Anime Quiz #3

My dad's watching TV, so I can't watch anime. Somebody's using the socket that's supposed to be for my PS2 only so I can't game... Sigh... it seems I have to give y'all another thin strip of attention. Note that the strip will be the size of an epidermal cell.

Okay, I'm gonna write down 5 phrases, sayings or dialogues from various anime and manga. No video games will be included. (That would be overkill for most of you.) Letters represent people. First to guess all 5 titles correctly will get a prize when we meet. And you have to give me the full title.

Heh...heh...heh...........

Question #1

*A sees B hanging himself.*
A: Stop!!
*A grabs onto B's feet, strangling B. But the rope snaps due to excessive weight and both people fall to the ground.*
B: Are you tying to kill me!?

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Easy, wasn't it? Well, I hope you can maintain that confidence of yours all the way through.

Question #2

"Dilly-dally, shilly-shally. Dilly-dally, shilly-shally."

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This should still be pretty easy. Or are you gonna back out already? If not, on to...

Question #3

"Get your game on!"

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That was corny, but it got stuck in my head for some time that I mouth it or even say it every time I take an exam. Some of you might have heard me say it, but I wonder if any of you remember where it was from. Next up!

Question #4

"I got a job making bills. And my salary is 900,000,000 Marks. Oh, but an egg costs 3,200,000,000 Marks. Surprised, huh?"

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I still laugh at that scene. And I recommend watching this anime once you know the title. The first episode sucks but it gets a whole lot better after that.

Still got confidence after the last few questions? Do you still believe you have what it takes to get the prize? Well, whatever you believe, here comes...

Question #5

*A and D are playing baseball while B and C watch*
A: C, Prepare to see your father's pathetic look!
B: Who do you think will win?
C: A!
D (the father): Seriously?!
A: Of course! She grew up watching my great throwing arm!
D: Then I'll just have to hit the ball!
A: Bullshit! *Throws the ball with great force*
*D focuses intensely and swings.*
*D hits the ball, the sound echoing across the field and time slows as the ball flies in the opposite direction it was thrown. B and C prepares to cheer.*
*Time resumes its regular pace and the sound of glass breaking is heard in the background.*
B: Looks like we're gonna have to apologise again...

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Yeah, the last question was long, but I couldn't help it. Most of the funny scenes in the anime were moderately long scenes with quite a bit of dialogue.

Well, if you can get all five FULL titles correctly, you'll be treated to a ssssspppppeeeeeccccciiiiiaaaaalllll prize. Look forward to it.

Heh...heh...he........

Life report

I know I said I wouldn't give y'all a shred of attention, but I hadn't anticipated this boring visit to my cousin's house. It's boring because my cousin ain't around FYI.

He went to camp, which he should. But it's making me bored, so he shouldn't have gone. But if he hadn't gone to camp, I'd be strangling him for not being active in his Scout activities. But making me bored also deserves capital punishment... at least.

Okay, back to topic. I shall first give y'all an account of my work.

I work at Coral Computer Supplies, which is situated beside Tanmark Bookstore. We sell office supplies, ranging from computers to stationery and a small number of household appliances. We also function as a printing shop. Laminating, photostating, printing, binding etc. We also sell printer refills, which is one of our main source of income.

The staff is divided (sort of) into several departments. There's the IT department, the stationery department and the accountant department. Everybody does cashier duty, and the cashier also does the photostating jobs. The IT department is in charge of selling computers, fixing computers and printing stuff.

As for work, to put it simple, it's easy. Just go in, sort out and key in data and documents in the morning, then lunch break, then cashier for the rest of the day, plus some promoting work for WiMax. BTW, if you're interested in WiMax, contact me.

Note: WiMax is faster than Streamyx. Youtube videos do not stop to buffer with WiMax.

I find myself in an odd position though. Although I applied to be an accountant, I find myself handling cashier, photostating and printing duty as well. And I start playing a part in the IT department next month. In other words, I'll be involved with EVERYTHING in the shop, which is something no other part-time or full-time staff has done, not even my boss! That's fishy.

The people there are nice so I ain't complaining about my range of work.

Now, for my otaku segment of the report. I bought Romeo X Juliet, Shakugan no Shana and Shakugan no Shana 2 last week. But work has restricted my time, so I have yet to finish even one series.

I'm watching Romeo X Juliet first and I liked the opening, "Inori ~You Raise Me Up~". But I got bored of it pretty quick. The storyline is developing quite well. How Escalus suddenly just popped into the story was weird though, as in how it suddenly became the final boss. And how easily Montague fell was also weird. I expected at least a little resistance from him.

Well, adding the two series puts me closer to completing last year's goal, which was to fill up my top shelf with anime. I'll need 3 more box sets, so I expect it to be filled pretty soon. Yay me!

Ar Tornelico 2 presents a very simple fantasy world story. I haven't completed the game yet, but I can tell some basic concepts of that world. In Ar Tornelico exists special females who can grow into Reyvateils, human beings capable of Song Magic. The world is ruled by a Goddess, who has been pretty oppressive recently, resulting in te rise of a rebel group known as the Grand Bell Knights. The Grand Bell took control of the government and pursued a different path to create Metafalica, the land of paradise with their Holy Maiden. But the Sacred Army who supports the Goddess have started their uprising with a maiden of their own.

And Grand Bell Knight ace rookie Croix Bartel is stuck in the middle of the fight and he has to make a choice which side to fight for. Why? Because one maiden is someone he has sworn to protect for the past 5 years and the other was his childhood friend.

The battle system is fun but time-consuming at times. Vanguards fight on the frontlines while Reyvateils support them from behind with Song Magic. During the Attack Phase, the vanguards will attack to raise the Song Magic bar. During Defense Phase, the vanguards will have to defend the Reyvateils and this is done by pressing buttons at a correct timing, and the accuracy required is slightly higher than the Judgement Ring system in Shadow Hearts. Once the Song Magic hits a desired level, you may unleash it manually or continue to build it up until the Song becomes too powerful to control and is automatically unleashed.

Note: Song Magic is INSANELY powerful compared to vanguard attacks. Vanguards deal about 700+ damage in a single-action. Song magic at 8000% (the standard level to unleash which is usually acquired in one Attack Phase) can deal up to 9000+ damage.

Since the world of Ar Tornelico mainly focuses on songs, there are lots of BGMs which consist of different genre of music, ranging from opera music to relaxing melodies to tension music to... well a hell lot of others. There's even jazz and light rock.

I'm enjoying this game since the system is simple to grasp, but it is annoying how some party members keep disappearing for a long period of time, mainly the Reyvateils. There is an amzaingly obvious gap in difficulty when fighting with one Reyvateil instead of two. And it's insanely difficult with NO Reyvateils in your party, since you can't do anything but stand there and get hit for the entire Defense Phase.

The overall atmosphere is very variable. The game can make you laugh, tense, depressed, swt, angry, disgusted, surprised etc. etc. at different moments. Jacqli is a good example. Just when you think you can like her, she says something to make you distrust her again.

I haven't started on Shadow of the Collossus yet since I still need to work on my timing for Defense Phase.

That's it for the report. Oh, can you believe an hour has passed? And I'm going home! Yay!

P.S. It seems I clicked 'Save Now' instead of 'Publish Post' last night. So, I guess I'll post it now. And I finished RXJ already.

Why aren't y'all more interesting?

If anybody's noticed, I haven't been online anywhere for the past few days. Not Maple, not MSN and not on this blog or the Cboxes anywhere.

Well, that's because I just got my copy of Ar Tonelico 2 and I'm glued to the game right after I finish work.

Now, before you blame the game for my absence, I'd like to let you know that my anime downloading and manga reading are still quite up-to-date. That means I have been using the internet.

Now then, I think y'all know where I'm getting to. No? I'll put it plain and simple. Video games are definitely more interesting than y'all! Wahaha! Harsh, right?

All you attention seekers out there won't be getting any more attention, besides this post, from me for the next couple of weeks! And after that couple of weeks, I'm gonna start working out the puzzles in Shadow of the Colossus, which will take me ANOTHER fortnight.

P.S. Youngblood, I'm broke until my next paycheck, so I can't afford a movie ticket. You can either plan something else, or buy me the ticket. :D

Wow! Here comes another blow from Tsubasa Chronicles!

Even towards its end, Tsubasa does not disappoint at throwing another plot twist. To think I did not heed the one phrase I loved most in the series.

"There are no coincidences, only inevitability."

Anybody ever considered why acid rain Tokyo was the turning point of the whole tale? Plot twists, change of characters' behaviours, explanations of mysteries, increase of crossing-over between TC and xxxHolic all started from there. And nobody even thought why. We just went through that part without a single thought about it.

We were so hypnotised by the plot twists that we never considered the link Tokyo had with the entire story. Everything started and will end in Clow Country, so wouldn't it make sense if everything changed from Clow Country?

Recall the Asura arc, Shaoran and the group changed history by uniting Ashuraou and Yashaou, causing the original future of that dimension to be replaced by another.

Now, what the real Shaoran was trying to do in the entire story was to change the past so that he would not hesitate to grab Sakura's hand when she was abducted by Fei Wong Reed. So, since every action changes history, why is it not possible that Tokyo is Clow?

I'm still not quite sure whether Tokyo is past or future of Clow, but it would seem more sensible if Clow Country was the future, because that would explain the twin tower ruins. But I do not understand the sudden appearance of a Sakura feather when there was none before. Okay, my head hurts.

Anyway, CLAMP is really making magic in their manga with this plot twist. Divert the audience's attention so the magician can pull out a trick without anyone noticing. All I can say is, "Encore! Encore! Show me what else you got!"

And if it never crossed your mind before, I give Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles a 10 out of 10 and is the best manga series I've ever read.

P.S. I know it's kinda late to tell y'all this, but there's gonna be another continuation to the anime, titled "Tsubasa Chronicles: Shunraiki". From the imaes I've seen so far, both clone and real Shaoran are gonna make an appearance.

Crystal Energy - Minami Kuribayashi

Have I posted this before? Well, who gives a cow? This is the backup song I prepared for Ichibanzai 2009 if I can't master Sora by then. I wanted to sing this last year but it wasn't on their list, but now, at least I can request if they don't put it up.

Crystal Energy - Minami Kuribayashi (from Mai-Otome)

kasane atta hibi
kioku no oku he tojikome
kinou to chigau watashi ga
ima, koko ni tatteru

orite kita yami wa
subete wo yasashiku daite
katari kakeru no
mamoru koto no hontou no imi wo

mugen ni hirogaru hoshi wo
nando mo miagete ita
ano yoru wo wasurenai
hikikaesenai...!

ushinaumono wa nanimo nai
afure dashiteku ENERGY
atsuku, tsuyoku, takumashiku
tatoe hikari no nai sekai demo
koe wo kanjite...
anata dake mitsukerareru

hidamari no you na nukumori
motomete ita no
itsukara darou?
mitomeru koto, totemo kowakute

isshun kumotta hyoujou
soshite, kidzuita
surudoi itami
karada chuu wo tsukinukete yuku

mayoikonda fukai mori
deguchi wa doko ni aru no?
machigai to tadashisa wa
kuraberarenai

deatta toki
unmei no tobira ga hiraita no ne
namida fuite, tashikameru
darenimo makenai yoko no omoi
kirei na mama de
kesshou ni kawatte yuku

gin no tsuki ni mimamorare
kanade hajimeru MELODY
aoi kibou utsukushiku
toki hanatsu yo tooi mirai e to

ushinaumono wa nanimo nai
afure dashiteku ENERGY
atsuku, tsuyoku, takumashiku
tatoe hikari no nai sekai demo
koe wo kanjite...
anata dake mitsukerareru

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And because I find it easier for myself to read:

重ねあった日々
記憶の奥へ閉じ込め
昨日と違う私が
今、 ここに立ってる

降りてきた闇は
すべてを優しく抱いて
語りかけるの
守ることの本当の意味を

無限に広がる星を
何度も見上げていた
あの夜を忘れない
引き返せない…!

失うものは何もない
あふれだしてくエナジー
熱く、 強く、 たくましく
たとえ光のない世界でも
声を感じて…
あなただけ見つけられる

日溜まりのような温もり
求めていたの
いつからだろう?
認めること、 とても恐くて

一瞬曇った表情
そして、 気づいた
鋭い痛み
身体中を空き抜けていく

迷い込んだ深い森
出口はどこにあるの?
間違いと正しさは
比べられない

出逢ったとき
運命の扉が開いたのね
涙ふいて、 確かめる
誰にも負けないよこの想い
綺麗なままで
結晶に変わっていく

銀の月に見守られ
奏ではじめるメロディー
蒼い希望美しく
解き放つよ 遠い未来へと

失うものは何もない
あふれだしてくエナジー
熱く、 強く、 たくましく
たとえ光のない世界でも
声を感じて…
あなただけ見つけられる

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After 4 episodes...

I'm gonna write another short review for Akikan, Asu no Yoichi, Regios and Tetsuwan Birdy Decode: 02.

Akikan:
Shugo Chara is A LOT better than this. At least the Charas had better looking techniques and the character art was a lot better than this. The main character, Daichi Kakeru gets increasingly annoying too. He's always spouting perverse crap even when he's acting nice. He never says what he thinks and replaces what he's supposed to say with sexual comments and stuff like that. You'd think this was gonna be some Law of Ueki and Shugo Chara combination, but either one of them owns this series by at least fivefold. I'd like to stop watching, but the yuri and yaoi in here are just plain hilarious. But then again, everything is so damn cliched.

Asu no Yoichi:
Well, my first impression of this series was that this was gonna be a Ranma 1/2 wannabe. I was wrong. This anime would be something like this. Asu no Yoichi = Himura Kenshin+Ranma 1/2. Basically, the main protagonist, Yoichi is an exact copy of Kenshin but with a little more bad luck with girls. He attracts a number of them, but he does tend to fall on girl's privates or walk into the ladies' room when he's absorbed in thought. But he is a nice guy, just very very misunderstood. Ibuki is a cheerful girl who has a violent side rivalling that of Akane's, but Ibuki smiles more and has a bigger bust, which tends to get Yoichi in trouble. But unlike Akane, her skills are equal to Yoichi's. Ayame is the classic tsundere. Chihaya is a cheeky girl with a sharp mind when it comes to messing with people, but she is extremely passionate with her work. Wa-san (I forgot his full name) is an interesting guy who is a lot more likeable than Kuno IMO, despite their similarities in character. I think this series still has a chance though. I'm gonna keep going with this one.

Chrome-Shelled Regios:
What should I say about this...? Umm... Well, it is interesting no doubt, but I think this would have functioned a lot better as a video game. I can picture this anime as an excellent RPG. The more outstanding characters so far in Platoon 17 are quite interesting and it would be nice to observe their development through the series, assuming that the production company doesn't screw it up. I would say this is the best I've seen of the 4, but that's maybe because I keep thinking like a gamer when watching this.

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode: 02:
Aww... They took away the opening theme from the 1st season. You know, Sora, the one with insane 11-12 second non-stop part in the chorus. The one I intend to go for in Ichibanzai 2009. Anyway, the series continues from a few months after the Ryunka incident. Tsutomu's conscience is once again placed into Birdy's body since she blew his body up...again during the Runka incident (with his permission of course). Now, they're chasing down the remaining members of the terrorist group who caused the Ryunka incident, who have escaped to Earth. However, somebody has been killing off the members before Birdy could arrest them. At the same time, Birdy reunites with a childhood friend, Nataru, after nearly 2 decades since his disappearance. The plot flows like a science fiction novel, because it was made based on a light novel series from 20-30 years ago. The art still ain't very good, but I guess it's better to have them look the same as they did in Season 1. Well, I hope the series will continue as well as it did before. And I pray that Tsutomu doesn't get his body blown up again in the end. But I do hope that the rich guy gets his car destroyed again. I mean, it happens every 1-2 episodes.

Why can't Maria Holic download faster!?

And I was wrong

There's gonna be one last Shin Megami Tensei to be released on the PS2. And it's from the lesser known SMT: Devil Summoner series. Hmm... I've never played part 1 so I don't really know how I should expect this. The Japanese version has been released for quite some time, but there has been little word about it. Oh well, at leat I have another game to look forward to.

Which reminds me, I should sneak out of the house with the car sometime and get meself Ar Tornelico 2 before they run out of stock again.

Dissidia... Di...ssi...di...a...

It is incredibly saddening that the game was released on the PSP. It is even more saddening that there are no functioning PSP emulators out there. But what's most saddening is that I still don't have the motivation to get a PSP.

As far as I've seen, the console is pointless except for Dissidia, Crisis Core and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. Great RPGs like Disgaea, Chrono Trigger, FFTA and The World Ends With You were all thrown into the DS.

Being a gamer does not mean I have to get every console released. I have a budget like everyone else. If I were to work starting today until August, I'd only amass enough money for a DS and a PS3+games. The PS3 may have little games now, but it still has time.

Once FFXIII and FFXIII Versus are released, we should see an increase in PS3 games as production companies will be able to grasp the concept of the Blu-ray disc more easily. Yes, I am anticipating excellent pieces of work from Square-Enix, one fitting of being a role model for games to come on the XBox 360 and the PS3.

I do wish that Tetsuya Nomura would finish off Birth By Sleep and proceed to release another Kingdom Hearts on the PS3, assuming he does not end the series in Birth by Sleep.

Lastly, Dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia
dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia
dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia
dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia
dissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidiadissidia...