April is just around the corner, which means the next round of shows will be starting in a week or so! The spring (April) and fall (October) terms have traditionally been heavy in terms of the number of new shows, so I decided to check out the line-up beforehand so I can pace myself for the planned anime reinforce month.
After a quick trip to Niconico, here's my initial verdict.
[Angel Beats]
- no idea what it's about but definitely watching because of the original script writer and music composer Maeda Jun
- the OP & ED should be great as expected
- character design seems good
- average seiyuu cast (in terms of my interest)
[会長はメイド様！]
- been following the original manga so definitely watching
- was worried about the seiyuu combination for the main pair but they sounded fine in the PV
- was hoping for other seiyuu but...(ry)
- character design not as refined as manga but acceptable
[WORKING!!]
- undecided, leaning on not watching depending on time and bandwidth
- didn't bother reading the original manga after reading the synopsis
- seiyuu might be the main reason if I end up watching it, but Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke may not be reason enough...
[荒川アンダーザブリッジ]
- probably watching
- still have no idea what it's about after the brief PV with the real life kappa (I blame it on Shinbou Akiyuki XD)
- character design is good
- pretty good seiyuu cast
[いちばんうしろの大魔王]
- undecided, leaning on not watching
- haven't read the original novel and dropped the manga after the first or second chapter
- OK character design
- below average seiyuu cast
[薄桜鬼]
- definitely watching because Kuwashima Houko is the protagonist!
- never played the original PS2 game but I know it's otome
- looks like Miki Shinichiro's character is the main guy, but I really prefer Morikubo Shoutarou or Yusa Kouji...
[閃光のナイトレイド]
- probably watching
- no idea what it's about but looks interesting
- character design is good
- released seiyuu list is small but looks good
[四畳半神話大系]
- undecided
- no idea what it's about
- character design is kinda hard to say...
- seiyuu might be the main reason if I end up watching it
[HEROMAN]
- undecided, leaning on not watching depending on time and bandwidth
- never read the American comics this is based on, really unsure about the story due to its origin...
- character design and art is good (BONES!)
- average seiyuu cast
[SDガンダム三国伝 BraveBattleWarriors]
- definitely watching
- not familiar with the story, but the design is really nice (I've bought three models already and would have got more if I had the money and space)
- don't know most of the seiyuu but (ry)
- would definitely want the Knight Gundam series or other SD Gundam/BB Senshi series be animated
[裏切りは僕の名前を知っている]
- I refuse to touch BL
- just wanted to include this one here because this is yet another excellent example of BL work having really heavy seiyuu cast
- after a quick search on Google, most readers of the original manga seem to think this is not BL but admit there's tones of BL elements, so I might give it a try. Monochrome Factor isn't BL, but the anime version twisted it to include BL elements so let's hope it won't be the case here
In conclusion, it's four for sure, two probably and four maybe (and one iffy) for the spring term. There's probably other series not covered in the video so the number might increase when they air.
Despite spring supposedly being a big term for anime, I'm a lot more excited by some of the series scheduled for the summer and fall terms. I've already picked out four definitely-watching series for summer (Sengoku BASARA 2!) and at least six or more for fall (plus Gundam UC 2nd episode!).
As for the movies, I'm really looking forward to the 4th (might be the last?) Bleach movie and the Soukyuu no Fafner(!!!) movie. There's also Break Blade 1st Chapter, Gundam 00, Macross Frontier, and maybe Beck (real people) and the Naruto Shippuuden movie.
On a last note, I found the highlight of the video to be when Emperor Wakamoto speaks up as Megatron from Transformer Animated. XD
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Soramimi Project #15: Yasumoto Hiroki 安元洋貴
First heard: villager (Inuyasha)
First noticed: Chad (Bleach)
Memorable characters: Chad (Bleach), Utuu (Druaga no Tou ~Aegis of URUK~), Count Blood Dracula (Princess Nightmare), Justice (Doujin Work), Midarezaki Teika (Kyouran Kazoku Nikki)
Image character: Chad (Bleach)
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works heard: 34
Despite knowing Yasumoto's voice fairly well, he's not really on my radar. As a result, I was rather surprised by the high number of works I've heard of him. While his role in Bleach accounts for four, 31 is still an impressive number for him.
The first time I heard Chad in Bleach, I was slightly taken aback by his deep voice but found it quite suitable at the same time. I did not expect it to be only one pitch lower than the seiyuu's natural voice. When I saw Yasumoto at the Bleach Soul Sonic, I rested my case.
Since his voice isn't really my type, I didn't play the Count Dracula route in Princess Nightmare. Of course, the fact that he's the adoptive father was a big factor as well... Don't really have much to say about him except that I hear his voice regularly because of Bleach. As like many male seiyuu, Yasumoto doesn't have many different pitches, but I wouldn't mind hearing more of him outside of Bleach.
BTW, when I was looking up his roles on ja.wikipedia, Chrome Shelled Regios/Legend of Regios wasn't listed. I can understand somewhat since none of the English-speaking cast was mentioned in the credit roll, but come on...
I'm the very lazy type that finds it very hard to get back into a habit once I fall out of it. But I do like to write, so this is a weak attempt of trying to get back. Hopefully I'll regain the zest to where I used to write weekly. We'll see. :Q
First heard: villager (Inuyasha)
First noticed: Chad (Bleach)
Memorable characters: Chad (Bleach), Utuu (Druaga no Tou ~Aegis of URUK~), Count Blood Dracula (Princess Nightmare), Justice (Doujin Work), Midarezaki Teika (Kyouran Kazoku Nikki)
Image character: Chad (Bleach)
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works heard: 34
Despite knowing Yasumoto's voice fairly well, he's not really on my radar. As a result, I was rather surprised by the high number of works I've heard of him. While his role in Bleach accounts for four, 31 is still an impressive number for him.
The first time I heard Chad in Bleach, I was slightly taken aback by his deep voice but found it quite suitable at the same time. I did not expect it to be only one pitch lower than the seiyuu's natural voice. When I saw Yasumoto at the Bleach Soul Sonic, I rested my case.
Since his voice isn't really my type, I didn't play the Count Dracula route in Princess Nightmare. Of course, the fact that he's the adoptive father was a big factor as well... Don't really have much to say about him except that I hear his voice regularly because of Bleach. As like many male seiyuu, Yasumoto doesn't have many different pitches, but I wouldn't mind hearing more of him outside of Bleach.
BTW, when I was looking up his roles on ja.wikipedia, Chrome Shelled Regios/Legend of Regios wasn't listed. I can understand somewhat since none of the English-speaking cast was mentioned in the credit roll, but come on...
I'm the very lazy type that finds it very hard to get back into a habit once I fall out of it. But I do like to write, so this is a weak attempt of trying to get back. Hopefully I'll regain the zest to where I used to write weekly. We'll see. :Q
Friday, March 26, 2010
I'm known among friends to be not quite normal. Bro can also testify that I always use analogies from anime or games that he doesn't have a clue about (he sometimes does, too, referencing Naruto and possibly Bleach from now on). This is gonna be another one of those analogies.
A couple people around me have been going through issues regarding their relationships recently. While they troubled themselves through sleepless nights, I sat relatively undisturbed in my "bubble", as some of them called it. I personally think it's an AT Field rather than a bubble due to my attributes, and came up with a pet theory on AT Field two nights ago after being mentioned as in the "bubble" that afternoon.
As any Evangelion fan (or not) knows, AT Fields can be roughly grouped into two types. One acts as a barrier against all external impacts as displayed by the Angels and EVA. Another establishes the existence of each individual by separating the hearts and souls from each other as detailed in the Human Instrumentality Project. For the purpose of my pet theory, I'm going with my interpretation of the former type along with the notion of 'kokoro' that I briefly wrote about before. (If you actually are able to comprehend the bits about AT Fields in this paragraph, congratulations, 'cause I don't! If you couldn't understand a word, have fun watching Evangelion! XD)
AT Field, short for Absolute Terror Field, is able to repel most, if not all, external damages, be it physical or mental. It can be neutralized when the other side is able to synchronize with the AT Field. However, only when complete synchronization is achieved can the one enter wholly into the AT Field of another.
Let's say every one has an AT Field on the interpersonal level. On a daily basis, people interact with each other, rubbing their AT Fields against each other. A form of synchronization is attained through having common interests, experiences or even enemies. As the rate of synchronization increases, people gain more access into one another's AT Field. How close or matched up people are can be determined by the percentage of intersection between the AT Fields.
But wait, synchronization rate can also be negative. This is usually due to diverging views, conflicting experiences or just plain misunderstanding. As a result, the intersecting percentage of the AT Fields fluctuates every time an interaction, either direct or indirect, takes place.
It's pretty much impossible for one to achieve perfect synchronization of another's AT Field. On the other hand, one can keep changing the composition of their AT Field as to purposely discourage synchronization attempts from other people.
When one is able to reach a certain synchronization rate (let's say enough to activate a bankai XD), 'kokoro' is then obtained between the two sides. But because of the dynamic nature of the synchronization rate, the 'kokoro' can be lost and regained numerous times. In order to maintain the 'kokoro', one needs to always strive for bankai. When the 'kokoro' is sufficiently established and maintained, friendship starts to blossom.
Keep in mind, though, that even when 'kokoro' exists between two, synchronization efforts are still ongoing. Negative synchronization doesn't just cancel out the position numbers. It pokes out from one's AT Field into the other's AT Field. The deeper intersecting the AT Fields are, the more painful and acute the pokes are felt by the owner of the intruded AT Field.
Right now I don't have a theory on what sparks a romantic relationship in this whole AT Field thing yet. I'm sure I can come up with something fairly quick, but I think this post has gone on long enough without having any real content, again. So let me leave the rough draft of my latest pet theory at that. (There's something else I was planning to write about but can't remember after the uber long post now...)
On a last note, I watched Evangelion many many many years ago and never bothered to dig into the philosophical and metaphorical sides of it. Beside the robot fights, I was more interested in seeing Kaoru and Rei together... yeah.
A couple people around me have been going through issues regarding their relationships recently. While they troubled themselves through sleepless nights, I sat relatively undisturbed in my "bubble", as some of them called it. I personally think it's an AT Field rather than a bubble due to my attributes, and came up with a pet theory on AT Field two nights ago after being mentioned as in the "bubble" that afternoon.
As any Evangelion fan (or not) knows, AT Fields can be roughly grouped into two types. One acts as a barrier against all external impacts as displayed by the Angels and EVA. Another establishes the existence of each individual by separating the hearts and souls from each other as detailed in the Human Instrumentality Project. For the purpose of my pet theory, I'm going with my interpretation of the former type along with the notion of 'kokoro' that I briefly wrote about before. (If you actually are able to comprehend the bits about AT Fields in this paragraph, congratulations, 'cause I don't! If you couldn't understand a word, have fun watching Evangelion! XD)
AT Field, short for Absolute Terror Field, is able to repel most, if not all, external damages, be it physical or mental. It can be neutralized when the other side is able to synchronize with the AT Field. However, only when complete synchronization is achieved can the one enter wholly into the AT Field of another.
Let's say every one has an AT Field on the interpersonal level. On a daily basis, people interact with each other, rubbing their AT Fields against each other. A form of synchronization is attained through having common interests, experiences or even enemies. As the rate of synchronization increases, people gain more access into one another's AT Field. How close or matched up people are can be determined by the percentage of intersection between the AT Fields.
But wait, synchronization rate can also be negative. This is usually due to diverging views, conflicting experiences or just plain misunderstanding. As a result, the intersecting percentage of the AT Fields fluctuates every time an interaction, either direct or indirect, takes place.
It's pretty much impossible for one to achieve perfect synchronization of another's AT Field. On the other hand, one can keep changing the composition of their AT Field as to purposely discourage synchronization attempts from other people.
When one is able to reach a certain synchronization rate (let's say enough to activate a bankai XD), 'kokoro' is then obtained between the two sides. But because of the dynamic nature of the synchronization rate, the 'kokoro' can be lost and regained numerous times. In order to maintain the 'kokoro', one needs to always strive for bankai. When the 'kokoro' is sufficiently established and maintained, friendship starts to blossom.
Keep in mind, though, that even when 'kokoro' exists between two, synchronization efforts are still ongoing. Negative synchronization doesn't just cancel out the position numbers. It pokes out from one's AT Field into the other's AT Field. The deeper intersecting the AT Fields are, the more painful and acute the pokes are felt by the owner of the intruded AT Field.
Right now I don't have a theory on what sparks a romantic relationship in this whole AT Field thing yet. I'm sure I can come up with something fairly quick, but I think this post has gone on long enough without having any real content, again. So let me leave the rough draft of my latest pet theory at that. (There's something else I was planning to write about but can't remember after the uber long post now...)
On a last note, I watched Evangelion many many many years ago and never bothered to dig into the philosophical and metaphorical sides of it. Beside the robot fights, I was more interested in seeing Kaoru and Rei together... yeah.
Friday, March 19, 2010
BLEACH DS 4th:フレイム・ブリンガー
Finally, after many many hours of slashing and hacking, I've officially beat the whole game! That means I cleared story, mission and survival modes, got all the hell butterflies in both story and mission mode, and collected all soul cards and CGs. よくやったな、自分！ヽ(｀д´)ﾉ
To sum it up, it's definitely one of the best action games I've played in the last few years (not that I've played many). The story itself is nothing special, but it's closer to the manga concept than those anime original arcs. I especially liked the stage where Rukia appears in Ichigo's inner world, and Ichigo recalls who is it that he's supposed to protect when he came to. Of course, anything focusing on the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia is my cup of tea. XD The side talks are rather amusing sometimes and involves most characters minus those from Aizen's side.
The ranking system for the story and free mode is interesting. Since a lot of the extra talks and the hidden stages are only available with A or better rankings, a B means replaying the stage. The surest way to rack up the rank is to hit over 500% SR. The maximum 1000% SR pretty much guarantees you an S rank. There's two stages that I kept getting B ranks during the story mode. Luckily, rankings (and hell butterfly count) are synchronized between story and free modes, so I re-challenged the stages in free mode to get everything necessary after clearing the story mode.
As additional characters are unlocked in the story mode, they become usable in all other modes after certain scenes. Bro seemed to like Renji because of his wider attack range and Yoruichi because of her speed. My character of choice is Ichigo all the way. When I'm stuck in the mission mode, I sometimes switch to Rukia or Hitsugaya.
Except for Ichigo's bankai, all other bankai or ultimate techniques are automatic once executed. I don't have much experience with most of the characters, but I'm very impressed with Rukia's techniques. The cards I set on the board most definitely played a role as well, but beating the Grand Fisher stage in hard survival mode in under 5 seconds with one strike of hakuren is extremely satisfying. XD
I have my system voice set to Rukia, and my save file shows Rukia as she was the last character I used to beat the hard survival mode to get my last soul card and thus completing the game. Beating the story mode puts a star on the save file. Completing the game puts Kon's paw beside the star. :)
I must admit that I cheated once, though, when I searched online for the last missing card after I beat all three modes and got all the hell butterflies. Turned out it's Lilinette, which I at last managed to get after numerous Stark. For some reason, the various guides I found all have instructions on how to get Stark, since people seem to get Lilinette a lot... *shrug*
Bro pulled an all-nighter and beat the story mode just under 9 hours, without setting any card on the board 'cause he couldn't read Japanese and didn't know, and he only aimed to finish the game. As the result of playing the game, he's now watching the Bleach anime. XD
Time to move on to the next game... :3
Finally, after many many hours of slashing and hacking, I've officially beat the whole game! That means I cleared story, mission and survival modes, got all the hell butterflies in both story and mission mode, and collected all soul cards and CGs. よくやったな、自分！ヽ(｀д´)ﾉ
To sum it up, it's definitely one of the best action games I've played in the last few years (not that I've played many). The story itself is nothing special, but it's closer to the manga concept than those anime original arcs. I especially liked the stage where Rukia appears in Ichigo's inner world, and Ichigo recalls who is it that he's supposed to protect when he came to. Of course, anything focusing on the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia is my cup of tea. XD The side talks are rather amusing sometimes and involves most characters minus those from Aizen's side.
The ranking system for the story and free mode is interesting. Since a lot of the extra talks and the hidden stages are only available with A or better rankings, a B means replaying the stage. The surest way to rack up the rank is to hit over 500% SR. The maximum 1000% SR pretty much guarantees you an S rank. There's two stages that I kept getting B ranks during the story mode. Luckily, rankings (and hell butterfly count) are synchronized between story and free modes, so I re-challenged the stages in free mode to get everything necessary after clearing the story mode.
As additional characters are unlocked in the story mode, they become usable in all other modes after certain scenes. Bro seemed to like Renji because of his wider attack range and Yoruichi because of her speed. My character of choice is Ichigo all the way. When I'm stuck in the mission mode, I sometimes switch to Rukia or Hitsugaya.
Except for Ichigo's bankai, all other bankai or ultimate techniques are automatic once executed. I don't have much experience with most of the characters, but I'm very impressed with Rukia's techniques. The cards I set on the board most definitely played a role as well, but beating the Grand Fisher stage in hard survival mode in under 5 seconds with one strike of hakuren is extremely satisfying. XD
I have my system voice set to Rukia, and my save file shows Rukia as she was the last character I used to beat the hard survival mode to get my last soul card and thus completing the game. Beating the story mode puts a star on the save file. Completing the game puts Kon's paw beside the star. :)
I must admit that I cheated once, though, when I searched online for the last missing card after I beat all three modes and got all the hell butterflies. Turned out it's Lilinette, which I at last managed to get after numerous Stark. For some reason, the various guides I found all have instructions on how to get Stark, since people seem to get Lilinette a lot... *shrug*
Bro pulled an all-nighter and beat the story mode just under 9 hours, without setting any card on the board 'cause he couldn't read Japanese and didn't know, and he only aimed to finish the game. As the result of playing the game, he's now watching the Bleach anime. XD
Time to move on to the next game... :3
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