2012 春番總結

之前寫了春番前三話的感想，當時的四部期待作是Fate/Zero、君と僕。２、氷菓、聖闘士星矢Ω聖闘士版PrecureΩ，然後宇宙兄弟、アクセル・ワールド、つり球並排第五。氷菓、聖闘士版PrecureΩ、宇宙兄弟、アクセル・ワールド是雙季番所以會跟夏番一起。

春番期間，個人的前六名是：
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
Fate/Zero
君と僕。２
アクエリオンEVOL
つり球
ヨルムンガンド

以下為春番期間看完作品的三言兩語，按照完食的順序，另外附加原作補完及敗家預定。捏他有，慎入。

BLEACH
- 追了七年多，將近十年的動畫歴中佔了極大比例，漫畫更是把我帶回少年漫畫世界的元兇 XD
- 沒有ルキア的BLEACH就不是BLEACH，久保絶對要給ルキア幸福結局！一護ｘルキア一筋！（配對控）
- 動畫看完後稍微怨念了一下，希望整部結束後跟犬夜叉一樣出完結篇動畫～
= 原作漫畫敗了三十幾本，明年繼續找來敗～ 動畫除了Bound跟天貝繍助篇以外，有出的都敗了

鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
- 2003版的鋼錬我還算喜歡，不過看了鋼錬FMA才知道為什麼當初很多原作迷抱怨很大，格局真的有差
- 我掉的眼涙比看AIR跟那朵花的時候還多，結局也收的無比漂亮。雖然發了很多便當，了無遺憾～
- 當初聲優陣幾乎全換的時候哀聲遍野，但是新聲優陣的確比較適合各角色的原作走向
= 手上的原作漫畫全套要找時間補完，動畫BD全敗～ 劇場版BD在去猫家領貨的時候直接拆來看了 XD

これはゾンビですか? オブ・ザ・デッド
- 結果不但留下二期的魔王沒打，最後還出現新後宮候補角色，整期沒意義又沒什麼進度 orz
- 毎兩句話就吐血的大川透角色普通有趣，在男角色少得可憐的這部當中，算値得注目
- 中二病患者果然是看了就很痛的存在ｗｗｗ　原來卵焼跟史萊姆是只有一線之隔的存在（筆記
= 手上有八本原作小説，但是在讀書單的排名非常後面

坂道のアポロン
- 跟三話時的感想差不多，不常見的戰後純樸青春物語，不過個人感覺普通
- 猫覺得是只有年長組在一起的全散結尾，我倒認為是從此開始的大團圓結局
- 某話裡星兒跳舞那段是録岡本跳舞再畫，配音的時候還沒畫好所以是直接看岡本跳舞影片配 XD
= 原作漫畫還沒完結，所以動畫大概是自創結局。漫畫跟動畫目前都沒有敗的預定

Fate/Zero
- 期望聖杯能根絶爭戰，以己之身為武器投入無論輸贏對自己都是絶望的戰爭，切嗣大概是史上最被虐主角
- Rider組最高！韋伯是F/Z之中最萌，三王之中也是征服王的氣度最廣。Rider最終回涙目 T__T
- 得到肉體的裸王英雄王出現時，全場幾百人爆笑，再看生放送也是滿滿的彈幕XD 你們這個愉悅組ｗｗｗ
= 原作小説預定補完。敗了Sound Drama，前半期BD盒的小冊子也給切嗣簽名了，等後半期BD盒出來～

さんかれあ
- 等等，這樣就完結了？！原作量應該也還不足做第二季，斷在那邊是怎樣 orz
- 一開始是衝著女僕長的桑島去看，結果加起來出場不到十分鐘是怎樣 orz
- 新人内田真礼，比起殭屍大小姐，個人比較喜歡非公認戰隊裡的店長（那部很棒 XD）
= 原作漫畫還未完結，漫畫跟動畫目前都沒有敗的預定

めだかボックス
- 一般少年漫畫中少見的西尾式文字遊戲設定，但是劇情本身很淺。漫畫跟小説的取向畢竟不同
- 二期應該是最後畫面出現的十三組篇，負十三組篇大概得等第三期（能出的話）
- GAINAX的戰鬥畫面果然不錯，作畫到最後也都沒怎麼崩，不過死魚眼是原作漫畫的錯
= 手上有15本原作漫畫，不過有一陣子沒看了。目前不確定會不會敗動畫

ZETMAN
- 優等生少爺角色果然壞掉了，倒是人完全沒放棄過人類的心出乎於意料之外，但是這樣就好～
- 其他角色都很平，根本沒時間塑造。中盤感覺省略超多，不過故事整體的歩調OK，BGM很電影風
- ZET暴走時直接帰刃第二階段變成ウルキオラ！XD 兩個都是想理解人類的非人類，ウルキオラ超可惜…
= 原作漫畫17本塞成13話動畫果然無理，還是一定得補完漫畫。動畫目前不太想敗

アクエリオンEVOL LOVE
- 非常HIGH的合體蘿蔔熱鬧戀愛喜劇！XD 男女主角以外的角色都很有個性，完全超越前作的人設
- 大大地玩弄了第一期各種設定，不需要看過前作也能充分感受到看過的人之囧rz（讀作河森的惡意）
- 雖然最後是大團圓戀愛解禁結局，經歴過害人掉涙的超痛第13話的ユノハ從此還是單獨一人吶…
= 很讚的原創動畫（除掉男女主角），如果有出R1版我一定敗！還要去找カグラｘゼシカ同人～

つり球
- 這麼無厘頭的釣魚主題動畫我居然可以看到熱血又涙目 XD
- 這部應該比へうげもの更冷門，不過我還蠻喜歡這種單純輕鬆小品，主要聲優群也很讚
- 結果釣出來的龍竟然是一隻小小的鬥魚，而且裡面的人還是櫻井孝宏ｗｗｗ
= 一季完結的原創動畫，有出R1版的話會敗

シャイニング・ハーツ ～幸せのパン～
- 川崎逸朗這監督我記住了，什麼原作到他手上都會被改得面目全非就是了吧 orz
- 目当て的桑島法子到第八話才算有台詞，而且存在感跟さんかれあ的女僕長差不多低是怎樣 orz
- 決戰全靠主角跟女王兩隻加某矮人私造大砲，王子送船給Let's party海賊是去當對方炮灰嗎
= 以前看TearsXWind會讓我想玩Wind，這部完全不會讓我想玩Hearts，而且一直想棄番，改編大失敗

モーレツ宇宙海賊
- 佐藤竜雄監督騙人！當初明明放話説這部跟輪迴拿掉了一切戀愛要素，可是兩部都有擺明的百合（怒
- 海賊側很有趣，戰鬥也不錯，有點兒戲就是～ 不過ヨット部的成員都太Mary Sue，王女什麼都想參與很煩
- クーリエ的外勤姿吹了，但是看到最終話白刃戰裡用忍術的海賊時差點把嘴裡的東西噴出來ｗｗｗ
= 目前對原作小説興趣不大，不過看在艦隊戰跟梵天丸成員的份上，有出便宜的R1版的話會敗

ヨルムンガンド
- 唔哦，殺手供出雇主後，竟然是接CIA課長的登場然後結束於課長與R的密會開頭，好個秋季二期的鋪陳
- 登場角色的背景設定及軍火考察都有模有樣。黒田洋介的編劇構成也很棒，劇情起伏不大但是引力十足
- 感想跟三話時差不多，很獨特的幕後主題與視點，演出跟氣氛抓得不錯，最後結局如何也讓人在意
= 最近弄到全套原作漫畫，不過打算等動畫出完再看。有出R1版的話會敗，期待秋番二期～

緋色の欠片
- 等等，這種爛片還要出二期？！不要從頭到尾拖戲，遊戲内容全部(？)塞進一季可能還有一點點看頭
- 原作遊戲似乎非常有名，剛開始還稍微期待了一下，但是憑這種聲優陣跟劇情到底是怎麼紅的？
- 恭禧緋色碎片撃敗幸福的麵包成為（有看的）春季最爛番。當初應該跟夏色奇跡一起棄番的 orz
= DS上有原作遊戲，不過看過動畫後排在遊戲表非常後面。二期如果秋番不太忙（不可能）可能會看…

君と僕。２
- 果然是安定的治癒番，而且等級比一期時更高。只是隨著角色的成長，切ない話也變多了
- 二期更為深入各角色的内心與互動，千鶴→茉咲→春那幾話甚至讓我體驗到傳説中看動畫會胃痛的感覺
- 猫群的演出依然很讚～ 最終話的茶道回，不禁想起へうげもの；十先生裡面的人是帝王社長吹了ｗｗｗ
= 最近弄到十一本原作漫畫，動畫有出R1版的話一定敗。等原作的量夠了，希望出三期！

遇上休假避暑期，所以如預定般拖到現在才補完春番。不算補完的舊番，在期間内完結的新番意外的少，才十三部，所以只延遲了不到一個半月 XD

因為才十五部，前六名都很容易就決定了。Fate/Zero原本是春番本命作，應該是穩拿第一，但不幸撞上我在這時補完鋼錬FMA，退居第二。不愧是命運系列，兩期都遇上相同的命運，不過對手實在太強了沒辦法。

F/Z的三言兩語裡提到全場幾百人爆笑，是在AX放送最後兩話的事。而且主辦方找的英雄王cosplayer也補一脚，放送前跟F/Z貴賓一起上台的時候還全副武裝，放送完再一次上台的時候就是披著紅布的裸王了。気が利くねｗｗｗ　小山力也（兄貴！）在自己的panel時也講了很多關於切嗣的感想，可惜F/Z放送後的Q&A，很多人都問製作方一堆很囧的問題。

春番作品衆多，但是期間只有十三部完結，跟著秋番已知會是超級大混戰，代表夏番期間完結的番會很多，到時候鐵定修羅場。夏季舊番補完計劃，還是選幾部劇場版或OVA就好了…

「またな」

I was going to wait until after finishing the round of 3-episode for the spring anime, but the group I had been following finally released Bleach ep.366, the last episode for the anime. I couldn't wait.

Over the course of two days during the long weekend, I started from ep.342 (yes, for the 4th time) and marathoned to the end... and haven't really been able to watch any anime since. XD　This also happened a few times during the Arrancar saga whenever the canon arc paused/ended to make way for the filler arcs.

Ever since learning the news of the anime coming to an end in March, I longed and dreaded to reach the last episode. As expected, I got a bit melancholy with Ichigo's last line 「またな」. But I was hopeful at the same time that it's not 「じゃあな」, so we might still see the current and final arc getting animated, kinda like how they did Inuyasha Kanketsuhen. XD

Looking back, Bleach reached its 10th year anniversary last year, and the anime aired for roughly seven and half years. I don't remember exactly when I started following the manga, but it wasn't too long after the serialization began, and I was quite thrilled at the news of the anime adaptation and eagerly anticipated it.

While the earlier chapters were kinda rushed due to airing schedule and we were given the infamous Bound filler arc which fit really badly with the anime canon, the later filler arcs were all announced as 大人の事情 and not meant to be part of the anime canon, which was good.

I try to skip over the filler arcs when buying the DVD, but I had to get box 5 and 12 because the last few episodes contain canon stuff... orz　But I do plan to buy the zanpakutou filler arcs, and probably the last part of the Invading Army arc since ep.342 will likely be treated as a part of it.

I really like Kubo-sensei's storyboards and choreography, and it translated quite nicely to the anime, especially during battle scenes. Granted, the animation quality and style varied a lot over the years, but that's the norm for super long shows like this, and I hugely enjoyed the anime overall.

This is where I learned the voices of many seiyuu, including the majority of the main cast, and started paying attention to certain ones. This is also where I first encountered several artists whose music I've come to enjoy (UVERworld, SunSet Swish, Aqua Timez, SID).

アニメBLEACHのおかげで色んな出会いができました、本当に感謝します～　また会おう！

Play Station Store

I finally connected my PS3 online and downloaded a few trial games as well as vol.117 of the weekly Toro Station from the Play Station Store.

Vol.117 features Tales of Innocence R for the PS3 and the local Hero (think Tiger & Bunny type of Hero but looks like Kamen Rider) for Aoimori. The TOIR part was so-so, since it's a remake port and the character design looked kinda dated to me.

The local Hero part, on the other hand, was quite interesting. All these hero stage shows I've seen in anime or drama actually do exist! And the enemy group for the Aoimori hero stage has the same name as the enemy for Akida (I think, can't quite remember), because the Akida hero keeps preventing them from doing bad things, so they've moved to harass the people of Aoimori instead! なんて面白い設定だ！ XD

After watching a few back number issues of Toro Station, I played the special trial version for Bleach: Soul Ignition's Hell chapter and the trial version of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.

I've been wanting to play Bleach: Soul Ignition since I saw the PV for it. It's actually available in R1 and has the option to switch to Japanese audio, but because there's text on screen and stuff, I'd prefer to get the R2 version. Need to wait until I head to the west coast to see if I can find it...

The game play itself kinda feels like Gundam Musou, and liken to the short experience I had with Gundam Musou 3, I had a bit of trouble adjusting the camera angle. Took me a while to somewhat get used to the many buttons (compared to the SNES and NDS) and the 3D field. Took me two tries to beat Kokuto, too. orz

El Shaddai's trial version contains segments from different stages so it was like an easy walk-through (of course, I also chose the easy mode to start with). This game is famed for its 大丈夫だ、問題ない unique art style and battle system, and I completely agree. It's fun to see Enoch getting stripped down to just one pair of jeans in the battle. The final verdict for the game seems to be slightly on the negative side, as it's not very long and the number of enemy encounters--the most fun part of the game--was not high enough. But I think I'm still going to keep an eye out for the title and grab it when it goes on sale.

Unfortunately, I don't have a JCB credit card so I can't purchase any of the games on the PS Store. They actually have quite a few direct ports of old Super Robot Wars games and Final Fantasy games as well. I really wanted to play Gun Parade March and Chrono Cross... orz

I'll make a North American account and see what's in their PS Store next week. Hopefully they'd at least have Chrono Cross and the old FF games that I can buy.

護廷十三隊侵軍篇 後半

Despite all the flaws and inconsistency in setting and character portrayal, I have to say this filler arc is somewhat passable for the most part. As long as Nozomi isn't involved, that is.

As it turned out, dimension locks were indeed applied in the background by Urahara and Tessai, so it pacifies my rant concerning the battles in the Real World. But I still have a problem with Nozomi. She's basically written as a Mary Sue, where she's able to withstand attacks that disabled Vice Captain and even Captain class shinigami, and wields a zanpakutou capable of absorbing ridiculous amount of energy.

I do like the last bit of the arc where the bonds between comrades were put into focus. 仲間 and 絆 are undoubtedly two of the 王道 elements for shounen manga, and I always buy it. XD

Starting from ep.330, one character gets featured along with the 10-year anniversary logo before the end credit roll. Scenes from past episodes were also played during the ED song, starting from the first episode to the end of the arrancar arc. All the filler arcs were skipped and only the main story was shown, which is the way it should be.

ep.330 - Ichigo; from Ichigo meeting Rukia to Ichigo defeating a Menos Grandes (ep.1-14)
ep.331 - Renji; from Renji finding Rukia to Renji fighting Ichigo in Soul Society (ep.15-30)
ep.332 - Ishida; from Ichigo defeating Renji to Ichigo stopping Soukyoku in front of Rukia (ep.31-54)
ep.333 - Byakuya; from Ichigo rescuing Rukia to Aizen revealing his true self (ep.55-62)
ep.334 - Hirako; from Hirako attacking Ichigo to Grimmjow retreating from the Real World (ep.110-121)
ep.335 - Grimmjow; from Grimmjow losing his left arm to Grimmjow getting healed by Orihime (ep.122-127, 138-143)
ep.336 - Nel; from Ichigo & co meeting Nel in Hueco Mundo to Ichigo defeating Grimmjow (ep.144-146, 150-167)
ep.337 - Kenpachi; from Szayel Aporro fighting Ishida & Renji to Aizen vs. shinigami @ Real World (ep.191-203)
ep.338 - Urahara; from the pendulum swinging back to 110 years ago to the Vizard moving out to pay Aizen back (ep.206-212)
ep.339 - Ulquiorra; from Aizen vs. shinigami @ Real World to Ulquiorra turning into ash before Orihime could reach him (ep.215-226, 266-272)
ep.340 - Gin; from Rukia & co fighting Yammy to Ichigo returning to the Real World (ep.273-291)
ep.341 - Aizen; from Aizen defeating all shinigami to Ichigo losing his spirit power after Aizen is sealed (ep.292-310)
ep.342 - Rukia & Ichigo; interactions and key scenes of Rukia and Ichigo throughout the main story (ep.1-342 minus filler arcs)

Yes, I re-watched ep.342 again. I also went back to read ch.423 where Ichigo and Rukia separates, then the last few pages of ch.459 where Rukia makes Ichigo a shinigami again. Judging from the arm badge, Rukia is now the Vice Captain of the 13th Squad!

I've kinda stopped following the weekly Jump and just opted for reading the volumes, so I'm dying to read vol.53! Maybe I should go and read the whole series from vol.1 again...

護廷十三隊侵軍篇 前半

Just started today (ep.317) and got only half way through so far (ep.332), but I have an urge to do a proper rant (not the abridged few lines I threw at Neko-tan, who's almost 300 episodes behind me on Bleach).

Let me praise the good points first. This filler arc creates an environment and circumstance to pit the shinigami against each other and their own selves. Thanks to this arc being made after the arrancar saga, there are more known skills and techniques to liven the battles. As a result, the first half was filled with some pretty good fights in Soul Society.

I have no complaints about the seiyuu for the new characters, especially Furukawa Toshio. Furukawa is probably most well known for his roles in Urusai Yatsura, Dragon Ball series (Piccolo!), and Fist of the North Star. Unfortunately, I've never watched any of those. I only know him as Kai Shiden from the UC Gundam series. But I did attend his panel at AX this year. XD

Now the rant.

I previously said "in Soul Society" when praising about the first half, because most of the scenes taking place in the Real World are lacklustre and often contradicting the principle settings of Bleach. They're supposed to apply area locks to minimize damage to the Real World when there are battles involving high spirit levels. The strengths of Vice Captain class and above are restricted by default in the Real World. And Ichigo shouldn't be doing bankai so casually here and there in the Real World, especially considering that he's supposed to be a lot weaker now.

But my biggest annoyance is the original main character. Nozomi feels too much like Senna, and this whole 'Ichigo & co. doing everything to protect the seemingly helpless girl (but holds the key and victimizes herself trying to either kill herself or shoulder the weight of the whole world) from the bad guys' thing also brings back the experience from MEMORIES OF NOBODY. While the extent isn't as bad as in MEMORIES OF NOBODY, it's still painful to watch.

She's given the shinigami treatment and a zanpakutou, despite her nature of existence. Her zanpakutou reminds me of the blazing sword in Voltron, and its ability is essentially the combination of Hisagomaru/Ryuumonhoozukimaru and Sogyo no Kotowari. The process of getting her shikai back also goes beyond common sense settings. There's simply no way for a zanpakutou in its pre-shikai state to withstand Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho in bankai form.

I think ep.332 is a good spot to break up the arc and I'll pick up again next weekend. I'm trying to adhere to schedule and finish the summer series so I can start on the fall series next week. Hopefully I won't be as annoyed by the further settings and development next weekend.

What? How come I'm only starting the arc today when I already watched ep.342? Because I couldn't wait to see Ichigo x RukiaYou're not supposed to notice... *casts Nifuramu* Be gone!

ルキア

Just finished watching Bleach ep.342 and I felt like crying (but only teared up). What am I going to do without Rukia for at least the next 13 episodes or so? （つд｀）

The filler arc drastically cheapens and weakens the impact of the arrancars saga closure for the anime, but this Rukia-focus episode preps the merge back to the main plot somewhat in terms of character emotions. I even squealed when Ichigo held Rukia's hand while teaching her to ice skate! XD The animation art for the episode is also unusually good for very long series like Bleach. Rukia's last cut is so beautiful and heartrending. （つд｀）

The slide show during the ED is a great touch to end, illustrating the interactions between Rukia and Ichigo thus far, as well as key scenes when they saved and supported each other.

I was quite melancholy throughout the episode knowing that this would be the last time I see Rukia for a good many months... But ecstatic that she's re-appeared in the manga!! ( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )

最後まで見守りします！絶対二人で幸せになるんだぞ！

BLEACH DS 4th:フレイム・ブリンガー pt.2

I mentioned beating this game completely last year, and I just did it again today. ヽ(｀д´)ﾉ

With so many things piling up and waiting for me to watch/read/play/build, why did I spend almost another 19 hours replaying a game I beat completely? Well, I played the game ROM last year, but I got a new copy of the game in LA so I had to do it. XD

I also decided that I'll focus on the ROM games on DS now, instead of playing the cartridge games. And here's why.

Even though the 3DS is region-locked, it doesn't seem to be the same case for its backward compatibility for DS games. So I'll still be able to play my cartridge games on the 3DS (with bigger screens as well since I only have a DS Lite), but the ROM games can only be played on the DS through a hack.

Of course, ideally I wouldn't have to resort to the hack at all if all those Japanese games were readily available. Hopefully I'll find more games next time when I visit the west coast again.


*gremz* オゾン層

敗家

With the usage frequency of this title, I sometimes can't help but contemplate whether I should create a tag for it...

After the Tactics Ogre order I made on Amazon.com a week and a half ago (and it's on sale now for $15 orz), I placed a few more pre-orders on Amazon.ca:
- Bleach: Fade to Black BD
- ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)
- Twelve Kingdoms BD part 2

I'm especially excited about Fade to Black as I've been waiting for it since I saw the trailer at the end of DiamondDust Rebellion back in 2008!

Although I have to say that I'm starting to lose faith in Amazon.ca lately on the pre-orders. It's been unable to obtain a couple items and cancelled a few of my orders in the last few months, while those items were readily available (and sometimes cheaper) on Amazon.com and RightStuf.

Still waiting for word on Twelve Kingdoms BD part 1...
And they better have Gundam collection 1!


*gremz* 絶滅動物

arrancars saga the end.

長がったな…

Up until early last year, I would try to catch up on the manga and watch the corresponding anime episodes. But it got to a rather heart-wrenching point and I stopped reading beyond that point. Right at the conclusion of the battle against Ulqiorra, to be exact. As a result, I stopped watching after ep.268.

I was planning to start on the spring season anime series this weekend, and was even aiming to finish Madoka Magica on Easter because of the Easter eggs reminded me of soul gems, but I suddenly got the urge to catch up on the Bleach anime.

So I started on ep.269 and, with the exception of the filler ep.303-305, beared witness to the struggles and upheavals of the various characters, until the end of the arrancars saga at ep.310.

There's so much emotions and feelings involved, that I really can't and won't attempt to express them with words. Of course I won't deny that Ichigo x Rukia is always a main theme for me, but there's enough depth and story to each character on all sides, that I'd still be pulled to the series without wishing for the pairing.

やっぱりBLEACHに見蕩れる程好きやで～

Now to catch up on the manga.

Anime Expo 2010 @ LA
Day 2 part 1

I think I'm the only person in the group that watched Bleach, so needless to say everyone else went into the line-up for the Kitamura panel starting almost 2 hrs later. We also got a glimpse of the end of the line-up for the AKB48 panel outside and the AX staff preventing more ppl from lining up. I was genuinely surprised at the number of AKB48 fans on this side of the Pacific...

[Bleach Panel]
Since there's still time before the Bleach panel, I decided to walk around and take pictures of cosplayers as I didn't have much chance to the day before. When I got to the hall where the panel was to be held, there was no line-up. The majority of the people who would attend the panel were already inside the theatre watching the showing of Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo director's cut. I had already seen the respective episodes so I didn't feel like arriving early for it.

The panel itself started with a mini-performance by RSP before Morita entered the stage, followed by a Q&A session for Morita. One of the questions was asked by a Hitsugaya cosplayer who demanded to know why Ichigo wouldn't call him (Hitsugaya) by his captain title no matter how many times he asked Ichigo to, to which Morita just smiled and apologized politely, then proceeded to call him Toushirou. XD

The last corner of the panel was a room-wide rock-scissor-paper match against Morita to decide the lucky few for the rare Bleach goods Morita brought from Japan. I lost in the 2nd round. T__T

After the panel, I took more photos of cosplayers before peeking in the Kitamura panel. I sat there for a few minutes and heard (I was too far back to see her expression) Kitamura said the famous Yui line from Angel Beats! Unfortunately I hadn't watched Angel Beats! at this point so the reference was lost to me... Acoording to Neko-tan, even though Kitamura was there to promote Toradora, most of the questions were Angel Beats!-centric. Angel Beats! just finished airing in Japan the week before AX, too. XD

There was still time before the panel would end so I went to the Exhibition Hall and browsed around. There, lo and behold, was Horie Yui having an autograph session at the NIS booth! I didn't have anything for signing on hand and didn't really want to try my luck with the long line-up so I just looked from the side. Of course, no photos allowed. :x

Then I went back to the Kitamura panel and waited for Neko-tan and Magic Frog so we can go to the...

[May'n & Nakajima Megumi Concert]
ｷﾀｰｰｰｰｰｰｰ（°∀°）ｰｰｰｰｰｰｰ!!
This was what spurred me to flew across the continent to attend AX. I watched the Macross Frontier concert @ Budoukan before coming and, despite knowing that the scale and program would be far from comparable, had been anticipating anxiously for the AX concert. I wasn't hard core enough to buy glow sticks, but a lot of people at the concert did. There were three guys from Japan a few rows in front of us fully equipped with hoards of glow sticks, clothes wrapped around the neck, and the blue T-shirts from May'n's BIG★WAAAAAVE!! @ Budoukan concert. My first time seeing professional glow stick waving techniques in person. さすが職人技！　XD

The exceptional musical treat started off with "Welcome To My FanClub’s Night!" and May'n performed Sheryl's and her songs for the first 20 minutes or so. The speakers at Nokia Centre weren't the best and the stage was small (reduced to almost half the size with the grand piano there), but May'n vocal and dance prowess was evident. They sounded exactly like the CD's and more! The air she maintained while singing Macross Frontier songs was fitting to Sheryl's character, but she's just cute being herself during "May’n☆Space." I hadn't seen the Macross Frontier movie at this time so I didn't quite understand fully the different tones she used for "Universal Bunny", and only now realized that her dance moves were exactly the same as Sheryl in the movie! 生May'n最高！( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )

After May'n left and Nakajima took centre stage, you can tell ppl were still in the mood, but the number of glow sticks in the air decreased drastically, especially when she sang her own non-MF songs. 一気にテンション下がったって感じ。無理もない、こっちもそうだった... Her stage costume was fitting for the idol-wannabe character of Ranka but also kinda made her looked like a cosplayer for a Disney princess when young. The changed-lyric carrot song about her coming to the US was nice, though XD.

And the special secret guest...!! I kinda expected it to be that person, but actually seeing her was something else. 菅野よう子！( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ ) The place went wild when Kanno-san appeared on stage as everyone clapped and screamed like crazy. Kanno-san performed on the piano for the next couple songs with Nakajima: アイモ, VOICES, 蒼のエーテル, 愛・おぼえていますか, ダイアモンド クレバス (acoustic duet version with May'n).

With Kanno-san's exit, the concert was coming to an end as May'n and Nakajima performed Lion and Triangular together. There was no encore, but it was still a satisfying closure. There were a few instances when Nakajima went off-key or couldn't get her voice up enough for the faster songs with May'n, but May'n alone made up for everything. 来てよかった。（つд｀）

Anime Expo 2010 @ LA
Day 1

[Gundam Panel]
Neko-tan and friends attended the opening ceremony but it partially conflicted with the Gundam Panel, so I just went straight to the Gundam Panel. While waiting in line to get into the room, there's a kid cosplaying as Gundam Exia. He could barely walk two steps before getting stopped for a photo. XD

The Gundam Panel was hosted by people from gundam.com, which I used to be a member of back since when SEED aired in Japan until Ben took it down (I wonder if there's still a ML for it somewhere?) I actually recognized the names as the people introduced themselves by their g.com handles, too.

They showed the trailer for the Gundam 00 movie (I was totally neta-ed since I haven't watched the series yet) but skipped the trailer for the 2nd instalment of Gundam UC since there's no good quality video source. Needless to say, Full Frontal was a popular name during the panel. XD

They went over some upcoming gunpla kits and spent a bit of time going over the various Gundam manga available in English. They mentioned a few Japanese lineups just to tease ppl, including Tony Takezaki Presents Gundam (awesomely hilarious!) and Gundam ACE. I happened to have a Zeta Gundam pencil board from Gundam ACE with me to use as a hand fan, but I resisted showing it when they were talking about the goodies that come with the magazine.

The Q&A session actually consisted of two parts, where the person gets to ask a question and gets asked a question, in either UC or AU categories, in return by the g.com ppl. If the person answers the trivia question correctly, he (there's no female in the Q&A line) wins a gunpla. One guy asked who the g.com ppl think is the best pilot. Eeeeeveryone in the room groaned at the question. One of the g.com ppl squealed in a fake girlie voice "Kira~" on purpose, but they decided to go with Char at the end, if I remembered it right.

[May'n Panel]
Unfortunately, because the rule this year was changed so that the room would be cleared before ppl can enter for the next panel, so I had to leave early to line up for the May'n Panel to be held in the same room right after. By then, the line had already winded around the hallway once and I lined up by the elevator door on the opposite side of the hallway.

And I spotted May'n earlier than anyone! XD She was discretely escorted by a camera guy and two other ppl into the elevator. The elevator was located right by a corner at the start of the hallway, so most people in the hallway never realized that May'n was even there for that ten seconds, including the people in the line around me. Then I found Neko-tan and co. who had much better spot in the line (within the first 50) and got in with them.

May'n was very cute as expected. The translator kinda mumbled so it's not easy to hear her sometimes. Plus she often left out sentences and translated quite a few instances wrong. Luckily, most of us in the group knew Japanese so we could ignore her most of the time. I was quite pleased to learn that May'n favourite song is Diamond Crevasse, which also happened to be my favourite Macross F song. A girl in the Q&A line asked May'n to sing the first line of Triangular with her, and even with just one line, May'n rocked the room. :D

There was a timed photo session (less than a minute) at the end of the panel. There's quite a big crowd and I was almost on the outer most edge, so I wasn't able to get a very clear shot of her. But I still managed to get two decent pictures considering the sucky quality of my camera. After picking up a ticket for the autograph from the staff at the exit, it's rushing to the Exhibition Hall where the autograph session was located.

[May'n's Autograph Session]
As expected, there's already a long line up by the time I got there. I first got in line where Neko-tan was, then spotted another guy from the group much further up the line and joined him instead as I had a tight schedule. People in the line were holding the item they wanted signed, and there's a lot of Macross F books and CDs. One guy saw my "Diamond Crevasse/Iteza Gogo Kyuuji Don't be late" single and asked to see it as he thought he had everything Macross F there was but had yet to see the single.

May'n's really cute up close, and her hand's small and soft, too. (ヘンタイみたい orz) Just as I was leaving the signing area, an older guy accompanying May'n came up to ask me where I got the single CD and if I ordered online. According to Neko-tan on our way back home, the single sold so well in Japan that it was out of stock everywhere for a period of time. Now mine's even more rare 'cause it's got May'n signature on the cover! XD

[Morita's Panel]
I ventured out into the sun after I got May'n autograph to attend Morita's Panel at the Nokia Plaza. That's right, it's outdoor. Morita dressed up as a shinigami and got the crowd high in no time. The main event for the panel was Morita's live voice-over performance for the scene in the 1st episode where Ichigo and Rukia formally introduced each other before Rukia stabbed Ichigo with her zanpakuto and transformed him into a shinigami. It's really awesome to hear Morita live as Ichigo beside calling out Bankai, and the selected scene was a nice one as that's where Ichigo's journey as a shinigami started.

Three pairs of Ichigo and Rukia were picked from the audience and invited on stage to voice-over the same scene. The first pair consisted of a Rukia cosplayer and a big guy. The Rukia cosplayer was extremely excited and was almost slurring when Morita interviewed the two. She actually blurted out the term "IchiRu", too. XD The 2nd pair consisted of a Yachiru cosplayer and another random guy, and the 3rd pair consisted of a Yoruichi cosplayer (I think, can't quite remember. She's the only to do the voice-over in Japanese as well.) and another random guy. When it's time for Morita to pick one person to present a prize, he went with the Rukia cosplayer at the end. She definitely wasn't the best, but she struggled the most and pulled it off at the end. And the wind played a trick on her and showed what's under the school uniform skirt when she was on stage.

After a short announcement from Morita that he detests piracy and wants everyone to watch it legally since Bleach will start streaming on Crunchy Roll, he ended the panel with the usual bankai (26sec, 19.31MB, MediaFire; first video I ever took with my camera) call. Then it's a mad dash for everyone to line up for Morita's autograph session!

(While waiting for the panel to start, I spotted Nabeshin exchanging business card with someone else before casually walking off scene by the side of the plaza. XD)

[Morita's Autograph Session]
This one didn't require a ticket so the line was insanely loooooooooong and had quite a bit of ppl that didn't go to Morita's panel to be in the line. Then, after two hours, with no more than a dozen ppl in front of me (probably over a hundred behind me; I never saw the end of the line), the_line_was_cut_off. Morita wanted to continue, but the staff wouldn't allow it and wanted to clear the room. The people in the front of the line argued and haggled with the staff, so finally it was decided that Morita would have a special hand-shake session for those who remained (staff had already spread the bad news and dispersed most of the crowd by now).

Roughly 50 of us filed quietly into the room and sat down, where Morita gave a short apologetic speech and thanked everyone. We were given 3 questions to ask as a group, then everyone lined up to shake Morita's hand before getting ushered out by the staff. There was a second autograph session for Morita the next day, but it coincided with the concert I mainly went to AX for, so I never got Morita's autograph in the end... But it's still worth the 2-hr wait to shake his hand! :D

Then I finally called Neko-tan back and re-grouped with them to leave. That's it for the 1st day!

劇場版BLEACH 地獄篇

Ever since news of the movie came out and showed Ichigo in his Hollow form, I've been looking forward to it with eager anticipation. Then came the revelation that it'll be about Hell, which the manga touched on very briefly in an early chapter and never expanded on. Of course I'd have to see this.

Since Kubo-sensei is involved with the production of the movie from the beginning, as in the 2nd and 3rd movies, I don't need to worry about collapsing character personalities or story line. The Hell Chapter movie marks the first of a series of projects for the 10th anniversary of Bleach's serialization, so I have high hopes for it, too.

What's available on the official website so far, including the seiyuu for the two guest characters, looks very promising. I was just thinking the other day that Nakai-san has yet to appear in Bleach, too! I'm especially hyped that the group infiltrating Hell seems to be limited to Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Ishida and one of the new characters. Again, no point and need to bring in the whole gang every time. And the lack of Orihime is always good for me. (I'm not anti-Orihime, actually. Just don't like it when she gets too close to Ichigo. I'm IchiRu all the way!)

Needless to say, I had mixed feelings when I saw the sets of mini-posters for the pre-sale tickets. I guess it makes sense to put Ichigo and Ulquiorra in the same set, but at least put Ichigo or Ulquiorra in the middle when displaying the set. :< Personally, I'd probably go with Set C, even though I'd really want Rukia or Ulquiorra. But you can't go wrong with Hitsugaya, Gin and Grimmjow. XD

Now if Viz will just hurry up and license and release Fade to Black, that'll make the wait for the Hell Chapter release a lot easier... (￣д￣)

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

Soramimi Project #5: Nakao Ryuusei 中尾隆聖

First heard: Jei Farfarello (Weiss Kreuz)

First noticed: Kurotsuchi Mayuri (BLEACH)

Memorable characters: Kurotsuchi Mayuri (BLEACH)

Image character: Kurotsuchi Mayuri (BLEACH)

Discernment rate: average?

Number of works seen: 13

I don't have much experience with Nakao Kyuusei beside BLEACH (4 out of 13 of the works seen are BLEACH), so it's probably obvious that his image character is Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I know Nakao-san also voiced/voices Freeza, but I haven't seen Dragon Ball Z and dropped Kai due to time constraint, so I only heard one scene of Freeza in the first episode of Kai. 'tis really a shame.

Because I have limited encounter with Nakao-san, I'm going to say that my discernment rate of him is average. Mayuri is a pretty impressive character so I'll likely recognize his voice if he acts along that pitch or style. Haven't heard him in a different pitch so I can't say if he changes his voice.

I first heard him in Weiss Kreuz, but I don't really remember anyone except for the actual Weiss group since it's the very first anime I ever watched in Japanese (actually the first anime after moving to Canada, too). This is both a good and a bad thing. I most likely wouldn't be able to stand the lame plot now, but I'd probably still watch it for the seiyuu. It was such a waste since I didn't know anything about anime and seiyuu back then, and the episodes my cousin had included the seiyuu interviews at the end!

---

I just watched four episodes of One Piece online, and I have to say that Zoro sounds so cute! Yeah, I wasn't ever planning to touch One Piece, but my interest was piqued when I read how popular Nakai-san's Zoro is on the wikipedia, so I decided to give it a try since it's streamed online. I'm liking Nakai-san the more I hear him. XD

BTW, I was quite pleasantly surprised when I heard Ikeda Shuuichi as Shanks! He sounded so casual and humourous that I almost doubted my ears. It's so... un-Char-like! XD

劇場版BLEACH Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ

Ever since I saw the CM at the end of the second film, I have been wanting to see this. It brought joy and frustration to me at the same time. On the one hand, I was happy to know that the film would focus on the bond between Rukia and Ichigo. On the other hand, since it was when the DVD of the second film just came out in Japan, I was saddened by the fact that I would have to wait another year before the DVD of the third film will be out in Japan. The year's wait has finally ended! :D

As expected, Fade to Black is full of emotions and actions. Despite the new characters (I hesitated a bit when I noticed Hirano Aya, but it turned out all right), this fits the canon perfectly like the 2nd film, The DiamondDust Rebellion. I hope they continue to involve Kubo Tite every time when original contents are created, not just character design.

Rukia is my favourite character in Bleach out of the whole charming cast. She is nowhere near as strong in terms of fighting calibre as the majority of people around her, but there is few who can surpass her on inner strength. She's got her share of unfortunate past and raw deal in life, but rather than being crushed by the weight of them, she's overcome them time and again. Because of what she's gone through and experienced, she understands the pain of those in similar situations and willingly reaches out to help and support.

To Ichigo, Rukia changed his world. She saved him and his family at the price of her own life, knowing that she would be condemned according to Soul Society's law. She gave him the ability to save those he cared about, something he's always wanted to but often lacked the means to. She always put his and everyone's benefits before her own, giving out selflessly. She is so much smaller in size compared to him, but he never ceased to admire her spirit and has been encouraged by her many times. The phrase on the covers of the official books SOULs and VIBEs really sums it up well (just ignore the grammar): the rain drags black sun (Ichigo) down, but the rain dried by white moon (Rukia).

To Rukia, Ichigo changed her horizon. He taught her what it's like being a human, to feel and to care. He offers his helping hand to those in need, even when she rejected and refused him. For her, he went through hell and back so she could be free. Free from the threats to life, free from the cage in the noble family name of Kuchiki which prevented those around her to express their feelings for her, free from the chains that she had placed around herself after the Kaien incident.

Actually, the movie didn't really go into too much detail on the relationship between Rukia and Ichigo beside the few brief flashbacks, but I think it is definitely an underlying theme. That's why Ichigo was able to remember Rukia, even though he had known her for the shortest period of time than all the people from Soul Society. The fact that the shinigami forgot about Ichigo due to the erase of Rukia's existence in their mind is a nice touch. Ichigo has played a vital and groundbreaking role in shaping the current Soul Society, yet Rukia is the only connection between him and the people of Soul Society.

The siblings are the enemies in this movie, but they are not the bad guys. To them, Rukia is also their world. They shared a time with Rukia when she was still living in rukongai, but that short time of happiness was snatched away from them by the hallow-possessed shinigami. For them, their time stopped then, with Rukia being their only world. That's why they would go to any length to be with her alone. At the end, Rukia gave them a new world and names, mending their parting souls that had been broken for the past hundred years.

One thing I really liked about Fade to Black is the focus on characters. Rather than trying to fit all the characters in there, only a handful have considerable screen time and a few have just a short but important scene. There's no squeezing in Ichigo's friends in the Real World for appearance's sake, and many of the named (read: people of some importance) shinigami didn't make it on screen. This creates certain focal points and provides insights on the various characters involved. It also subtly separates those with brains (Urahara, Byakuya, Hitsugaya) and those that think more with their body (Renji, Ikkaku). XD

The credit roll features a very well done moving slide show of some of the zanpokutou and Porno Graffitti's song. The slide show is a clever play of plain yet bold colours and silhouettes, starting with Zangetsu and Sodenoshirayuki and ending with a fully hued Zangetsu in bankai form. I'm about to start the zanpokutou arc in the anime so this is the perfect PV for it. I don't usually get excited about fillers, but this seems like an interesting one.

On a side note, I got the R1 DVD for the 2nd film the other day, thanks to my new best friend Amazon.ca. I wanted to re-watch it again on DVD but decided to wait until after I finish my Gundam quest. After a series of ordering frenzy, I am holding off the purchases for now until after the winter. Taking a stroll to the post office in -40°C and trying not to slip on ice while walking against the chilling wind is not my idea of fun. Let us meet again under more favourable weather, my new best friend.

Speaking of fillers, I was quite pleased that I was able to get the Bleach DVD boxsets for the whole Soul Society arc without getting stuck with any Bound arc episodes. Why couldn't they do the same for Death Note? I just want the parts up to L's death. The two items shall continue to sit in my wish list until I make up my mind...

劇場版BLEACH The DiamondDust Rebellion もう一つの氷輪丸

I've been waiting to see this ever since news of it came out in 2007 and I was very excited when I managed to get the high quality raw last night. I couldn't get the Japanese subtitle to display but that didn't prevent me from enjoying the movie. And I was not disappointed.

Unlike the first movie, which a lot of people choose to ignore and pretend it never happened (myself included), this second instalment keeps the new cast and original content to a minimum and has everyone in character. This can easily fall within the Bleach universe and not feel out of place. In fact, it offers another glimpse into the past of the child prodigy, as well as the significance of the monarch and the way Soul Society runs.

Hitsugaya is one of my favourite characters in Bleach (Park Romi being one of the reasons). Despite his captain status, he is younger than most cast and is still learning and going through adolescence. Yet because of his strength and intelligence, he walks side by side with other leaders and carries the 10th Squad on his small shoulders. Being the sane voice and often judges the situation with a cool and informed air, he is not one to reveal his inner pains and is eager to take the responsibility and the blame. There's likely other burdens hidden in his heart, but at least with the resolution of the royal seal incident, the child captain can be at peace knowing that he and Kusaka were still friends forever.

As for other characters, most people have a reasonable amount of screen time depending on their roles and get to show off their skills in battles. The enemy boss isn't terribly strong; just big and have swarms of regenerating hollows. I like how everyone plays a part in the final battle. It's pretty hot blooded, to say the least. Ikkaku even bankaied! That makes it four shinigami knowing his secret now. I really think Rukia is the second strongest in her squad after all these battles. Oh, and I just had to laugh when I saw Mayuri's bankai helping to suppress the berserk spirit sphere from expanding. XD

There's three new characters for the movie, but there's only one new seiyuu, Ishida Akira (my favourite male seiyuu!). Yin and Yang are voiced by the captain and the vice captain of the 4th Squad. Some kind of conspiracy? XD Ah well, it's not the first time they have one seiyuu doing multiple characters. There's already Shuuhei/Keigo, Tousen/Isshin, and Karin/Nemu.

The art isn't quite consistent throughout the film, especially with the profile shots, but it's not too prominent. The music is fitting as expected, although I don't care too much about the theme song. Over all, I liked the movie a lot. Now if they'll just hurry up with the DVD release this side of the Pacific... and have BestBuy or London Drugs pick up the title! I've had enough of the pathetic state of anime presence in our local stores.

On a last note, I saw the trailer for the next Bleach movie, Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ, and I really really want to see it. The spot light is finally shining on our dear Rukia! But I suppose the DVD won't be out until around this time next year... orz

ココロ(Kokoro/Heart). This is the song, or rather, the PV that lured me into the fantastic world of Vocaloids.

I've briefly mentioned how I came to know this piece of wonderful work, so I'll skip it here and focus more on the emotional side.

To be frank, the plot scenario isn't that original to begin with so I wasn't too enamoured by it until seeing the PV. I'm a daydreaming (XD) type of person so it's always that much more meaningful when something is associated with visuals and a story. I teared up when I saw the PV, and the tears threatened to spill over when I saw the PV for the answer song, ココロ・キセキ(Kokoro Kiseki/Heart.Miracle), by the same author. And I actually cried when I saw the PV for ココロ＋ココロ・キセキ.

ココロ, by itself, is like a gracefully woven story between two star-crossed lovers (i.e. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), but with ココロ・キセキ, the tragedy is elegantly transformed into a beautiful romance (i.e. Gonzo's Romeo x Juliet). OK, I'm stretching it as I'm currently watching the anime, but bear with me here. (I'm only halfway through the series, but I'm assuming it won't end like Willy's version.)

Ahem, back to ココロ. While the robot of miracle ceased to function at the end in both songs, ココロ leaves a slightly melancholy aftertaste, and ココロ・キセキ's is tinted with a small happiness. Together, the two compliment and complete each other. To pack so much emotion into these short minutes also reminded me of Hoshi no Koe, or the lingering feelings in the first Inu Yasha movie.

I was watching Bleach ep.160 yesterday and it had a scene where Kaien was explaining his view of 'kokoro' to Rukia, that 'kokoro' exists between two people when they connect with each other, and that the 'kokoro' is left with the other person when one of them is no longer there. I only nodded my head and thought it very true when I read this part in the manga, but seeing it in the anime after ココロ was yet another experience. I immediately related the concept to ココロ, how the 'kokoro' was obtained because there's a relationship between the scientist and the robot, and how even after the scientist dies, the 'kokoro' was left with the robot. The robot stopped in the end in both songs, but the 'kokoro' is now left with all those that have viewed and been touched by the songs and the PVs.

On the other hand, when one dies alone with no one to leave the 'kokoro' with, it's a lonely thing. The lonely scientist in ココロ died before the robot obtained the 'kokoro', so he still ended lonely. In ココロ・キセキ, the robot obtained the 'kokoro' while the scientist was still alive. Even though the scientist still died before the robot, he was able to leave the 'kokoro' with the robot. He did not end lonely.

Another thing in the same episode that resonates with ココロ is when Rukia was reflecting the various emotions she's come to experience, like the robot who came to realize joy and sadness once she obtained the 'kokoro'. Rukia actually resembles both the lonely scientist and the robot. When she was adopted into the Kuchiki family, she was distanced by those around her and was alone until Kaien came into the scene. Her heart was closed again after Kaien died in her hands and she became cold. After she met Ichigo, her heart slowly opened up and she became, in Renji's word, human. Just as Kaien had left his 'kokoro' with Rukia, Rukia will have someone to leave her 'kokoro' with when her time's up. That's what nakama is for.

See. I told you I'm a daydreaming type of person. XD

*All the links in this post are from Nico Nico Douga. I think the video are also available on YouTube in a lower quality.