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.