
Group 1:
Liquid Snake (Metal Gear Solid series) *Victor*
Luigi (Mario Bros. series) *Victor*
Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II)
Sho Minamimoto (The World Ends With You)

Group 2:
Bowser (Mario series) *Victor*
Deckard Cain (Diablo series)
Geno (Super Mario RPG)
Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney series) *Victor*

Group 3:
Fei Fong Wong (Xenogears)
Knuckles the Echidna (Sonic the Hedgehog series)
Mario (Mario series) *Victor*
Zelda (Legend of Zelda series) *Victor*

Group 4:
Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia)
Mudkip (Pokemon Ruby) *Victor*
Tom Nook (Animal Crossing)
Mega Man X (Mega Man X series) *Victor*

Division 3:
Group 1:
Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot series)
Nightmare (Soul Caliber series) *Victor*
Raz (Psychonauts)
Samus Aran (Metroid series) *Victor*

Group 2:
Frog (Chrono Trigger) *Victor*
Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda series) *Victor*
KOS-MOS (Xenosaga)
Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You)

Group 3:
Falco Lombardi (Star Fox series) *Victor*
GlaDOS (Portal)
Vincent Valentine (FFVII series) *Victor*
Wander (Shadow of the Colossus)

Group 4:
Balthier Bunansa (FFXII)
Big Daddy (Gungrave)
Gordon Freeman (Half-Life series) *Victor*
Scorpion (Mortal Kombat series) *Victor*

Division 4:
Group 1:
Amaterasu (Okami) *Victor*
Crono (Chrono Trigger) *Victor*
Frank West (Dead Rising)
Kaim Argonar (Lost Odyssey)

Group 2:
L-Block (Tetris) *Victor*
Meta Knight (Kirby series)
Ryu (Street Fighter series) *Victor*
The Dog (Nintendogs)

Group 3:
Alucard (Castlevania series) *Victor*
Captain Falcon (Captain Falcon series) *Victor*
Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong series)
Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia)

Group 4:
Arthas Menethil (Warcraft III) *Victor*
Ike (Fire Emblem series)
Pikachu (Pokemon series) *Victor*
Spy (Dunno)

Division 5:
Group 1:
Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong series)
Miles 'Tails' Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog series)
Tidus (FFX) *Victor*
Weighted Companion Cube (Portal) *Victor*

Group 2:
Banjo (Banjo-Kazooie series)
Captain Olimar (Pikmin series)
Mega Man (Mega Man series) *Victor*
Nero (Devil May Cry 4) *Victor*

Group 3:
King Dedede (Kirby series)
Pit (Kid Icarus series)
Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden series) *Victor*
Zero (Mega Man series) *Victor*

Group 4:
Albert Wesker (Resident Evil series)
Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)
Solid Snake (Metal Gear series) *Victor*
Vivi Ornitier (FFIX) *Victor*

Division 6:
Group 1:
Chris Redfield (Resident Evil series)
Fox McCloud (Star Fox series) *Victor*
Sora (Kingdom Hearts series) *Victor*
Tim (The Incredible Machine series)

Group 2:
CATS (Zero Wing)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune)
Squall Leonhart (FFVIII) *Victor*
Yoshi (Yoshi's Island series) *Victor*

Group 3:
Axel Steel (Guitar Hero series)
Cloud Strife (FFVII series) *Victor*
Midna (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) *Victor*
Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney series)

Group 4:
Mewtwo (Pokemon series) *Victor*
Ness (EarthBound)
Pac-Man (Pac-Man series) *Victor*
Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)

Division 7:
Group 1:
Big Boss (Metal Gear series) *Victor*
Jinjo (Banjo-Kazooie series)
Kirby (Kirby series) *Victor*
Lucas (Mother 3)

Group 2:
Kain Highwind (FFIV)
Master Chief (Halo series) *Victor*
Professor Layton (Professor Layton)
Raiden (Metal Gear Solid series) *Victor*

Group 3:
Captain MacMillan (Call of Duty 4)
Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil series)
Riku (Kingdom Hearts series)
Siegfried Schtauffen (Soul Caliber series)

Group 4:
Dante (Devil May Cry series) *Victor*
Hogger *Victor*
Laharl (Disgaea: Hour of Darkness)
Ramza Beoulve (Final Fantasy Tactics)

Division 8:
Group 1:
Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)
Magus (Chrono Trigger)
Sandbag (Super Smash Bros. Melee) *Victor*
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog series) *Victor*

Group 2:
Auron (FFX) *Victor*
Marcus Fenix (Gears of War)
Rydia (FFIV)
Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat series) *Victor*

Group 3:
Nana (Ice Climber)
Ratchet (Ratchet and Klanky series)
Sephiroth (FFVII series) *Victor*
Tifa Lockheart (FFVII series) *Victor*

Group 4:
Heavy (Team Fortress series)
Jill Valentine (Resident Evil series) *Victor*
Kratos (God of War series) *Victor*
Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid series)

---

Phew... that was long. And that's only the beginning... A lot of characters I had expected to win didn't. And there's a lot more characters from Chrono Trigger and the Tales of series than I had expected too.

Tagged by the Lord of Cubes (soon to be demoted if he does not start babbling about cubes again)

What is the relationship of you with him/her?
My best friend

Your 5 impressions towards him/her.
1) An honourable Nintendo gamer and supporter (he will fight for Nintendo to the end. The same I would do for Square.)
2) A very nice, honest guy.
3) Good relationship with family.
4) Potential computer artist.
5) A fit fellar, now that Taiko and the Wii are in his life.

3. The most memorable thing he/she had done for you?
Hmm... I guess it would be supplying me info about upcoming games, even though I'm currently lagging behind thanks to LACK OF NEXT GEN CONSOLES.

4. The most memorable thing he/she have said to you?
Not to me. But that warcry when he played Kita Saitama2000 is memorable.

5. If he/she become your lover, you will...
He's a guy. And we'd both choose games over romance any time.

6. If he/she become your enemy, you will...
Train very very hard at Taiko and change our relationship from enemy to rivals. Frankly, he's not the type of guy who can hate anyone. Get mad, yes. Hate, nah.

7. If he/she become your lover, she has to improve on...
Never gonna happen in any lifetime.

8. If he/she become your enemy, the reason is...
Hmm... I've hardly even seen him mad. The only time he's ever gotten really angry was when some idiot knocked into his table and flipped it upside down (some bunch of lalas were wrestling in class then), while he was sitting right there drawing Nintendo characters.

9. The most desirable thing to do for him/her is?
Giving him something related to games and Nintendo.

10. The overall impression of him/her is...
Greatest Nintendo fan I know and probably the most trustworthy person I know besides my parents.

11. How do you think the people around you will feel about you?
When? Details, my friend. Details!

12. The character of you for yourself is?
A hardcore gamer and otaku who will choose those anime and video games over anything else.

13. On contrary, the character you hate of yourself is?
Too little time to consider my own weaknesses. Must play games.

14. The most ideal person you want to be is?
Izumi Konata.

15. For the people who care about and likes you, say something about them..
...

10 people to tag (I'm not gonna tag these people. I'm just gonna put names down to answer below)
Winger
Hime-sama
Pikaby
Retarded Bunny
Screwit
Youngblood
Jey Sern
Ripalo
Tweet Tweet
Ultraman Fan #2

Who is number 2 having a relationship with?
No one.

Is number 3 a male or a female?
Male

If number 7 and 10 were together would it be a good thing?
No, it would not. Two guys. One is an Ultraman fan, the other is a regular nice guy.

How about number 5 and 8?
Once again, no! Screwit will likely never have a good lovelife with most CLHS boys.

What is number 1 studying about?
Games and anime. Yeah, yeah, A-Level, too.

Is number 4 single?
Yes.

Say something about 6?
Play Go with me!!!!!!

9?
You're short and NOT space-efficient.

Lilian Too was right

People born in 1991 will have bad exam luck in October...

Ha...ha...ha...

My luck sucks... and rocks... whichever way you see it.

I readied my spear and with my Musou maxed, I charged into battle. I had to lead 75 men to safety, but I arrived late at the rendezvous point, very late. The enemy had already begun attacking. Several men had already been slain.

For a good 5 minutes, all I could do was kneel and prepared to lose. Then, my strategist devised a new plan. I headed straight for the enemy officers and took several down. With their commanders beaten, the men panicked. It was during this period of time that I led the remaining men out of the battlefield, cutting down every opponent that came my way.

There were several paths to choose from. The first path led to a dead end and we had to turn back. The second path was promising and led us closer to our escape point. I cleared the third, fourth, fifth and sixth path as well.

Unfortunately, at the seventh path, I faced 3 enemy officers. We clashed swords and I struggled. I managed to buy enough time for less than half of them to pass and I was overwhelmed. I've suffered to much damage, I had to head to the escape point now. So, I ran from battle, ignoring the screams from the eighth, ninth and tenth paths. I jumped and made it safely on board the ships that would take us to safety.

Of my army of 75, less than 30 made it to the boat. Sigh... However, it was still amazing I could save more than 10 of them given the time constraint.

Now, we may be safe, but we are not out of enemy territory. And I have promised to save more people from the enemy's clutches, so the battle has only begun. I will soon enter the borders of the next enemy country. May luck shine upon me once more.
---

Damn, Warriors Orochi is nice.

I'm gonna need some serious luck tomorrow.

After doing some of the past year questions (2003-2005), I realised that I tend to lose steam if I drag on too long. I usually lose focus at Q7 or Q8 and can't finish after that. Tch... I hope my mind does better tomorrow.

One Winged Angel

In accordance to this absolutely hellish event, I present to you the lyrics of a song that (to me) represents total and eternal desperation as you fight the greatest threat you will ever face in any lifetime.

Seriously, fight all forms of Sephiroth without Knights of the Round (even with it, you might not gain much advantage) and you'll see why he ranks as one of the toughest and greatest boss battles of all time.

Katayoku no Tenshi (One Winged Angel) - by Nobuo Uematsu

Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Sors immanis
Et inanis
Sors immanis
Et inanis

Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Estuans interius
ira vehementi
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias
Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias

Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa
Ne me mori facias Generosa
Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa
Ne me mori facias Generosa

Sephiroth
Sephiroth

(Repeat Song)

Translation:

Burning inside
with violent anger
Burning inside
with violent anger
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Burning inside
with violent anger
Burning inside
with violent anger
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Fate - monstrous
and empty
Fate - monstrous
and empty

Burning inside
with violent anger
Burning inside
with violent anger
Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Come, come, O come,
do not let me die
Come, come, O come,
do not let me die

Come, come, O come, Glorious
do not let me die, Noble
Come, come, O come, Glorious
do not let me die, Noble

Sephiroth
Sephiroth

Phew...... Hah......

Phew... haven't felt like this in a while. I guess it was the same a year ago. A couple of days left before a major paper. My senses have heightened to almost my limit. I can feel my mind sharpening and focusing on every detail that passes me. Haha! Kinda like Cloud preparing for a fight against Sephiroth.

But it does get annoying. I mean, I can even feel almost every twitch on my body, and sometimes I can feel the flow of blood in my arms... And my eyes feel different. Not better, just different. And my favourite songs during this period of time are... One Winged Angel (Katayoku no Tenshi), Advent One Winged Angel (Sairin Katayoku no Tenshi), and most of Yuki Kajiura's works (especially A Song of Storm and Fire).

Looks like I'm getting serious for my exam after all. Alright, I think I can give about 80-90% this time. Game on! Let the battle for survival begin!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Orochi is bloody tough, even in Normal Mode. If it's a 1-on-1 fight, we'd probably be an equal match, but the thing that sucks is that your commander is there right next to u as your partner! Basically, if he dies, you lose! So, I've got a bloody handicap since my commander can't heal and Orochi deals massive damage per hit! I've lost once because I got hit by his Musou and another time because my commander got hit by Orochi's Musou.

2. I bought a new FFXII DVD. I expected it to work now that it's been a year since it was release and what do u know? Nothing's changed. I sill can't get past that bloody desert because it hangs when you enter that area!!! This is the fourth disk I've gotten (but only the 2nd I had to pay for), and it still screws up!

3. StarCraft 2 is gonna come out as 3 games!! THREE GAMES!!! And I don't have a computer powerful enough to handle them! Gah!!!! I must get a new, powerful computer soon. But maybe after my PS3.

Who What Why When Where How Tag

I got this one through e-mail. I'm not gonna post the rules though.

1. Who is your best friend?
Pikaby (But I sometimes wonder if he considers me as his)

2. Why do you consider him/her your best friend?
His love of video games knows no match... at least compared with anyone else I know on the island. Even I'm way behind him. And he's a very nice fellow.

3. Where and when did you first meet him/her?
Scout camp in Form 1, although we never really got the chance to talk until we were in the same class in Form 3. I consider myself lucky to have gotten into the same class as him. Or we would have never really got to know know each other.

4. How did the friendship start?
Well, it started with talking about Spongebob (Laugh all you want, twits!). Then, it continued on to Pokemon (he is a very big fan of Pokemon and all things Nintendo). Finally, we started to talk about console wars and after that just games, games and games.

5. What is your most memorable memory of him/her?
His battlecry when he played the climax of one of the 2000 title (Kita Saitama 2000, I think) songs in Taiko no Tatsujin at QueensBay a few weeks ago. That memory got me addicted to playing the game.

Additional questions (repeat questions from above):
6. Who ranks 2nd on your friends list?
Never really thought about it. It used to be a tie between Gengster and Khai Chun, but now... I suppose it's Khai Chun or (I really really really really hate to say it) Winger.

7. Why?
Khai Chun, because of his love for anime and his exceptionally critical attitude towards each one he's watched. Winger, because he's somewhat like me, a gamer-otaku hybrid and he's honest with what he thinks.

8. Where?
Same class with Khai Chun in Form 4. Same tuition as Winger in Form 2 and 3.

9. When?
Didn't I just tell you that!?

10.How?
Khai Chun... I guess because he sat near me in class, so talk, talk, talk and click. Winger... Hmm... I guess after a few conversations in tuition and in college, I just befriended the guy (I mean it in the worst possible way).

11. What?
Khai Chun... hmm... I guess it's the times when I go to his class to bug him early in the morning. Winger... it's either Red Box or Gen Lab.

Tag:
How 'bout everybody reads this and wants to do this?

Anime Review: Lucky Star

Plot Summary: The series depicts the daily life of several Japanese high school girls with a gentle touch in humour. Each episode consists of several scenes like a collection of 4komas. The main characters are Izumi Konata, Hiiragi Kagami, Hiiragi Tsukasa and Takara Miyuki. The anime also focuses on parodies (of people, TV shows, other anime series etc.).

Storyline: Well, there really isn't a storyline, but if we follow the plot summary, I'll give it a 9/10 for the parodies. The reason it didn't get a perfect ten is because Kyoto Animation said it was supposed to be about NORMAL high school girls, but Konata is way, way, way FAR from normal!

Music: 9.5/10. I was very impressed by Motteke! Sailor Fuku, even though I still prefer Hare hare Yukai. The ending credits were creative, featuring the characters singing existing songs in a karaoke up to episode 12 and live action scenes of Shiraishi Minoru acting like an idiot from episode 13 onwards. Konata's version of Sore ga Ai Deshou and Cha-La Head-Cha-La are still ringing in my ears.

Artwork: 9.5/10. The chibi-style art isn't my favourite type of art, but I do admit that it was nicely done and very suitable. Besides, it's the best way to avoid copyright issues. Wahaha!

Overall: 9.3/10. A very well-made series. It was simple and addictive (like Tetris). I can't find the right words to describe the series, so I'll just say "Brilliant!"

Got Code Geass: R2

I went to Queensbay today. As usual, Taiko no Tatsujin first until my hands bleed (Really, I play until my palm bleeds. If you analyse the drumsticks, u'll find traces of my blood.) Then, it's time to hit the game store. I finally got Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I wanted Warriors Orochi 2, but couldn't find it, so I settled with Warriors Orochi.

After that, back to Taiko. I blew another 2 bucks and found my palms shaking and my strength deteriorating, so I stopped and went to the anime stores. I found Code Geass R2, but couldn't find R1, so I bought R2 first. I'll watch it after I've found and watched R1.

And to finish, I'll start the top 10 game!

Top 10 Parents in Anime and Video Games (there wouldn't be enough if it was only anime)

#10 Kinomoto Fujitaka (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Contrary to what most kids would think of their dads, this father is SO nice. Yet, he's not those sappy kind of dads who shower their kids with excessive love and stuff. This one knows how to give a good impression as a loving and caring father who doesn't spoil his kids. This series probably gave kids a better image of their dads.

#9 Kannagi Genma (Kaze no Stigma)
He played a very small role in the whole series, but the episode at the hot springs was just plain hilarious. At the beginning of the series, you see him as a calm and collected man who follows family traditions. In other words, a very disciplined man. But then, you see another side of him in episode 16. He doesn't like to lose, especially to his own son. Imagine a windmaster and a firemaster battling it out in an open hotspring.

#8 Gail Glory (Rave)
They make you think he's a bad guy for several episodes, and when you finally see the guy, he acts like a bad guy for like 20 seconds (swinging his sword at Haru). Then, you find out his side of the story and he leaves the story just like that, but not before giving his son an unforgettable memory of him.

#7 Suou Uzuki (Xenosaga Episode III)
He was willing to betray his country for the sake of his wife and his daughter. His wife was terminally ill and his daughter was too young to understand the conflict that was happening. He could not escape with his wife in such condition, nor could he just escape without his family. In the end, he joined the enemy and became head researcher. However, during that period of time, he acted as an insider and often gave information to his eldest son, Jin Uzuki. In the end, he helped develop a technology that killed him, his wife and sent an entire planet to oblivion. A sad ending for a man who struggled between family and loyalty.

#6 Kudo Yusaku and Kudo Yukiko (Detective Conan)
Yusaku is a professional mystery writer and a former consultant detective, perhaps the greatest of his time. Kudo Yukiko is a former actress and has an extraordinary talent in disguises. They're like Sherlock Holmes split in two. Together as a team, they form the ultimate team that even their prodigal son, Shinichi, can't beat. If only they didn't get into fights so frequently.

#5 Son Goku (Dragonball Z)
Yeah, well, wouldn't you want a dad who is the strongest fighter in the universe, and probably in all universes. And to top it off, he's a very nice person. Who the heck would dare to threaten you, kidnap you or hurt you? And you get to learn from him... as long as your mother doesn't find out.

#4 Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Tidus was a very sad boy. Ever since young, he was put down by his father, Jecht. Jecht always told Tidus how useless he was and how he will never be able to surpass his father. Little did he know, that was Jecht's strategy to build him up to be stronger than his father. When Jecht sacrificed himself to become the Final Aeon, he sent Auron (his Guardian partner) to watch over Tidus until Tidus entered Spira. And when Tidus did, Jecht had prepared footages of himself to apologise and to guide Tidus through Spira. Finally, they meet once again after so many years and Tidus had to prove that he had surpassed Jecht so Jecht can finally rest in peace.

#3 Izumi Soujirou (Lucky Star)
The otaku father of an extreme otaku daughter. He has the classic foolish parent character, but his love of games and anime makes me like him. He's a simple-minded fellow with simple dreams (to see shrine maidens, to eat dinner with three high school girls etc.). He loves his wife and daughter because they're petit and cute(lolicon). My personal favourite. I wish my parents were like that.

#2 Furukawa Akio (Clannad)
Imagine a dad who says this.
Sanae: "It's nice to see our daughter inviting a friend at the start of the year. And he's a guy too."
Akio: "What!? A guy!?"
Tomoya (sitting opposite him): "You just realised!?"

And this.
Akio: "You wanna date my daughter? Dream on! Get out!"
Tomoya: "Okay, bye."
Akio: "Hold it! What do you think you're doing? Giving up just like that? No! You should fight for the person you love!"
Tomoya: "..."

And this,
Akio: "Tomoya? What an ordinary name... You should have a more spectacular name if you wanna date my daughter!"
Sanae: How about a nickname? Like Okazaki Tomoya "Eternal"?
Akio: "That's right, Okazaki Tomoya Ethanol!"
Tomoya: "... I like my name the way it is. Thank you..."

Plus, he plays baseball with the neighbourhood kids, and especially likes to play when he's in a bad mood (Just imagine. Angry 30+ year old guy playing baseball against 10-year-olds.).

#1 Saotome Genma (Ranma 1/2)
Ha! You didn't think I'd forget this guy, did ya? No way! This man is THE father who has left the biggest impression inside of me. Like Goku, he's a martial artist, but his style is seriously, seriously, seriously whacked. I mean "Crouching Tiger Technique" = Bow down and beg for mercy. He changes into a panda and runs away when problems arise. He cheats in shogi. He fights his own son for the last cup of noodle or the last piece of meat. He sells his own son for food and then steals his son back. WTF is this dad thinking!? With a dad like this, there's no such thing as an ordinary day or an ordinary life!

Must...not... study (for the 424,325,356,358,983th time)

1. What was your dream when you were a small kid?
I wanted to be a Pokemon trainer.

2. What was the happiest thing in your whole life?
Getting my PS2. And soon, getting my PS3. *Cubix-style grin*

3. What do you wish to have right now?
PS3 (actually, FFXIII and FF Versus XIII)

4. When was the last time you Horse Laugh?
Few days ago, when I watched Clannad where Tomoya plays tricks on Fuuko.

5. What did you realize recently?
When it comes to strategy games, I suck at the beginning and own ass in mid-game.

6. Which bad habit of you that is most unacceptable?
In Kingdom Hearts and Okami, I tend to run in circles for no apparent reason even though I know I'm running in circles.

7. When you're unhappy what will u do?
Play Chaos Legion, or Dynasty Warriors. These are GREAT hack-and-slash games when you're plain angry.

8. What are you afraid of losing?
Any of my gaming consoles and most of my games (especially FF). And my anime collection.

9. Within 5 years, which target is the most realistic one?
Overnight gaming/watching anime

10. When you met someone you like, will you confess or hide your feelings?
I'll probably hide them until they disappear. Gaming comes first, anime second, career third, studying fourth.

11. List out 3 kind of people you hate the most.
Unfelial people (they deserve to rot for 49 days and then die); people who hold back in a challenge; anti-otakus or anti-gamers

12. Define Loneliness.
When Final Fantasy loses its excellence (like in FFX-2).

13. Are you satisfied with your life now?
No, there are just so many video games I haven't played.

14. When is the most recent time you felt touched?
Hmm... closest to touched would be last week when I finished watching episode 10 of Kanon.

15. Where is the most beautiful place that you've visited?
Hidden Forbidden Holy Grounds - Hulle Grantz Cathedral (.hack)
The Spring (FFX)

16. A song that is playing in your mind recently?
Sore ga Ai Deshou (Lucky Star version)

17. If you have a wish come true, what is it?
I wish Enix would leave Square. Squaresoft was a lot greater than Square-Enix.

18. Do you have anything to worried or scared recently?
Still worrying if I can get a PS3, FFXIII and FFXIII Versus.

19. If the world is going to end, what will you do?
Game until the world ends. No stopping. Let's see if I die first or the world ends first.

20. Who are you thinking of right now?
Yuki Judai (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX) (I've been screaming "Game on!" all day)

Not gonna tag anyone. I'm sure Hime-sama has gotten bored of tags. He can do it if he likes though.

Buying some more time

Must... type... post... to... not study... Uhh... topic... topic... topic...

I'm replaying Final Fantasy Tactics and have gotten to about a quarter of the game. It ain't as addictive as before because I've already played it for 6 months last year and only got through half the game (Picture doing only 2 storyline battles in a month)...

Uhh... anything else... I guess a whole post of "uhh" will work, but it will bore people to death. OK, umm... uhh... what else can I think of... uhh... umm...

あの。。。えと。。。どうしましょう？ああ。。。どうする？どうする？ちょっと待っててね？えと。。。ああ。。。ハーハー！思い出した！

Erm... OK! Lord of Cubes probably still doesn't know this, so I'll tell you. I got a new phone last week. It's a W380 or something like that, so now I don't have to bring my MP4 around because it's a Walkman phone. Gooi said it's a crime to have a much better phone than anyone else in the group, but my old phone was already 5 years old, so I had to get it changed. No, the price didn't hit the thousand mark. It didn't even hit the 700 mark.

Anyway, now if I fail exams, I can blame you too, Cubix, because as a friend, I was obliged to tell you events that happen around me. No, don't argue. Blame yourself for knowing me. If you started talking to me about Fate/Stay Night and Star Wars at the start of the year, you would have been spared this burden. The burden of the possibility of a good friend failing. Muahahaha!!!

Tsubasa Chronicles and xxxHolic strikes again!! *major spoilers*

Once again, Tsubasa Chronicles brings a whole new twist to the story, and xxxHolic is providing the explanation (which I am still trying to understand).

The true events that happened when Shaoran first arrived in Clow Country. The identity of Kimihiro Watanuki etc. All these revealed in a few chapters of Tsubasa and 1 chapter of xxxHolic.

Spoilers Ahead:










Shaoran was sent to Clow Country because his mother (Sakura from CCS) had prophesised that someone in Clow Country will need his protection. That person is Sakura of Tsubasa Chronicles. He would remain in Clow Country for seven days and he will then be teleported back to his own world.

On the seventh day, Fei Wong Reed attempts to capture Sakura during the cleansing ritual. Shaoran reaches out to her and tries to save her, but he hesitated when he remembered that he wasn't supposed to touch Sakura during the cleansing ritual. That moment's hesitation gave Fei Wong Reed enough time to place the Seal of Death on Sakura. "That moment's hesitation has decided your path from there on." said Fei Wong Reed. Shaoran attacks Fei Wong Reed in anger, but was defeated. He was then teleported back to his world as his time was up. Using his last bit of strength, he stopped the magic and he ended up in Yuuko's store. Shaoran's father (Li Shaoran from CCS) paid a price to save Shaoran.

As Shaoran awakens, he wishes to go back to Clow Country to find a way to remove the Seal of Death. His price was that he would not be able to return to his own world because there was no one in Clow Country capable of using dimension magic. Shaoran agrees, and thus, gives up all the happiness he has in his own world. When he returned to Clow Country, he realises that only he and Sakura's mother could see the Seal of Death. They kept the seal a secret from everyone else, even Sakura.

Seven years later, Shaoran still continues searching for a way to remove the Seal of Death. When Sakura comes to visit him, he invites him to her birthday party and leaves. Shaoran notices that the seal was almost fully grown and would kill Sakura anytime soon.

On the night of Sakura's birthday, the seal activated. Sakura's mother quickly stops time, giving Shaoran a few seconds to save Sakura. In that time, Shaoran made a wish to Yuuko. He wanted to go back in time, back to the moment where Fei Wong Reed placed the Seal of Death on Sakura. Shaoran was told that this wish was a heavy one. He would haev to bear the burden of the lives he would change by going back in time, especially the lives of those who know about the Seal of Death. The price of that wish was Shaoran's relationship with the people in his world.

Watanuki was created to fill the time Shaoran turned back (this part I don't get, I'm just repeating what they said in the manga) and take Shaoran's place in all of Shaoran's relationship. In other words, Watanuki is another Shaoran. Fei Wong Reed tells Shaoran that this will cause a lot of pain to Shaoran's parents and Watanuki. But Yuuko appears and says that the future has not yet been decided.

In xxxHolic, Yuuko explains that Watanuki is "something that was not supposed to exist". His parents (Shaoran's parents) had wished that Watanuki would be given a new name and a new face. Until now, even Watanuki doesn't know what his real name is, nor does he know who his parents are (he had paid this price to know the whereabouts of Sakura from TC when her soul and body was split apart). This fact also means that even Fei Wong Reed cannot control Watanuki because to control someone, one has to know both that person's name and birthdate. However, even if Watanuki doesn't know, Yuuko points out that Watanuki is still, in a way, aware that "he isn't supposed to exist".









SPOILER END

Phew... CLAMP sure knows how to keep making your head spin. I wonder how much they really know about the occult. And how much they believe that coincidences do not exist.

After reading several of their works and listening to the opinion of others, I can see their main problem. They're talented when it comes to plot twists and unique storylines, but they're terrible at presenting them (like in Tsubasa Chronicles, RG Veda, xxxHolic and X/1999). In contrast, when they do present it nicely, their storylines seem to lack major twists (like Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits). If they can unify both, they might be another one of the legendary mangakas.

Anime Review: Rental Magica

Plot Summary: Due to his father's disappearance, Itsuki Iba has to take over the family business: a magician dispatch service called 'Astral'. Astral basically employ countless magicians and other supernatural beings in order to send them out to help those who need magical assistance. As a leader, Itsuki now has to be tough, commanding, and reliable, but there's one problem, he's a coward. Also, in order to run a successful business, he has to connect with his employees, which is more difficult than it seems due to his personality and lack of magical ability. But not only does he have to deal with his own employees, he also has to deal with those who threaten the family business. (Source: Anime News Network)

Storyline: 6.5/10. I kinda liked the fact that they jumbled up the episode order. And unlike Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, this one doesn't make understanding the story complicated. However, that's mainly because the storyline wasn't so complex to begin with.

Music: 8.5/10. I liked the opening and ending. The BGM when he reveals his Glam Sight was nice too.

Artwork: 7/10. The character art is once again very common. However, Addie's 72 Beasts of Solomon were nicely drawn. The scenes when Itsuki uses his Glam Sight were impressive too.

Overall: 7.3/10. Not bad, I'd have to say. Although Iba Itsuki kinda reminds me of Shibuya Yuri from Kyou Kara Maoh! (Wimpy kid with a strong split personality). Itsuki was also my first cosplay character! (Which phailed big time! Twice!)

A Thousand and One Nights

Because I want to do this tag. I ain't gonna study.

---
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question press the ‘next’ button to get your answer.
3. You must write the name of the song down no matter what!!!
4. After you’ve answered all the questions tag 5 other people and let them they’ve been tagged and to do the meme themselves:


If someone says ‘is this okay?’ You say:
99 Percent (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)
[I will never agree with you 100%, got it?!]

What would best describe your personality?
Shun/Moment (Rozen Maiden Traumend)
[Wow... that's a hard title to explain. Moment... moment... I guess it might refer to my temporary memory of people around me. Either I keep keep remembering you, or I'll forget you in 5 years or less.]

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Reflectia (True Tears)
[Well, I have no idea what "Reflectia" means, nor can I derive much meaning out of the song, so I'll leave y'all to think about it]

How do you feel today?
Cross (Fushigi Yuugi ~Genbu Kaiden Gaiden~)
[It does not mean "crossed" here. It means "May our paths cross again." Huh... I wonder... Nah, can't be... Oh, I'm not telling you who I think it might refer to.]

What is your life’s purpose?
I'm Here (ef - A Tale of Memories)
[I will be there for anyone. That's why I chose THAT career. What is THAT career? Well, let's wait a few more years, shall we?]

What do your friends think of you?
Motteke! Sailor Fuku/Take it! Sailorsuit (Lucky Star)
[The whole song sounds like... No, wait, it IS wacky childish gibberish. I guess that's how my old CLHS friends think of me, I suppose. A childish guy who enjoys games and anime more than anyone else they've ever known.]

What do you think of your parents?
Clover (Black Jack)
[They're my lucky charm, and I'm theirs. Y'all have done your best for me, and I shall now do the same for y'all!]

What do you think about very often?
Itooshii Hito no Tame Ni/For the Sake of My Beloved (Fushigi Yuugi)
[...I might... But I don't have a "beloved" now, do I?]

What is 2+2?
White Tiger (Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories)
[Axel sang this. Well, I guess the Dark Hero makes the rules in his show, so 2+2 = White Tiger.]

What do you think of the person you like?
Kiss Me Sunlight (Zone of the Enders)
[As I have said earlier, I have no one I like. So, sunlight will have to do.]

What is your life story?
Black Diamond (Shugo Chara)
[That would have been so true if it were 8 months ago. I used to hide my true colours, but no more! Of course, I could still be hiding them and lying that I don't anymore.]

What do you think when you see the person you like?
TOGGLE (Mana Khemia: The Alchemists of al-Revis)
[How did this end up in my playlist!? I thought I deleted it! But now, I wonder why I deleted it... Anyway, no meaning I can understand, especially when I have no one I like.]

What do your parents think of you?
Sora ni Saku/Radiance of the Universe (Rental Magica)
[Wow... I'm... shocked... Flattery has limits, y'know... P.S. "Sora" here is written in kanji as "Universe".]

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Synchronicity (Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations)
[Itsumo itsumo soba ni iru yo (I will always, always be by your side). This dance shall be my oath to you.]

What will they play at your funeral?
Aruiteikou/I'll Walk On (Rental Magica)
[Wow, the only two songs I have for this anime both came out. And my first cosplay was the main character of this anime... They'd probably play this in memory of my first cosplay. By the way, this is the ending theme of the anime, so I hope you understand the meaning of this.]

What is your hobby/interest?
Wakatteita Hazu/I Should Have Known (Fushigi Yuugi)
[I don't have time for regrets! Too many video games and anime, too little time!]

What is your biggest secret?
Everything For You (Fushigi Yuugi)
[I guess it's still a secret from my parents. The fact that I'll do everything for them, I suppose. yes, I know the lyrics imply a more romantic situation, but romance doesn't exist in my life yet!]

What do you think of your closest friends?
Kioku/Memory (.hack//Liminality)
[You shall always be a part of my memory. It's not my business if you don't want to be "just a memory" though, except for Pikaby.]

What should you post this as?
A Thousand and One Nights (.hack//Liminality)
[Well, it took me 1001 seconds to finish typing this. So, I'll exaggerate.]

But I prefer
Aikoi/Love (Tsubasa Chronicles)
[Well, I do like this song. Fei Wong Reed's theme...]

Tag:
Whoever...
Hime-sama!

Anime Quiz #2

Find the hidden message in the episode titles.

1. eve
2. upon a time
3. paradox
4. honestly
5. outline
6. rain
7. I...
8. clear colour
9. forget me not
10. I'm here
11. ever forever
12. love/dream

The title of the anime is a hint: "ef - A Tale of Memories"

My EAR!!

Youngblood got throat infection, and I caught it! Except that I caught it in my ear (if you were thinking about this in a medical sort of logic, then you are seriously wrong)! I feel like someone just stuffed a whole ball of cotton in my ear and pushing it towards my brain! I've been having trouble thinking right the whole day!

Darn swellin'! I feel like pullin' ye out and punching you in the kisser. Ah feel like stuffin' yer in a box and lettin' ol' Bessy the cow pull yer round the whole ranch! Ah feel like shuttin' yer in a rocket and be sendin' yer halfway ta Pluto!

Ahem! Alrighty, I reckon I'm done rantin' 'bout somethin' I can't change (except with good, ol' fashion medicine). Well, time's a wastin'. Better get back to gaming! Yeehaw!

My lecturer's a gamer!

Okay, she's not my lecturer, but still, she's nearly 30, yet she plays video games, like Final Fantasy, God of War, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil... I was totally "gah"-ing throughout the entire conversation. Kinda reminds me of Kuroi Sensei from Lucky Star, except that Ms. Marisa doesn't play online games.

And damn! She's got FFX International and a functional one! And she's already going to fight the Dark Aeons... although she still hasn't gotten all the ultimate weapons except a few. And she has a FFXII that doesn't hang (I love FF, but I seem to have bad luck playing them). Too bad I'm not allowed to play God of War (my parents saw my cousin playing and no way in hell were they gonna let me play a gory game like that).

Oh man... I wish I had gone to her class, instead of Datin's, but Datin is still good. After all, she joined us for lunch at Tesco yesterday. What a good last-day-of-college yesterday was.

P.S. Winger, I hope you're feeling VERY down because your own lecturer plays more games than you do!

Anime Review: Zombie-Loan

Plot Summary: Michiru Kita is a special girl who possesses Shinigami Eyes, which allows her to see a dark ring around a person's neck. This ring symbolizes the person's impending death; once they are marked to die, a gray line, which is invisible to normal people, appears on their neck, and once the ring turns completely black, the person dies. Chika Akatsuki and Shito Tachibana, two boys in her class, both have black rings around their necks, but to her surprise, they are not yet dead. It is revealed that after a tragic accident that was supposed to kill them both, the two boys made a deal with a secret loan office called the Zombie-Loan. In return for keeping them alive, the two have to hunt zombies for the loan office. When Michiru gets involved with them, she finds that her life has just become more complicated.

Storyline: 5/10. They have the base to make a great story, or rather, stories, in this whole series, but hell knows why they picked the less interesting bits and focused on them. Then, there's the hanging ending problem again. I'm not gonna tell you any spoilers, but you will have many unanswered questions at the end. Heck, they can make a sequel, but no news about it yet.

Music: 6/10. I'm not a fan of rock music, so I didn't like the opening. The BGM throughout the series was okay, but not something you would expect out of a horror-themed show.

Artwork and animation: 6/10. This was just terrible. The art seemed a little rough and definitely a wrong type of dark. It's a show about zombies, vampires etc, but something wasn't right about the tone they chose. Then, the animation was obviously terrible. I mean, look at the fight scenes. They're all so... stiff and they look more like they're teleporting than moving!

Overall: 5.8/10. I'm a fan of this genre of anime, but this was just plain mediocre. If they're planning on a sequel (which I doubt), they'd better patch up the problems with this series.

Anime Review: Ef - A Tale of Memories

Plot Summary: The anime revolves around two protagonists, Hirono Hiro and Asou Renji. On Christmas Eve, Hirono Hiro meets a girl named Miyamura Miyako who was chasing a purse snatcher. Hiro later finds out that Miyako also goes to the same school as he does and they start hanging out together. This made Hiro's childhood friend, Shindou Kei, feel left out. Kei then tries to compete with Miyako for Hiro's affection and a love triangle ensues. The anime also tells the story of Asou Renji. Renji meets a girl named Shindou Chihiro at an abandoned train station. He soon learns that Chihiro suffers from a type of amnesia where her memory span only lasts for 13 hours. He also discovers Chihiro's dream of writing a novel, but she has never been able to fulfill that dream due to her condition. Renji then decides to help her fulfill that dream. (Source: Anime News Network)

Storyline: 9/10. What can I say? I loved the series. The Miyako story was so so, somewhat nice. But the Chihiro story was wonderful! And the ending to that story was also very satisfying and logical.

Music: 8.5/10. I liked the opening and ending themes. And the BGM they played throughout the series was very good. A job well done!

Artwork: 7/10. Watching the opening credits reminds me of Persona 3. Very nice, but makes me kinda dizzy. As for the anime itself, it's just your regular early 21st century-style artwork.

Overall: 8/10. A touching tale of romance, or rather tales of romance (but I especially find the Chihiro story impressive). Can't wait for the sequel.

P.S. I wrote the plot summary on Anime News Network.

Anime Review: H2O - Footprints in the Sand

Plot Summary: Takumi Hirose is a blind boy. When his mother died, he was severely scarred emotionally, causing him to become lonely and reserved. He is transferred to a school in a small countryside town in hopes of improving his health. On the way to his new school, he meets a strange girl, Otoha, who claims to be a fairy. At school, he meets Kohinata Hayami, who seems to be hated by everyone in town. He tries to help her, but Kohinata rejects it, saying that he has no power to even help himself. The next day, Takumi magically regains sight and Otoha tells him that it is only temporary. He now resolves to do whatever he can to help others, while struggling with problems of his own.

Storyline: 7/10. The story feels like something out of a fairy-tale. Simple, direct and light-hearted, but it does get more tense at the end.

Music: 8.5/10. Well done considering that it wasn't a popular title. I especially liked the opening theme, Katayoku no Icarus.

Artwork: 6.5/10. Like most anime you'd see these days. Nothing unique about it.

Overall: 7.5/10. Something nice to watch if you just want to relax. It's a very well-made piece of work even though it wasn't a big-budget production.

Anime Review: Basilisk

Plot Summary: Kouga Gennosuke and Oboro of Iga were betrothed in hopes of improving the relationship between the Kouga clan and Iga clan. However, the two clans were suddenly dragged into a fight for the title of shogun between the two sons of the previous shogun. Ten members of each clan were chosen, Gennosuke and Oboro included, as representitives to fight. Will their love prevail or will the feud between the clans continue once again?

Storyline: If you consider the mass killing a part of the story, then 8/10. If not, then 4/10. Seriously, the fights were intense and it really was hard to tell who was going to win in the end.

Music: 6.5/10. So, so. It gives you the tense atmosphere, but nothing you'd like to listen to on a regular basis.

Artwork and animation: 8.5/10. I have to applaud the artists and animators for their job well done. The animation was very smooth as can be clearly observed from the fight scenes. The problem is that with ninjas, come night-time fights, so it's kinda dark for most of the fights.

Overall: 5.5/10. An average anime. Good for those who enjoys fights because this anime spams them, loads and loads of them. There's also loads and loads of gore, so enjoy your bloody bouts. Oh, and the producers came up with really creative techniques.

A Tribute to the Singers of Lucky Star! (cont'd)

#13 Ore no Wasuremono (Lucky Star Original)

Y'know, that picture sorta makes you doubt that the singer really IS that guy. Wonderful work, Shiraishi!

#14 Hare Hare Yukai (from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu)

Swt... Just swt...

#15 Koi no Minoru Densetsu (parody of "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu)

Well, at least he sounds better than Mikuru did.

#16 Misoji Misaki

Very nice. And you've probably never heard such ...power in a voice before. I hope she doesn't come kill me for that statement.

#17 Motteke! Sailor Fuku (Aimai Sunshine version) (parody of Lucky Star Opening)

Read statement for #14.

#18 Kaorin no Theme (Lucky Star Original)

Wonderful! Lovely! Touching!And I think Kaorin may refer to Fukuhara Kaori (Tsukasa's seiyuu). Is he trying to propose to Tsukasa!?

#19 Otoko no Ikizama (Lucky Star Original)

A real man! Although it's ironic since Shiraishi is singing it...

#20 Omuko Rumba (parody of "Oyome Sanba" by Hiromi Gou)

Read statement for #17.

#21 Shikaider no Uta (Lucky Star Original)

Sounds like someone's been watching too much Jetman or Ultraman. It's alright, if you don't mind remeniscing back to when you were 8 years old. I didn't.

#22 Waga Itoshi no Santa Monica and ending #13, #14, #15, #17, #19, #21 (Lucky Star Originals)

The girls are obviously bullying and taunting him, but I'm surprised how fast he can change to the another song.

#23 Mikuru Henshin! Soshite Sentou! (from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu)

Are they dancing or fighting? It looks better than that whacked fight scene from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. But they're both so OBVIOUSLY FAKE!!!

#24 Ai wa Boomerang (from Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer)

It was a frustrating song for me, because Lucky Star has ended!!! WAAAAA!!!!!!!

Extra song: Yume Musubi no Ame (Lucky Star Original)

This sounds more like Chinese opera music than Japanese festival music... I wonder if there's a Chinese version of the song... Oh, Akira finally sang cutely.

And that's all of 'em! Enjoy!

A Tribute to the Singers of Lucky Star!

They sound abs0lutely ridiculous and that's why they're so wonderful! They sound like us when we go karaoke! I'm not gonna give you the ending credits of the series. Instead, these are the full rendition by the singers. Each one of them is either hilarious, beautiful or downright jaw-dropping. For those songs which I recommend at max volume, make sure your mom isn't around and a frying pan is not within reach.

And this will probably take up the whole page. I am not kidding. 25 Youtube videos. Here we go!

#01 Uchuu Tetsushin Kyodain (from TV series of same title)

Try listening to this at max volume!

#02 Shouri da! Akumaizer 3 (from Akumaizer 3)

Try listening this at max volume!

#03 Sore ga Ai deshou? (from Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu)

Aya Hirano uses Konata's fake voice (and it's nice! That isn't Aya's voice because Aya sings at a much higher tone.). At the end, she starts using Konata's real voice and sounds like she's drunk. Haha! And it starts sounding like two people singing.

#04 Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu (from TV series with same name)

Kagami sings this one. Not bad, because she doesn't aim to sound ridiculous like Konata.

#05 Cha-la Head-Cha-La (from Dragonball Z)

Another one you should try at max volume!

#06 Valentine Day Kiss (from Prince of Tennis and Onyaku Club)

Tsukasa sings this. It's cute, especially with Konata supporting in the background.

#07 Chijou no Hoshi (from Project X: Challengers)

Miyuki has an unbelievably low singing voice. But then again, the original singer is a guy. And she's so modest, she even apologised for singing badly.

#08 Monkey Magic (from Monkey)

They make you wait like hell for the starting, and then... AKYAAAA!!!!! And she doesn't know the lyrics to this one apparently... She's saying that she can't sing this one, but Kagami forces her to finish it anyway.

#09 Kogarashi ni Dakarete (by Kyoko Koizumi)

Here comes Konata's fake voice again. And then here comes her real voice. Duet-ish again...

#10 I'm Proud (by Tomomi Kahara)

Kagami returns! And Konata forced her to sing this one. Revenge perhaps? And she's terrible at it, but she puts in quite a bit of effort in the middle and sounds alright, I suppose... She still keeps whining that she can't sing it though...

#11 Doraemon no Uta (from Doraemon)

Finally, whole main cast in action! And it's this song! It's hilarious and SO CUTE!!!

#12a Ike! Goddoman (from Yuke Godman)

Well... what can I say... This is... just plain annoying, but it makes me wanna cuddle her (Did I just say that!?). SOS SOS SOS SOS Godman!

#12b Makenaide (by ZARD)

Meet the whole main cast again! And they sound good.

I'll put up the ending themes of the first 12 episodes first. I'll continue the rest tomorrow. Prepare for more laughter!

P.S. when I say whole main cast, I mean Konata, Kagami, Miyuki and Tsukasa only, without the new characters from episode 13 onwards.