Bankai!

卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!卍解!

Just needed to get that out of my system... And it ain't working. Looks like I'm gonna be doing Bleach cosplays soon.

Prunation

Something new I learnt today when choosing shoes for my trip to Ireland.

BUT!! I'm stingy so I'm not telling you people a damn thing. Go google it yourself!!

After all, I may be the only one among us with that condition, so what's the point of letting you people know something irrelevant?

Heheh...

Layers and Layers

Today, I got called into the office by the accountant (the girl who took over my job) at my shop. I sighed, expecting more problems regarding stock and accounts, but I was suddenly given a box wrapped with colourful paper. In normal terms, a present.

And everybody in the office was smiling at me, save for Jason. He only works half day on Saturdays. I was somewhat smiling with my jaw on the floor.

And then when I got home, I opened the gift. And it's a damn good thing I waited till I got home. When I unwrapped the colourful outer layer, what I saw was a box labelled Winpaq. Some of you might know that brand of envelopes since it is one of the best commonly used envelopes. On top of it was a card with the fingerprints of every current staff member of Coral Computer Supply Sdn. Bhd. (So that's why she was looking for a stamp pad).

Then, I opened the box. And in it was another wrapped box, this time with newspaper. And I unwrapped that and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer.

(Seriously, it took me 5 minutes.)

And I unwrapped that layer and found another box. This time, it was a box for a 56kbps PCI Modem Card. And I opened that box and found a box wrapped with newspaper. And I unwrapped that and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer.And I unwrapped that and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer.And I unwrapped that and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that layer and there was another layer. And I unwrapped that and there was another layer....

(And this took me 8 minutes, but this time, I ripped instead of unwrap.)

And finally, I arrived at a layer of wrapping paper that had "Aki no Kaze" written all over it. I doubt they picked that on purpose. By then, the box was already as small as a glasses case. I opened that at last and found... a Parker pen case. And inside it was a Parker pen. The same pen I picked when one day she went up to every male staff member and asked, "What kind of pen would guys like?"

I can't believe I never realised it... But she has been asking that question on random days since the start of July. And when she was asked (not by me) the reason, she replied, "Boyfriend's birthday." I wonder if they staged that too...

I would like to thank all the staff members of Coral Computer Supply Sdn Bhd... but they don't know about this blog so I'll thank them in person on Monday. And perhaps on Facebook.

P.S. I can't believe she outsmarted me! Note to self: Never sleep at 2am again.

So... I guess there's a Season 2?

I only realised just now that the most recent episode of Hetalia - Axis Powers is episode 26, the final episode this season. But... the episode didn't feel like an ending at all. Atleast even the Zetsubou Sensei series had somewhat of an ending every season. Hetalia, however, leaves you expecting another episode if you don't realise it's already episode 26.

But ANN mentioned that a 2nd series starts next week, so I guess... new season? AND PLEASE!! No more "China, I choose you!" from America!

Anti-Tanks

If your strategy in the previous 3 Advance Wars games involve bulldozing enemy troops with super-powerful tanks, you will hate this new unit introduced in AW: Days of Ruin.

Here are some of its traits:

It's defense against vehicles are MAD! A War Tank (strongest tank in DoR) can actually lose a 1-on-1 fight against an Anti-Tank. The Anti-Tank is equipped with a powerful armour that barely dents against every powerful unit in the game. Even Bombers (strongest offensive unit) require 3 hits to kill it. And since it only costs 11000 to build, 2 or 3 Anti-tanks would already be on the field before Bombers enter the fray.

Anti-Tanks are also the only indirect unit capable of close combat (if you don't consider the Bomber an indirect unit). It has an attack range of 3 squares with no gaps like the other indirect units. So, it can actually already damage your units before your units get close enough to attack it. So put a defensive wall around the Anti-Tank and you can watch as your opponent's offensive force turns into dust. However, being an indirect unit means that it can't attack the turn it moves.

Now then, for my experience with these units.

Before Days of Ruin, my strategy mainly consists of creating an elephant army of Tanks and then throwing in some Mid-, Neo- and Megatanks to boost firepower. When I tried to pull off this strategy again in Days of Ruin, I breezed through the opponent's main force like a knife through tofu and then arrived in front of their HQ. I laughed at the 2 Anti-Tanks and 5 Infantries guarding it, but then... BOOM!!! Most of the vanguard were blown to pieces and I only managed to damage 1 Anti-Tank. Damage which healed the next turn!

And it took me 9 DAYS before I finally killed one and swarmed the last one! WHAT THE HECK!!?? Even a fleet of Battleships didn't give me this much hell!!

Anyway, I am now researching a new tactic to beat this new unit. One thing I realised is that it's like an elephant in Animal Chess. The strong tanks die before it, but the useless Infantry units can actually beat the crap out of it. Well.. Bike Infantries to be exact, but they're still pretty much useless in combat against vehicles.

And I am still looking for people to challenge me in Advance Wars!! better do it now before I unlock Hachi in Dual Strike and master Anti-Tank warfare in Days of Ruin!

Quick Reviews of Summer 2009 Anime

1. Spice and Wolf II
I liked the first season so I'm chasing the second. And it's still as nice as before. I wouldn't say it is a top class anime, but it has a good story centering around a merchant's adventures with a wolf god. This isn't some action fantasy, but a rather light-hearted series with romance, comedy and some (literal) tricks of the trade. This was the only anime I looked forward to this season.

2. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
The story is about a hypothetical earthquake that will shake and shatter Tokyo and the struggles of the survivors after the disaster. The main character is a girl who seems to get angry at everything in her life. However, the event changed her life and now, all she wants is to return home safely in Western Tokyo. It's not a cross-country travel since this is supposed to be realistic. However, a tale of a group of three survivors traversing across a ruined metropolis should still be epic enough. The art is below average though. And the music is so-so. It's not my type of anime so I'll just drop it here.

3. CANAAN
Impressive start. Although I have no idea what's really happening. Basically, there are people called Synthesists who can perceive shapes using any one of their senses. However, most people can't take the mental pressure and will die. There are a few people who can control this power, and Canaan is one of them. I currently have no idea what the story is about so don't ask me. Art and animation is A-okay. I have nothing on music. I was too captivated by the gunfight scenes to notice any.

Up next, Needless and Element Hunters.

作戦開始！ (Begin the battle!)

Alright! It's the 2nd last week of July. That means it's time for me to start getting ready for my studies in Ireland. I hope I don't miss out anything or it'll be expensive sending stuff there from Malaysia.

2nd, I'm still looking for a way down to GACC. All the damn buses leave too early or too late! I could take the 10pm or 11pm bus, but as if my mom would ever let me. Why aren't there any buses that travel at 3pm or something!?

3rd, time to finish off FFXII now that I've got a working copy! Finally! After more than 2 years, I can continue the story!

4th, I guess I should start tweaking with my laptop from today. Just to get a good feel of it. And just in case there are any problems, I can quickly rectify them.

Bon Odori 2009

It's my first time attending Bon Odori in Penang for any reason other than watching fireworks. I don't attend it mainly because I hate crowds. But this year, I wante to hang out with the ComicFiesta Forum group so I decided to go for the whole thing.

I had to send my friend there too. Some of you remember Khai Chun, right? RIGHT!? Anyway, he followed me home from work and then just went along with me.

Since we arrived early, we didn't have to endure the traffic jams. The stalls had just finished setting up and are already open for business. Me and KC went around viewing stalls, banging into people, stepping on people's feet, bumping into old friends, punching someone's face, starting a street fight etc etc. Whichever you think really happened is up to you.

We soon met up with Hime-sama and although we agreed to move around as a group, we got seperated 15 minutes later. Dumb twits. :P I ran into LITTLE Miss Ethie a few times too. She managed to ambush me once (I hate it when people sneak up to tickle me), and I managed to take a photo behind her once. I wanted to sneak up to her and smack her, but sigh... damn principles.

More stalls after that.

I finally ran into Kazuki at 9pm. And following him, I managed to meet up with Migryl and the other KDU bunch. Now, we were a group. Me and Sam were blabbing non-stop about .hack at first but then the DoTA topic popped up and KC took over the entire conversation. As for me, I changed my conversation partner to Migryl and Tsukino. And because of that, I remembered the GACC thing... DAMN!!

And then Ethie came to talk to us for a while. Unfortunately, she didn't plan on staying so she ran off leaving this orange balloon with me. It was moments later before I realised, "Why am I still holding this!?" And then we left to watch the performance on the stage.

We soon found Archer aka. Gim and he joined our party. We went around to see stalls for a while and then we went to the stage. Halfway through the show, Sam, Archer and I went away to spend the remainder of our coupons. We lost Archer, but we found Black Cat (my cousin). Hmmm... fair trade I guess. Don't kill me, Archer. It was Sam's idea!!

And then it was soon fireworks time. Boom! Bam ! Bang! The end. And we went to the memorial by the sea to take a group shot. Ethie was busy and my idiot cousin got hungry and ran off, so in the end, the group shot consisted of me, KC, Migryl, Tsukino, Kazuki, his girlfriend (I forgot to ask her name!), Archer and Sam.

And then we parted ways because my mom was waiting. Tch! Why so early!? Oh well, I might have more chances. Hopefully...

And then, JJJJJJAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

ドップラ解錠！！ (Doppelganger Release!)

Well, I've restarted watching Monochrome Factor. Last time, the yaoi spamming made me shyaway from the series. But then again, the loooong waiting time for an episode to be subbed and released was partly to blame too. 2 1/2 weeks and NOTHING came out!

Now that they finished the series already (and because I have this idea of cosplaying Akira in his Shin form), I'm redownloading all 24 episodes and watching them. The starting is still pretty funny. It does get old... but since it's been a long time, it's funny again!

Akira's always the cool guy who skips classes and never gets massacred in chibi comedy. Kengo's the guy ALWAYS gets massacred in chibi comedy... and is also the annoying best friend who always gets kicked to heaven and manages to get back in 3 seconds to be even more annoying. Aya is the disciplined prefect who always tries (and usually epic phails) to get Akira and Kengo into class. Oh, and she's the one who usually massacres Kengo (accidentally or intentionally).

Pretty typical bunch, pretty typical story. But it's entertaining once in a while.

Right, episode 4 is ready!

A mix of this and that

First off, some random lines I picked up these few days.

"I got beaten by my dad twice today. The first time was for holding a report card with 2 marks. the second time was because the report card was his."

"If you require advice or suggestions, we'll provide them for free. If you want the true solution, kindly pay at the counter over there."

"I just renovated my kitchen recently! It's so clean I can't bear to dirty it. So, I'm too lazy cook anymore."

And now, for gaming reports:

Compared to G.U., the original .hack games really feel more like a MMORPG. For one, I pump pots.

Seriously, unless you're fighting something way below your level, the monsters can really deal some massive pain on you and your party members. This is perhaps the first console RPG to force me to spam items. Not just recovery items, even offensive and defensive items.

And this game kinda makes me feel like a Shinigami from Bleach. When the Shinigamis come to the human world, their powers are reduced by 80%. In .hack, if I don't use skills and items while fighting, my fighting power is significantly reduced. But once I pull out skills, it's like I'm a Shinigami that just returned to the Spirit world, or when I just unleashed Bankai.

And I can finally take on some Oni songs! I can barely Normal Clear Oni-level 6-star songs and sometimes even 7 and 8 star songs. However, I'm still not confident enough since I'm not playing on an actual Taiko machine. I should make a trip to Queensbay one day to test my skills again.

And I'd like to thank "Natsu Matsuri" for boosting my morale by being the first Oni level song I cleared. And it's a 6-star song on Oni difficulty. Booyah! I'm already clearing lots of songs on Oni. I just need a little more practice on finger work and possibly arm strength for the actual machine.

In the World

Although I should have already noticed in G.U. or perhaps it was because it wasn't as exaggerated in G.U. but The World is filled with weird people.

People who act like Piros (loud-mouth showoffs) are rather common in MMORPGs, but I seldom (never to be exact) see people like Elk (dependent and anti-social), Mia (searching for her memories in a game) or Natsume (split personality).

Heh... it might be amusing to see an online game filled with people like that. Maplestory, Runescape and Pirates Online get Xs for that.

Alright, TAMASHII NO KYOUMEI, and DATA DRAIN!!!!!

Welcome (back) to The World!

I first picked up .hack//G.U. in mid-2007, where I bought both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the series. In a nutshell, the series amazed me so much that I couldn't wait to get my hands on Volume 3 which was scheduled for a release 2 months later. It was an agonising wait, but I guess I should be glad I didn't pick up the series when only Volume 1 was released, since it was nearly 1 whole year before Volume 2 was released.

After completing the marvelous G.U. games and watching three of the anime series (SIGN, Twilight and ROOTS), I couldn't help but want more. I remember spending weeks researching everything about the series. Although I found many things that should have been enough to satisfy me, it wasn't enough. Because I never played the original 4.

And today, I took a stroll at Midlands during my lunch break and entered Mario Electronics. Since Midlands (or known as One-Stop or Looking Good) has pretty much been overshadowed by Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall, it still has somewhat of an archive of old games. It is there that I search for old games which I never got or only found out recently.

And to my surprise (since it wasn't there last time), I found ALL FOUR of the original .hack games. Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine. Boy, was I overjoyed when I saw the titles (though still being unable to find Shadow Hearts 1 and Tales of Symphonia left me a little sour). Since they were old games, I managed to bargain for a 20% discount and quickly left the shop and back to work, but eager to end the day so I can go home and test run the games.

Obviously, there was a catch. A catch I expected and already knew were present the moment I saw the games. Being a series that was rather popular during its time (2003), it would make no sense that the complete series would still be there. But there they were, all 4. So, what's the catch? Language, duh. Besides the first game, the remaining 3 were in full Japanese.

NOT A PROBLEM! However, it means that I can't carry forward my game file from Volume 1 to Volume 2 due to the regional difference. There are no problems transferring data from the 2nd to the 4th game though, so I suppose that's good enough. I won't be able to get a 100% completion, but at least I can get 90% or so.

Anyway, I've already played the first game. And it is SIGNIFICANTLY different from the first game. The battle system, the dungeon system, the enemies, the gameplay, heck, even The World is different from G.U.

It's still real-time action, but it's not as fast-paced as G.U. The maps aren't detailed like G.U. and the fields aren't seperated by bridges like in G.U. Instead, when you first enter an area, you are in the middle of a field where you can gate out anytime. Then, somewhere on the field is an entrance to a dungeon, where the Gott statues and bosses are. And the dungeons are as annoying as in G.U.

The difficulty is higher than G.U. and I find myself using items rather often, something I hardly do in most RPGs. Level 1 monsters are actually powerful enough to kill a level 4 character if you don't watch your health. However, abusing the elemental weakness system helps to kill even bosses quickly. Imagine your normal attacks dealing 60 damage and then throwing a 400+ HP damage by exploiting the boss's weakness.

And as I have mentioned earlier, characters die pretty fast. Kite is a Twin Blade, so he's balanced and with a human player controlling him, he shouldn't die often unless the player becomes laxed. However, I find Black Rose and Mistral dying a lot. Black Rose from magic attacks since she's a physical type character and Mistral from physical attacks since she's a magician. The only solution is to watch their HPs as well and heal them whenever necessary.

The story is rather rushed in the beginning, with characters constantly being introduced without much storyline progress. You first meet Orca as your "mentor", and then right after that, you meet Black Rose. Then, by checking a random dungeon mentioned on BBS, you're introduced to Mistral and when you return from the dungeon, you're introduced to Piros. They haven't done much at all for storyline, actually. Well, hopefully it starts getting interesting soon.

Well, that's it for now. Oh, and the music isn't epic like the anime or G.U. but I haven't heard much yet. Animation is still pretty good for its time, even though FF does better, but hey, who can fight Squaresoft/Square-Enix?

Ahahahaha!!!

I know it's bad to make fun of a person's hard work, but really, this is just too damn hilarious.

The Principality of Sealand is a micronation located on HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea 10 km (six miles) off the coast of Suffolk, England.

Since 1967, the facility has been occupied by former radio broadcaster British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates; his associates and family claim that it is an independent sovereign state. External commentators generally classify Sealand as a micronation. It has been described as the world's smallest nation. Sealand is not currently officially recognized as a sovereign state by any United Nations member.

Additional info: Sealand occupies an area of 527 square-meters and has a population of less than 5.

Yes, it is wrong to laugh at a nation's effort to make itself known and acknowledged as a nation, but it's amazing how almost NO country acknowledges it.

And one of THE most amazing thing about Sealand is that it has national athletes!!

Ahh... Hetalia is a good history programme.

Tamashi no Kyoumei!! (Soul Resonance!!)

Phew... Finally finished the series. From start to end, the story was good, the animation was good, the art was good. Everything just fails at sound. Even the final battle didn't feel epic because there was little to no battle music. I mean, really, they suddenly let lose a whole bunch of mad powers and there was so little tension.

The Shinigami vs Asura fight was impressive but the lack of music (not just appropriate music) just ruined it. It was a fight between gods! How could they screw up the sound and music at a time like this!?

Then, the final battle where Maka, Black Star and Death the Kid fought Asura was pretty epic too, but once again ruined with the absence of exaggerated battle music.

I mean, hello, Death the Kid just unleashed his full Shinigami powers AND finally attained the symmetry he wanted on his body!! 2000% synchro rate and zero noise production (from the way they said it, that was something way beyond Kid's level of power)!! At least make the music rock and then take away the music when Asura appeared unscathed (again).

And I think they should ahve given Black Star more screentime when fighting Asura. Asura suddenly just returned to his human body after Death the Kid's final attack, leaving only Black Star to fight him. "So, I guess fate has decided that I am the one to surpass God!" They should have thrown in some upbeat battle music and showed us the battle! I really wanted to see Black Star try to surpass God! But... they just skipped that part and Black Star was already defeated when Maka returned with Soul's...uhh... soul.

The only noticeable battle music was when Maka delivered the final blow, where they played some hip-hop music, but I thought it was still a little too soft.

Sigh... they should remake this and put better guys in the sound and music department!! This series was seriously damaged because of that!!

TAMASHII NO KYOUMEI!!

The Bingster is back!!

I know he's been back since June 24 but he was under quarantine for a week, so I only got to see him again today! I initially intended to visit him in the morning and join Youngblood for a hike in the evening, but well, things got hectic.

First, my mom woke me at 8.30am and ushered me out of the house. Before I even got my head straight, we were on our way to Queensbay Mall and only then did I fully understood that we were going to buy clothes for my stay in Ireland while it's Mega Sale season. So, I changed my schedule a little to 2pm.

Yet again, things happened! The shopping spree took longer than expected because there were just so little things suitable for the weather over there. Of course, they were all based off my dad's experience in Canada. "Cloth shoes will get wet and seep into your socks!" "PVC shoes will break easily after wearing it for some time!" "This looks suitable! Aiyah, look at the price! Aiyah, no size!" Hooo boy....

The good news is I finally normal cleared Kurenai on Muzukashii (hard) in Taiko no Tatsujin 10 at the arcade! My arm strength is improving!

By the time I got to TBY's house, it was nearly 4pm. And Youngblood decided to cancel the hike. Oh well. More time to talk. And boy did we talk A LOT!! Good thing Youngblood cancelled, or he would have been standing there till 10pm!

Wilson was there too, so the three of us were there discussing careers, inquiring about TBY's life there and stuff. Then we started talking about our old CLHS trademark topic - cold jokes. And we just kept on going until 8pm.

We then headed to Khaleel Restaurant along Gurney Drive and ate some food. There, the cold jokes continued. Just like old times. If we were 20 years older, we'd have stayed there talking overnight.

Oh, and TBY showed me a menu for a Malaysian restaurant there. Teh Tarik costs 3.5 bucks a cup there! 3.5 Aussie bucks!! Char Koay Teow, 14.8 Aussie bucks! Curry Puff, 2.2 Aussie bucks!! And you get the rest. What the heck!!!???

Anyway, today was a good day. Now then, Tears to Tiara awaits.

Crimson is my right, Azure is my left.

It seems my fantasy illusions are becoming more and more frequent lately... That probably means somewhere deep inside me (beyond even my own detection) I must be pretty stressed about leaving.

From time to time, I suddenly see or even feel red, passionate flames burning on my right arm and blue, serene flames surrounding my left arm. Then, I have this urge to hurl the red flames forward like fireballs and slam the blue flames onto the ground, creating a shockwave and a barrier of blue flames.

There has also been that time when I suddenly just closed my eyes and imagined a black ring floating around each wrist. Then, I would swing my arms in a vertical curve and the black rings would disintegrate into shiny dust and a pair of swords will materialise from the sparkling powder into my hands.

And there was this one time at work when my wrists suddenly hurt and when I looked, a demon was standing on each side, grasping chains attached to my wrists. I clenched my fists, and forcibly pulled the demons towards me. And finally, I would grab their faces and crush them and watch as they fade into black shadows.

Well, the above were some examples I remember. There were more but the first and second examples have happened many times. I've probably even forgotten a few times they happened. I'm a little worried about my mental state, but I am interested as to how far my fantasies can and will go.

And don't worry, I'm pretty much still sane. My fantasies don't involve me killing anyone except those demons. I'm not even sure if I killed them or they just disappeared for now. Stein-hakase, it looks like I'll be joining you for a while.