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
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Gene Simmons' son Plagiarizing Bleach?
Neko-tan passed me the link, and I must say I'm amazed by the nerve and stupidity of some people. Seriously, Bleach and even people's DeviantArt? Did the guy think that comic book readers wouldn't notice, that readerships don't cross over between comic and manga? I mean, come on, Bleach is one of the best known and followed series in North America. And stealing someone's personal artwork is more unforgivable than plagiarizing a published work in my book.
I have no idea who Gene Simmons or his son is. The only Simmons I know is Mark Simmons, who is known as the Gundam expert in the English-speaking world. Never read his famed work Gundam: The Official Guide, though, as I prefer to read up on my Gundam in its original Japanese.
Anyway, back to the topic on hand. The publisher of Incarnate has already halted production of the series and is investigating the matter, so I won't troll. But I do want to present my view regarding some of the comments in the link. No, of course I didn't read all 20+ pages of comments, just part of what's on that linked page.
First off, I wouldn't blame anyone from the publisher for not noticing earlier. Working in the comic book industry doesn't mean the person reads the similar medium populating the other side of the world. Heck, they might not even read publications produced from other companies beside their own depending on their time and interests. This is not a fault. Maybe not diligent enough to stay on top of things, but definitely not a sin.
All artists start out by sketching what they see, be it photos, drawn images, or real life objects. I am no artist, but I, too, have been doing this before I learned how to write. Some people's style is similar to some other artist's because they imitated it during their learning stage. As far as I know, everyone evolves into their own style eventually. This is being inspired and influenced by someone or something, and it's part of the creative cycle.
Tracing is sometimes overlooked depending on the situation, but it's definitely not tolerable for passing as original and making profits off of. It doesn't matter if you have a good original plot or interesting concepts. Once you venture to copying something and claiming it as your own, it's game over. If it's just one or two panels, you might contribute it to paying homage to someone's work, but there's way too many instances in this case to be innocent hat tipping. This is plagiarization, and it only leads to an ugly cycle. It's extremely difficult to come clean once soiled.
Someone mentioned doujin and had no answer for where doujin stands. Personally I think there's no comparison between the particular issue on hand and fan-based/derived doujinshi (referred to as just doujin in the rest of the post because I'm lazy). Plagiarization is taking credit for something stolen, while doujin recognizes and honours the original work and creator. Doujin allows existing characters to experience different settings and scenarios, and the drawings often only somewhat resemble the original design and are heavy with personal touches. The doujin field encourages creativity and collaboration, and many artists and character designers have doujin backgrounds.
Even though most of the doujin publications are sold for a price, the group producing them rarely make any profit. But through the act of doujin distribution, the original work gets known by more people, and the popularity life span of the work is prolonged or renewed. Authors and publishers of the original works probably won't acknowledge or approve doujin, but the influence of doujin is undeniable.
I do not plan to flame this Simmons boy for the incident; copyright laws and the huge fan base of Bleach and other plagiarized works will surely take care of him. I am merely prompted to rant from the angle of an ordinary fan of Bleach who has sketched dozens of fan art based on various manga and am still learning art. On this note, I bid you good night.
Neko-tan passed me the link, and I must say I'm amazed by the nerve and stupidity of some people. Seriously, Bleach and even people's DeviantArt? Did the guy think that comic book readers wouldn't notice, that readerships don't cross over between comic and manga? I mean, come on, Bleach is one of the best known and followed series in North America. And stealing someone's personal artwork is more unforgivable than plagiarizing a published work in my book.
I have no idea who Gene Simmons or his son is. The only Simmons I know is Mark Simmons, who is known as the Gundam expert in the English-speaking world. Never read his famed work Gundam: The Official Guide, though, as I prefer to read up on my Gundam in its original Japanese.
Anyway, back to the topic on hand. The publisher of Incarnate has already halted production of the series and is investigating the matter, so I won't troll. But I do want to present my view regarding some of the comments in the link. No, of course I didn't read all 20+ pages of comments, just part of what's on that linked page.
First off, I wouldn't blame anyone from the publisher for not noticing earlier. Working in the comic book industry doesn't mean the person reads the similar medium populating the other side of the world. Heck, they might not even read publications produced from other companies beside their own depending on their time and interests. This is not a fault. Maybe not diligent enough to stay on top of things, but definitely not a sin.
All artists start out by sketching what they see, be it photos, drawn images, or real life objects. I am no artist, but I, too, have been doing this before I learned how to write. Some people's style is similar to some other artist's because they imitated it during their learning stage. As far as I know, everyone evolves into their own style eventually. This is being inspired and influenced by someone or something, and it's part of the creative cycle.
Tracing is sometimes overlooked depending on the situation, but it's definitely not tolerable for passing as original and making profits off of. It doesn't matter if you have a good original plot or interesting concepts. Once you venture to copying something and claiming it as your own, it's game over. If it's just one or two panels, you might contribute it to paying homage to someone's work, but there's way too many instances in this case to be innocent hat tipping. This is plagiarization, and it only leads to an ugly cycle. It's extremely difficult to come clean once soiled.
Someone mentioned doujin and had no answer for where doujin stands. Personally I think there's no comparison between the particular issue on hand and fan-based/derived doujinshi (referred to as just doujin in the rest of the post because I'm lazy). Plagiarization is taking credit for something stolen, while doujin recognizes and honours the original work and creator. Doujin allows existing characters to experience different settings and scenarios, and the drawings often only somewhat resemble the original design and are heavy with personal touches. The doujin field encourages creativity and collaboration, and many artists and character designers have doujin backgrounds.
Even though most of the doujin publications are sold for a price, the group producing them rarely make any profit. But through the act of doujin distribution, the original work gets known by more people, and the popularity life span of the work is prolonged or renewed. Authors and publishers of the original works probably won't acknowledge or approve doujin, but the influence of doujin is undeniable.
I do not plan to flame this Simmons boy for the incident; copyright laws and the huge fan base of Bleach and other plagiarized works will surely take care of him. I am merely prompted to rant from the angle of an ordinary fan of Bleach who has sketched dozens of fan art based on various manga and am still learning art. On this note, I bid you good night.
Monday, February 22, 2010
機動戦士ガンダムUC episode1 ユニコーンの日
I managed to get a re-scaled 480p version last night (my monitor is 1280*1024 so the 1440*810 wouldn't look too ideal on my screen; yes, I will be grabbing the BD-rip when it's released, because PS3 won't happen until Christmas and therefore I won't be able to play the BD version I'll be getting) and decided to forget about the 2nd New Year's resolution when the first battle broke out some five minutes into the episode.
I'd post something right after the viewing, but it was getting late (or early, depending on which day), so I just dropped a quick message to Neko-tan to vent my excitement, even though Neko-tan's not into Gundam. XD
Here's a direct quote of what I threw at Neko-tan, with the translation in parentheses:
Gundam UC 好棒! XD
澤野的音樂超級棒! XD
內山昂輝果然不負期望, 藤村步的表現也比預想地好! XD
趕快給我在加拿大賣BD版啊~~~
(Gundam UC rocks! XD)
(Sawano's music super rocks! XD)
(Uchiyama Kouki is great as expected, and Fujimura Ayumi's performance is better than expected! XD)
(Just hurry up and release the Blu-ray version in Canada~~~)
To add to the above but not giving away the plot, it's so nostalgic to be able to see the green HARO again in its full cuteness. Banagher (I don't think I'll ever get used to the inventive spelling...) seemed to have done some customization of his own, too.
I felt a tinge of sadness when I heard Bright Noa's name. Judging from his involvement, it is possible to not have him on the front at all so maybe they'll just use previously recorded voice gallery or not have him audible. His name isn't part of the main cast on the official website, so I'm leaning toward the latter for now. RIP, Bright-kanchou!
It's a nice touch to show the movie sign board of Runaway Princess (aka Roman Holiday in the UC timeline XD) over the theatre on their way to the mansion. I'm guessing the Fourth Tragedy sign board signifies the four wars fought before: One Year War, Gryps Conflict, 1st Neo-Zeon Conflict and 2nd Neo-Zeon Conflict. This one would be the fifth.
Merchandise-wise, I ordered the original novels and they should be here soon. The BD I'll be able to get no problem; it's just a matter of time. The Gunpla model kit, on the other hand, might be trickier. Seeing that it's released in November of 2009, hopefully some of the stores in Vancouver would have imported the models in participation of the OVA so I can get it while there. If not, they're totally missing out (and so am I...) Which model? Gundam Unicorn NT-D mode, of course! The unicorn mode model (thankfully not in the OVA) kinda looks like Tallgeese to me. orz
March 12 just can't arrive any sooner...
I managed to get a re-scaled 480p version last night (my monitor is 1280*1024 so the 1440*810 wouldn't look too ideal on my screen; yes, I will be grabbing the BD-rip when it's released, because PS3 won't happen until Christmas and therefore I won't be able to play the BD version I'll be getting) and decided to forget about the 2nd New Year's resolution when the first battle broke out some five minutes into the episode.
I'd post something right after the viewing, but it was getting late (or early, depending on which day), so I just dropped a quick message to Neko-tan to vent my excitement, even though Neko-tan's not into Gundam. XD
Here's a direct quote of what I threw at Neko-tan, with the translation in parentheses:
Gundam UC 好棒! XD
澤野的音樂超級棒! XD
內山昂輝果然不負期望, 藤村步的表現也比預想地好! XD
趕快給我在加拿大賣BD版啊~~~
(Gundam UC rocks! XD)
(Sawano's music super rocks! XD)
(Uchiyama Kouki is great as expected, and Fujimura Ayumi's performance is better than expected! XD)
(Just hurry up and release the Blu-ray version in Canada~~~)
To add to the above but not giving away the plot, it's so nostalgic to be able to see the green HARO again in its full cuteness. Banagher (I don't think I'll ever get used to the inventive spelling...) seemed to have done some customization of his own, too.
I felt a tinge of sadness when I heard Bright Noa's name. Judging from his involvement, it is possible to not have him on the front at all so maybe they'll just use previously recorded voice gallery or not have him audible. His name isn't part of the main cast on the official website, so I'm leaning toward the latter for now. RIP, Bright-kanchou!
It's a nice touch to show the movie sign board of Runaway Princess (aka Roman Holiday in the UC timeline XD) over the theatre on their way to the mansion. I'm guessing the Fourth Tragedy sign board signifies the four wars fought before: One Year War, Gryps Conflict, 1st Neo-Zeon Conflict and 2nd Neo-Zeon Conflict. This one would be the fifth.
Merchandise-wise, I ordered the original novels and they should be here soon. The BD I'll be able to get no problem; it's just a matter of time. The Gunpla model kit, on the other hand, might be trickier. Seeing that it's released in November of 2009, hopefully some of the stores in Vancouver would have imported the models in participation of the OVA so I can get it while there. If not, they're totally missing out (and so am I...) Which model? Gundam Unicorn NT-D mode, of course! The unicorn mode model (thankfully not in the OVA) kinda looks like Tallgeese to me. orz
March 12 just can't arrive any sooner...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Soramimi Project #14: Takagaki Ayahi 高垣彩陽
First heard: Kamikamo Tsubaki/various girls (Ouran High School Host Club)
First noticed: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios)
Memorable characters: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios), Isurugi Noe (true tears), Ein/Elen (Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~)
Image character: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios), Isurugi Noe (true tears)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 9
Takagaki Ayahi is really new, only just debuted in 2006, but she's already appeared in numerous anime over the few years and even played lead in some of them.
I remember checking out the name of the seiyuu for her role in Special A. as Yamamoto Megumi, but that character very rarely speaks so it didn't leave much impression on me even though I found it to be a nice voice.
Many probably disagree and might even want to flame me for this, but I really like Nina Antalk from Chrome Shelled Regios. This time, I managed to remember the name of the seiyuu voicing her. But Nina's pitch is so different from many of Takagaki's other characters, I almost took a double back when I later heard her as Isurugi Noe from true tears, who also happened to be my preferred female lead from the anime. That cockroach song is most cute. XD
Despite the fact that I already associate her name with a few memorable characters, I haven't gotten her voice down yet. Her voice acting no doubt played a role in me liking Nina, Noe and Ein, but I'd probably go for them if I meet them in a text form because of their personalities. I don't deny that she makes it all the more enjoyable to like those characters, though.
So far, many of her characters seem to have bad lucks when it comes to love, but I'll continue to cheer for them and Takagaki Ayahi. Hopefully I'll be able to recognize her voice in the near future. :)
Speaking of Takagaki Ayahi's characters not doing great in love, I just have to do a small rant here about Chrome Shelled Regios. *spoiler* At first I was hoping that Nina would get to be with Layfon, but this seems out of the question now that he realized his feelings toward Leerin. Deeku expressed his interest in a few occasions, but he seems to forget about it and focuses only on his revenge now. I really hope Nina can be his support and light in his eternal cycles of existence. *end spoiler*
I'm at vol.14 right now and eagerly wait for the next volume. One thing I have to say about the author's writing style, is that he uses way too many negative forms (or whatever it's called) in his sentences. Once I got fed up and counted the number of something-ない on the page I was on. I forgot what the exact figure was, but it was definitely over 12. It also makes it that much more difficult for me to read and understand, especially considering my Japanese level... -__-
I'm very good in coming up with ideas (but never finish or even start them), so I've decided to do another project for anime in a similar format to Soramimi. I'll be alternating between Soramimi and the anime project (Animania?) so I won't need to write so often. Yes, I'm just lazy...
Mukashibanashi? It'll see the light of day, eventually. I move at geological or astronomical time scale, whatever it means. XD
While I was writing this post, I received a notice from Club Japan saying that they're out of stock of 彩雲国物語: 暗き黄昏の宮 and cancelled my order. They did mention that the publisher plans to do a reprint on February 28, but the volume was only released in December, and friend-I couldn't even get hold of a copy while on Christmas vacation... I might still have time as long as they get some in stock before the end of March. *crosses fingers*
First heard: Kamikamo Tsubaki/various girls (Ouran High School Host Club)
First noticed: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios)
Memorable characters: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios), Isurugi Noe (true tears), Ein/Elen (Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~)
Image character: Nina Antalk (Chrome Shelled Regios), Isurugi Noe (true tears)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 9
Takagaki Ayahi is really new, only just debuted in 2006, but she's already appeared in numerous anime over the few years and even played lead in some of them.
I remember checking out the name of the seiyuu for her role in Special A. as Yamamoto Megumi, but that character very rarely speaks so it didn't leave much impression on me even though I found it to be a nice voice.
Many probably disagree and might even want to flame me for this, but I really like Nina Antalk from Chrome Shelled Regios. This time, I managed to remember the name of the seiyuu voicing her. But Nina's pitch is so different from many of Takagaki's other characters, I almost took a double back when I later heard her as Isurugi Noe from true tears, who also happened to be my preferred female lead from the anime. That cockroach song is most cute. XD
Despite the fact that I already associate her name with a few memorable characters, I haven't gotten her voice down yet. Her voice acting no doubt played a role in me liking Nina, Noe and Ein, but I'd probably go for them if I meet them in a text form because of their personalities. I don't deny that she makes it all the more enjoyable to like those characters, though.
So far, many of her characters seem to have bad lucks when it comes to love, but I'll continue to cheer for them and Takagaki Ayahi. Hopefully I'll be able to recognize her voice in the near future. :)
Speaking of Takagaki Ayahi's characters not doing great in love, I just have to do a small rant here about Chrome Shelled Regios. *spoiler* At first I was hoping that Nina would get to be with Layfon, but this seems out of the question now that he realized his feelings toward Leerin. Deeku expressed his interest in a few occasions, but he seems to forget about it and focuses only on his revenge now. I really hope Nina can be his support and light in his eternal cycles of existence. *end spoiler*
I'm at vol.14 right now and eagerly wait for the next volume. One thing I have to say about the author's writing style, is that he uses way too many negative forms (or whatever it's called) in his sentences. Once I got fed up and counted the number of something-ない on the page I was on. I forgot what the exact figure was, but it was definitely over 12. It also makes it that much more difficult for me to read and understand, especially considering my Japanese level... -__-
I'm very good in coming up with ideas (but never finish or even start them), so I've decided to do another project for anime in a similar format to Soramimi. I'll be alternating between Soramimi and the anime project (Animania?) so I won't need to write so often. Yes, I'm just lazy...
Mukashibanashi? It'll see the light of day, eventually. I move at geological or astronomical time scale, whatever it means. XD
While I was writing this post, I received a notice from Club Japan saying that they're out of stock of 彩雲国物語: 暗き黄昏の宮 and cancelled my order. They did mention that the publisher plans to do a reprint on February 28, but the volume was only released in December, and friend-I couldn't even get hold of a copy while on Christmas vacation... I might still have time as long as they get some in stock before the end of March. *crosses fingers*
Monday, February 08, 2010
バンダイのバカ!!
（ノ`Д´）ノ～～┴───┴
It's not a world-wide release if US is considered the only country in North America!
（ノ`Д´）ノ～～～～～┴───┴
No wonder I couldn't find it on Amazon.ca even though it was put up on Amazon.co.jp some time ago. For a moment I was very tempted to just order through Amazon.co.jp if it weren't for the high cost of shipping. No, I'm not gonna order from Amazon.com since it's not even the first press edition anyway. I'm sure it'll eventually make it across the border after the 2-month exclusive period ends.
It better.
バンダイのバカ!! （つд｀）
（ノ`Д´）ノ～～┴───┴
It's not a world-wide release if US is considered the only country in North America!
（ノ`Д´）ノ～～～～～┴───┴
No wonder I couldn't find it on Amazon.ca even though it was put up on Amazon.co.jp some time ago. For a moment I was very tempted to just order through Amazon.co.jp if it weren't for the high cost of shipping. No, I'm not gonna order from Amazon.com since it's not even the first press edition anyway. I'm sure it'll eventually make it across the border after the 2-month exclusive period ends.
It better.
バンダイのバカ!! （つд｀）
Saturday, February 06, 2010
まさかクロはノラであるハズだったんだ...
I recently named my awesome owl hat Kuro after learning that the Japanese word for owl is fukurou, courtesy of friend-A. As I was thinking up an ID for an account today, I decided to go along the line of fukurou and did a look up on Wikipedia Japan...
...horned owls are not called fukurou in Japanese. orz
They are actually called mimizuku, though it's not taxonomically separated from the fukurou. Judging from the images on Wikipedia (I'm too lazy to look up the different species on Google), I think Kuro is closest to the Eurasian eagle owl.
To summarize, the Japanese for the Order of Strigiformes (Owl) is フクロウ目/梟目, which contains the Families of Strigidae (typical owl) and Tytonidae (barn owl), the Japanese of which are フクロウ科 and メンフクロウ科 respectively. Under the フクロウ科 (owl family), the Japanese calls the regular owl フクロウ(fukurou) and the horned type ミミズク(mimizuku). The scientific name of the Eurasian eagle owl is Bubo bubo; it's called ワシミミズク(washimimizuku) in Japanese under the ワシミミズク属.
See, I get my science(?) fix outside of anime, too. XD
So why was Kuro supposed to be Nora?
ミミズク --> のらみみ (never watched/read it, only knew the title) --> ノラ (take a wild guess where I get this from... that's right, FF XIII)
Kuro was a no-brainer: フクロウ --> クロ
Kuro shall continue to be Kuro. I'll just name my next horned owl (if there will be one) object Nora. XD
Thought I'll just quickly document it here for future reference. I won't deny that my laziness of not wanting to write a detailed account in a separate post plays a factor here.
My stupid Vista was under a confused spell a week or so ago, so I (after some painstaking trouble shooting to determine the culprit) uninstalled some Windows updates to salvage the beyond-all-hope OS (I'm waiting for my Windows 7 shipment) without doing a format & reinstall. Vista dragged Winamp down with it during the poorly organized rebellion so I ended up having to download the latest version of Winamp and do a fresh install.
I completely forgot that Winamp and Google Talk try to kill each other when I display the current music track on Google Talk. orz
Here's the fix copy&paste from the Google forum post:
Step 1: Go to the root directory of Winamp which is usually in C:\Program Files\Winamp\
Step 2: Now create an empty file (Right click the mouse -> New -> Text document), so the default file would be like “New Text Document.txt”.
Step 3: Rename the above file to “winamp.m3u” and save.
Step 4: Close Winamp and Google Talk. Now open again and Your Show Current music track status should work like a charm !
There! Time to go back to my pudding ice bar...
I recently named my awesome owl hat Kuro after learning that the Japanese word for owl is fukurou, courtesy of friend-A. As I was thinking up an ID for an account today, I decided to go along the line of fukurou and did a look up on Wikipedia Japan...
...horned owls are not called fukurou in Japanese. orz
They are actually called mimizuku, though it's not taxonomically separated from the fukurou. Judging from the images on Wikipedia (I'm too lazy to look up the different species on Google), I think Kuro is closest to the Eurasian eagle owl.
To summarize, the Japanese for the Order of Strigiformes (Owl) is フクロウ目/梟目, which contains the Families of Strigidae (typical owl) and Tytonidae (barn owl), the Japanese of which are フクロウ科 and メンフクロウ科 respectively. Under the フクロウ科 (owl family), the Japanese calls the regular owl フクロウ(fukurou) and the horned type ミミズク(mimizuku). The scientific name of the Eurasian eagle owl is Bubo bubo; it's called ワシミミズク(washimimizuku) in Japanese under the ワシミミズク属.
See, I get my science(?) fix outside of anime, too. XD
So why was Kuro supposed to be Nora?
ミミズク --> のらみみ (never watched/read it, only knew the title) --> ノラ (take a wild guess where I get this from... that's right, FF XIII)
Kuro was a no-brainer: フクロウ --> クロ
Kuro shall continue to be Kuro. I'll just name my next horned owl (if there will be one) object Nora. XD
Thought I'll just quickly document it here for future reference. I won't deny that my laziness of not wanting to write a detailed account in a separate post plays a factor here.
My stupid Vista was under a confused spell a week or so ago, so I (after some painstaking trouble shooting to determine the culprit) uninstalled some Windows updates to salvage the beyond-all-hope OS (I'm waiting for my Windows 7 shipment) without doing a format & reinstall. Vista dragged Winamp down with it during the poorly organized rebellion so I ended up having to download the latest version of Winamp and do a fresh install.
I completely forgot that Winamp and Google Talk try to kill each other when I display the current music track on Google Talk. orz
Here's the fix copy&paste from the Google forum post:
Step 1: Go to the root directory of Winamp which is usually in C:\Program Files\Winamp\
Step 2: Now create an empty file (Right click the mouse -> New -> Text document), so the default file would be like “New Text Document.txt”.
Step 3: Rename the above file to “winamp.m3u” and save.
Step 4: Close Winamp and Google Talk. Now open again and Your Show Current music track status should work like a charm !
There! Time to go back to my pudding ice bar...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Soramimi Project #13: Asakawa Yuu 浅川悠
First heard: Narnia (Gokudo-kun Manyuuki)
First noticed: Megurine Luka (Vocaloid)
Memorable characters: Megurine Luke (Vocaloid), Rider (Fate/stay night), Osakabe Itoko (School Rumble), Satomi Renna (Starship Operators)
Image character: Megurine Luka (Vocaloid)
Discernment rate: below average
Number of works seen: 16
I've seen her name since my early days of anime watching, but I can never manage to remember her voice for some reason... Sometimes I'd find the character's voice familiar but unable to place it until I see the credit roll. Out of the shows I've seen of her, her characters are actually some of the ones that I took note of.
Even though I listed Luka as my image character for Asakawa Yuu, I pledge guilty that I haven't really listened to Luka at all except for RIP=RELEASE. I've heard a few other ones performed by real people as cover songs but I have yet to hear the original by Luka. Luka kind of came out at a bad time because I was still in the middle of a long period of gap shortly after the 4 main songs of Aku no Series were posted, so I never explored her songs at all.
When my bandwidth quota resets for next month, I'm gonna spend some time on Niconico and do some serious catch up on all the Vocaloid songs.
On a side note (half of this post is already about Vocaloid rather than Asakawa Yuu-san... orz), this article has the sales number for the different Vocaloid series as of October 2009. I can't believe Kaito only has 5000 sold (out of which, over 1000 was sold through the Niconico Market)! I actually like Kaito the best out of the Vocaloids. I'm kind of bitter that Kaito is 2000/XP only. Meiko, too. :(
While I'm at it, let me demonstrate to you a wonderful Vocaloid cover by all 7 Vocaloids. I found this just now as I was looking for a good example to post, and I immediately fell for it.
First heard: Narnia (Gokudo-kun Manyuuki)
First noticed: Megurine Luka (Vocaloid)
Memorable characters: Megurine Luke (Vocaloid), Rider (Fate/stay night), Osakabe Itoko (School Rumble), Satomi Renna (Starship Operators)
Image character: Megurine Luka (Vocaloid)
Discernment rate: below average
Number of works seen: 16
I've seen her name since my early days of anime watching, but I can never manage to remember her voice for some reason... Sometimes I'd find the character's voice familiar but unable to place it until I see the credit roll. Out of the shows I've seen of her, her characters are actually some of the ones that I took note of.
Even though I listed Luka as my image character for Asakawa Yuu, I pledge guilty that I haven't really listened to Luka at all except for RIP=RELEASE. I've heard a few other ones performed by real people as cover songs but I have yet to hear the original by Luka. Luka kind of came out at a bad time because I was still in the middle of a long period of gap shortly after the 4 main songs of Aku no Series were posted, so I never explored her songs at all.
When my bandwidth quota resets for next month, I'm gonna spend some time on Niconico and do some serious catch up on all the Vocaloid songs.
On a side note (half of this post is already about Vocaloid rather than Asakawa Yuu-san... orz), this article has the sales number for the different Vocaloid series as of October 2009. I can't believe Kaito only has 5000 sold (out of which, over 1000 was sold through the Niconico Market)! I actually like Kaito the best out of the Vocaloids. I'm kind of bitter that Kaito is 2000/XP only. Meiko, too. :(
While I'm at it, let me demonstrate to you a wonderful Vocaloid cover by all 7 Vocaloids. I found this just now as I was looking for a good example to post, and I immediately fell for it.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Black Chronicle: Road to Firefox 3.5.7 part2 XD
As mentioned yesterday, I'm posting the Add-ons I currently use with 3.5.7, complete with links and some attempt at descriptions, in alphabetic order as listed in the Add-ons manager.
[Canadian English Dictionary 1.1.5]
Allows me to spell check my typing online without colouring my words with glaring red dots. A must have for us polar bear neighbours. XD
[Context Search 0.4.5]
My main search-highlighted-on-certain-sites approach. Best used in conjunction with Mycroft. I can highlight something and use the context menu to search via: (from top to bottom) Google, Google Japan, Google Taiwan, Google Maps, Wikipedia (ja), Wikipedia (en), Amazon.ca, Amazon.jp, Amazon.com, and Acronym Finder. This is one of the oldest extension I've used since my Mozilla days. Highly recommended if you're a search junkie like me.
[Converter 0.9.3]
Converts between metric and imperial as well as a whole bunch of other stuff. I can't do anything in imperial to save my life... Been using this since version 0.1 with Mozilla. Highly recommended for any non-Americans!
[Fetchimi 1.0]
Literally "Fetch meaning". This is an English dictionary that returns with definitions in Japanese in an overlay panel when you hover over the word. It'll even pronounce the word in English when you press "F" (I totally forgot about this function until I saw my comment in an old post). Useful if you're lazy like me to actually use a dictionary. :Q
[Japanese-English Dictionary for Rikaichan 1.13]
Dictionary file for Rikaichan (see Rikaichan)
[Names Dictionary for Rikaichan 1.13]
Dictionary file for Rikaichan (see Rikaichan)
[NicoFox 0.4b1]
Niconico Douga video downloader. The toolbar also shows the video link in international Niconico sites and related external tools such as Nicosound. Highly recommended for any Niconico Douga fan!
[Personas 1.5.1]
Basically wearable skins for Firefox. I have mine changing randomly from my list of favourites. I forgot to mention this yesterday, but the main reason that I'm sticking with 3.5.7 is because the top portion of my browser above the viewable area shrinks vertically in size when I hover over a Persona, and this is with a clean install of Firefox 3.6. Maybe it's an unforeseened issue when using small icons? Recommended if you like to dress up your apps.
[Personas Windows Classic Statusbar 1.1.3]
After I ranted about the statusbar not getting skinned with Personas, I dug around and found this (but too lazy to post an update), and I've been happily trying more Personas now that I can read the statusbar. Only required when running Firefox pre-3.6 and Windows classic theme.
[ReminderFox 1.9.6]
This used to be my library due date reminder, now it's reduced to just (but still important!) a bill payment reminder. I also use it as a date calendar in place of the built-in one in Vista when you click on the time. It's easier to go to different year and month than the Windows calendar. Recommended if you're old and forgetful like me.
[Rikaichan 1.07]
My most trusty companion when I visit Japanese websites. When hovered over a Japanese word, it'll render the hiragana and the English definition. It'll also show other variation or possible words for the hovered item. An absolute must have for anyone interested in learning Japanese!
[Text2Link 1.9.5]
Opens selected text URL in new tab or new window. A replacement for text/plain that I had used since way back. I recommended text/plain to Neko-tan but it refused to install. I had always just ran the update so never had any problem, but I encountered the same incompatibility issue when I had to start fresh with 3.5.7. It looks like it'll be incorporated into 3.7, but I didn't want to wait that long so I searched for a substitute. Text2Link pretty much does the same thing, and it doesn't require precise highlight of the URL and does link text copying. I haven't used it much yet, but I might grow to like it. Recommended if you're really lazy like me...
Excluding the 3 dictionary files, I'm currently running 9 add-ons (7 if you discount Personas and the Statusbar fix), which is sufficient for pretty much all my daily online needs. I don't install a lot of add-ons like bro, but I'm too lazy (this is the keyword for this post, in case you haven't noticed) to do everything manually myself.
I've tried various extensions over the years and my extension list evolves with my changing surfing habits. Most of my current selections perform similar functions as my list over a year ago, so I think it's safe to say these are tried and proven tools that I'll be using until they are either incorporated or not supported anymore.
So how do you hone your Firefox? :)
君のFirefoxをどう調教するかい？ ;)
As mentioned yesterday, I'm posting the Add-ons I currently use with 3.5.7, complete with links and some attempt at descriptions, in alphabetic order as listed in the Add-ons manager.
[Canadian English Dictionary 1.1.5]
Allows me to spell check my typing online without colouring my words with glaring red dots. A must have for us polar bear neighbours. XD
[Context Search 0.4.5]
My main search-highlighted-on-certain-sites approach. Best used in conjunction with Mycroft. I can highlight something and use the context menu to search via: (from top to bottom) Google, Google Japan, Google Taiwan, Google Maps, Wikipedia (ja), Wikipedia (en), Amazon.ca, Amazon.jp, Amazon.com, and Acronym Finder. This is one of the oldest extension I've used since my Mozilla days. Highly recommended if you're a search junkie like me.
[Converter 0.9.3]
Converts between metric and imperial as well as a whole bunch of other stuff. I can't do anything in imperial to save my life... Been using this since version 0.1 with Mozilla. Highly recommended for any non-Americans!
[Fetchimi 1.0]
Literally "Fetch meaning". This is an English dictionary that returns with definitions in Japanese in an overlay panel when you hover over the word. It'll even pronounce the word in English when you press "F" (I totally forgot about this function until I saw my comment in an old post). Useful if you're lazy like me to actually use a dictionary. :Q
[Japanese-English Dictionary for Rikaichan 1.13]
Dictionary file for Rikaichan (see Rikaichan)
[Names Dictionary for Rikaichan 1.13]
Dictionary file for Rikaichan (see Rikaichan)
[NicoFox 0.4b1]
Niconico Douga video downloader. The toolbar also shows the video link in international Niconico sites and related external tools such as Nicosound. Highly recommended for any Niconico Douga fan!
[Personas 1.5.1]
Basically wearable skins for Firefox. I have mine changing randomly from my list of favourites. I forgot to mention this yesterday, but the main reason that I'm sticking with 3.5.7 is because the top portion of my browser above the viewable area shrinks vertically in size when I hover over a Persona, and this is with a clean install of Firefox 3.6. Maybe it's an unforeseened issue when using small icons? Recommended if you like to dress up your apps.
[Personas Windows Classic Statusbar 1.1.3]
After I ranted about the statusbar not getting skinned with Personas, I dug around and found this (but too lazy to post an update), and I've been happily trying more Personas now that I can read the statusbar. Only required when running Firefox pre-3.6 and Windows classic theme.
[ReminderFox 1.9.6]
This used to be my library due date reminder, now it's reduced to just (but still important!) a bill payment reminder. I also use it as a date calendar in place of the built-in one in Vista when you click on the time. It's easier to go to different year and month than the Windows calendar. Recommended if you're old and forgetful like me.
[Rikaichan 1.07]
My most trusty companion when I visit Japanese websites. When hovered over a Japanese word, it'll render the hiragana and the English definition. It'll also show other variation or possible words for the hovered item. An absolute must have for anyone interested in learning Japanese!
[Text2Link 1.9.5]
Opens selected text URL in new tab or new window. A replacement for text/plain that I had used since way back. I recommended text/plain to Neko-tan but it refused to install. I had always just ran the update so never had any problem, but I encountered the same incompatibility issue when I had to start fresh with 3.5.7. It looks like it'll be incorporated into 3.7, but I didn't want to wait that long so I searched for a substitute. Text2Link pretty much does the same thing, and it doesn't require precise highlight of the URL and does link text copying. I haven't used it much yet, but I might grow to like it. Recommended if you're really lazy like me...
Excluding the 3 dictionary files, I'm currently running 9 add-ons (7 if you discount Personas and the Statusbar fix), which is sufficient for pretty much all my daily online needs. I don't install a lot of add-ons like bro, but I'm too lazy (this is the keyword for this post, in case you haven't noticed) to do everything manually myself.
I've tried various extensions over the years and my extension list evolves with my changing surfing habits. Most of my current selections perform similar functions as my list over a year ago, so I think it's safe to say these are tried and proven tools that I'll be using until they are either incorporated or not supported anymore.
So how do you hone your Firefox? :)
君のFirefoxをどう調教するかい？ ;)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
まさかここがバレたとは.....
If you are a fan of Firefox, you probably knew about the latest version that was just released a few days ago, Firefox 3.6. Or, your Firefox should have told you about it and urged you to upgrade. Mine didn't do that for some reason, so I did a manual update. And I'm now running Firefox 3.5.7, again.
Before you cry blasphemy, let me explain my little situation.
After I went through the normal update route, it checked my add-ons and informed me that NicoFox isn't compatible, which was understandable because it's an experimental add-on and requires manual update. So I installed the compatible version and clicked on the restart Firefox button in the add-ons manager.
Guess what? The button asking me to restart is still there when I checked. So I clicked on it again. After a couple restarts and it still refused to go away. The only difference I could see between the restarts is the increasing number of Personas appearing under the theme tab, possibly loaded from my list of favourites each time the browser restarted. I also detected a subtle but still noticeable indication that it's Firefox loading the Personas and not the Personas add-on that I've been running. There seemed to be a very faint outline/shadow around the text, which blended the text better with the background colour and image, but made it slightly less clear to my very bad eyesight.
Appearance is a big thing for me (one of the reason why I hate Vista), so I decided to go back to 3.5.7 for now until they either notice this and make a patch for it, or that it's here to stay and I absolute have no other option but to upgrade. But I made a wrong move here and ran the 3.5.7 installer without first uninstalling 3.6. It refused to run at all.
To cut the long story short (trust me, I can keep going and make this even longer), I uninstalled Firefox and even deleted the whole Mozilla folder. I was to start from scratch. Unfortunately, I did a bit of customization before so it took me a while to find the lines and restore it to the way I like it. Seeing how this will likely not be my last fresh install, I've opted to take note along the way and chronicle it so I can just copy and paste and find the add-ons easily next time.
If you are new to Firefox, hopefully this can give you some hint of what you can do to customize your own.
1. Tools -> Options
+ Main Tab
- Set "http://www.google.com/" as homepage
- Set it to restart and show my windows and tabs from last time
- Uncheck the showing of download window
- Ask me where to save the files
+ Content Tab
- Uncheck everything under Advanced JavaScript option
- Set fonts for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) and Japanese as (top to bottom) Sans Serif, MS Pゴシック, Arial, MS ゴシック
- Set minimum font size for the above languages as 12, Western as 13
- Set default font as Arial
- Add Japanese and Taiwan under English as preferred languages for displaying pages
+ Privacy Tab
- Use custom setting for history to ask me every time for cookie acceptance
+ Advance Tab
- Set it to search as I type
- Uncheck autoscrolling
- Ask me what to do when there's a new update
2. Right-click on navigation bar to customize
- Remove search bar
- Drag new tab button to the far left of the bookmark bar
- Use small icons
3. Import bookmark and password files from old profile. (Preferably also prefs.js, but I forgot to copy it... I'm not sure what's in there exactly, but it might be why I had to do step 4 & 5?)
4. about:config
- keyword.URL: http://www.google.com/search?btnG=Google+Search&q= (Search Google by typing directly into the address bar, 'cause I'm lazy like that :Q)
- browser.tab.tabMinWidth: 60 (I usually have over 2 or more dozens of tabs open, this way I can see more tabs and select the one I want easier)
5. Remove the add new tab button on the right side
- userChrome.css: .tabs-newtab-button {display: none}
(I'm pretty sure I did it with about:config the last time, but I haven't been able to find the article so far... Will update if I stumble upon it)
That's pretty much all the configurations I did, I think. I'll post the Add-ons tomorrow as this post is getting ridiculously long with hardly real content in it...
If you are a fan of Firefox, you probably knew about the latest version that was just released a few days ago, Firefox 3.6. Or, your Firefox should have told you about it and urged you to upgrade. Mine didn't do that for some reason, so I did a manual update. And I'm now running Firefox 3.5.7, again.
Before you cry blasphemy, let me explain my little situation.
After I went through the normal update route, it checked my add-ons and informed me that NicoFox isn't compatible, which was understandable because it's an experimental add-on and requires manual update. So I installed the compatible version and clicked on the restart Firefox button in the add-ons manager.
Guess what? The button asking me to restart is still there when I checked. So I clicked on it again. After a couple restarts and it still refused to go away. The only difference I could see between the restarts is the increasing number of Personas appearing under the theme tab, possibly loaded from my list of favourites each time the browser restarted. I also detected a subtle but still noticeable indication that it's Firefox loading the Personas and not the Personas add-on that I've been running. There seemed to be a very faint outline/shadow around the text, which blended the text better with the background colour and image, but made it slightly less clear to my very bad eyesight.
Appearance is a big thing for me (one of the reason why I hate Vista), so I decided to go back to 3.5.7 for now until they either notice this and make a patch for it, or that it's here to stay and I absolute have no other option but to upgrade. But I made a wrong move here and ran the 3.5.7 installer without first uninstalling 3.6. It refused to run at all.
To cut the long story short (trust me, I can keep going and make this even longer), I uninstalled Firefox and even deleted the whole Mozilla folder. I was to start from scratch. Unfortunately, I did a bit of customization before so it took me a while to find the lines and restore it to the way I like it. Seeing how this will likely not be my last fresh install, I've opted to take note along the way and chronicle it so I can just copy and paste and find the add-ons easily next time.
If you are new to Firefox, hopefully this can give you some hint of what you can do to customize your own.
1. Tools -> Options
+ Main Tab
- Set "http://www.google.com/" as homepage
- Set it to restart and show my windows and tabs from last time
- Uncheck the showing of download window
- Ask me where to save the files
+ Content Tab
- Uncheck everything under Advanced JavaScript option
- Set fonts for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) and Japanese as (top to bottom) Sans Serif, MS Pゴシック, Arial, MS ゴシック
- Set minimum font size for the above languages as 12, Western as 13
- Set default font as Arial
- Add Japanese and Taiwan under English as preferred languages for displaying pages
+ Privacy Tab
- Use custom setting for history to ask me every time for cookie acceptance
+ Advance Tab
- Set it to search as I type
- Uncheck autoscrolling
- Ask me what to do when there's a new update
2. Right-click on navigation bar to customize
- Remove search bar
- Drag new tab button to the far left of the bookmark bar
- Use small icons
3. Import bookmark and password files from old profile. (Preferably also prefs.js, but I forgot to copy it... I'm not sure what's in there exactly, but it might be why I had to do step 4 & 5?)
4. about:config
- keyword.URL: http://www.google.com/search?btnG=Google+Search&q= (Search Google by typing directly into the address bar, 'cause I'm lazy like that :Q)
- browser.tab.tabMinWidth: 60 (I usually have over 2 or more dozens of tabs open, this way I can see more tabs and select the one I want easier)
5. Remove the add new tab button on the right side
- userChrome.css: .tabs-newtab-button {display: none}
(I'm pretty sure I did it with about:config the last time, but I haven't been able to find the article so far... Will update if I stumble upon it)
That's pretty much all the configurations I did, I think. I'll post the Add-ons tomorrow as this post is getting ridiculously long with hardly real content in it...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Soramimi Project #12: Akimoto Yousuke 秋元羊介
First heard: Ino (Like the Clouds, Like the Wind)
First noticed: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam)
Memorable characters: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam), Taisa (Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de)
Image character: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam)
Discernment rate: average
Number of works seen: 24
Out of the vast Gundam universe, G Gundam is probably one of the most unique series in many aspects. Out of the large cast of G Gundam, Master Asia is probably one of the most impressive characters. And Stalker's catch phrase is probably one of the most parodied AU Gundam lines. As a result, Akimoto Yousuke = Master Asia/Stalker in my mind. XD
He tends to play a small role for a lot of works beside G Gundam, so I actually don't have that many memorable characters for him. Even Taisa from KimiAru is essentially a parody of Master Asia (Gotta love the master-disciple interaction in the anime XD).
I'm pretty decent with recognizing him after G Gundam even if he only appears in that single episode, even if he's just a nameless Taforashia citizen in Slayers Evolution-R with one or two lines. But I put down average as my discernment rate for him because I didn't notice him in Seiken no Blacksmith in the beginning...
One interesting thing to note here is the first work I heard him in, Like the Clouds, Like the Wind. I actually watched that on VHS that I borrowed from a friend. The first half of the story is pretty typical (but might be unique back in the days?), but the second half and the ending is somewhat dramatic even by current standard. If my memory serves me right, that is.
I'm looking forward to more great performances from Akimoto-san. それでは！ガンダムファイト！ レディ、ゴー！
First heard: Ino (Like the Clouds, Like the Wind)
First noticed: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam)
Memorable characters: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam), Taisa (Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de)
Image character: Master Asia/Stalker (G Gundam)
Discernment rate: average
Number of works seen: 24
Out of the vast Gundam universe, G Gundam is probably one of the most unique series in many aspects. Out of the large cast of G Gundam, Master Asia is probably one of the most impressive characters. And Stalker's catch phrase is probably one of the most parodied AU Gundam lines. As a result, Akimoto Yousuke = Master Asia/Stalker in my mind. XD
He tends to play a small role for a lot of works beside G Gundam, so I actually don't have that many memorable characters for him. Even Taisa from KimiAru is essentially a parody of Master Asia (Gotta love the master-disciple interaction in the anime XD).
I'm pretty decent with recognizing him after G Gundam even if he only appears in that single episode, even if he's just a nameless Taforashia citizen in Slayers Evolution-R with one or two lines. But I put down average as my discernment rate for him because I didn't notice him in Seiken no Blacksmith in the beginning...
One interesting thing to note here is the first work I heard him in, Like the Clouds, Like the Wind. I actually watched that on VHS that I borrowed from a friend. The first half of the story is pretty typical (but might be unique back in the days?), but the second half and the ending is somewhat dramatic even by current standard. If my memory serves me right, that is.
I'm looking forward to more great performances from Akimoto-san. それでは！ガンダムファイト！ レディ、ゴー！
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Soramimi Project #11: Park Romi 朴璐美
First heard: Tao Ren (Shaman King)
First noticed: Heimdall/Higashiyama Kazumi (Matantei Loki Ragnarok)
Memorable characters: Hitsugaya Toushirou (Bleach), Hyuga Natsume (Gakuen Alice), Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist), Ueki Kousuke (Ueki no Housoku), Teresa (Claymore), Temari (Naruto), Falis/Alita (Murder Princess)
Image character: N/A
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works seen: 48
ｷﾀ━━━( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )━━━!!
Park Romi is my 2nd overall favourite female seiyuu, surpassed only by Kuwashima Houko. I talked about her a little back in 2006, so I'll recap/translate a bit from that post and add in new perceptions.
I first heard Park-san in Tao Ren from Shaman King, but I only watched a few episodes of that show so I didn't really remember any of the voices. I was quite impressed by a few of the Tao Ren character songs, though. My first real encounter with Park Romi was in Matantei Loki Ragnarok, where she played the ever scheming Heimdall and the feigning innocent Higashiyama Kazumi. That anime really has a great and heavyweight seiyuu cast, and that's where I took note of Park Romi, Morikubo Shotarou and Sakurai Takahiro.
I next heard her in Edward Elric from FMA, but I got distracted when I was about five episodes in and didn't finish it until mid 2006. What really pushed her to the top of my list was Natsume from Gakuen Alice and Ueki from Ueki no Housoku.
She is probably most famous for voicing younger male characters, but her female voice is pretty awesome as well. There's actually more memorable characters, but listing them all would take up too many lines. Why is Loran not on the list? Because I haven't actually watched Turn-A Gundam and have only seen bits and pieces of it so I didn't count it out of respect for the show.
Park-san's voice is very graceful and thick, so it's always a treat to hear her speak or sing. Her acting skills is very versatile, ranging from hot-blooded hero type, cold-blooded killer, confident, timid, mysterious, level-headed, evil and twisted, tsudere, innocent... She doesn't have many different pitches so it's easy to recognize her, but her characters are all given distinct personalities through her acting. Because there's so many of her characters that I like, I can't decide on an image character for her. Loran might be it after I watch Turn-A, though. We'll see. XD
As mentioned above, Park Romi also has a good voice for singing, and she sings in the character's voice for character songs. I quite like Tao Ren's character songs and the ED of Murder Princess. Ed's character songs and the ED of Ueki no Housoku are nice, too.
Since she is my 2nd overall favourite female seiyuu, it's natural that I have a very high discernment rate of her. I can also identify her at a glance. She's quite the beauty and stylish in her own way. I'm looking forward to finish more of her past works and hear more of her in future works.
ありがとう、朴さん！これからも頑張てください！( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )ﾉ
First heard: Tao Ren (Shaman King)
First noticed: Heimdall/Higashiyama Kazumi (Matantei Loki Ragnarok)
Memorable characters: Hitsugaya Toushirou (Bleach), Hyuga Natsume (Gakuen Alice), Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist), Ueki Kousuke (Ueki no Housoku), Teresa (Claymore), Temari (Naruto), Falis/Alita (Murder Princess)
Image character: N/A
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works seen: 48
ｷﾀ━━━( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )━━━!!
Park Romi is my 2nd overall favourite female seiyuu, surpassed only by Kuwashima Houko. I talked about her a little back in 2006, so I'll recap/translate a bit from that post and add in new perceptions.
I first heard Park-san in Tao Ren from Shaman King, but I only watched a few episodes of that show so I didn't really remember any of the voices. I was quite impressed by a few of the Tao Ren character songs, though. My first real encounter with Park Romi was in Matantei Loki Ragnarok, where she played the ever scheming Heimdall and the feigning innocent Higashiyama Kazumi. That anime really has a great and heavyweight seiyuu cast, and that's where I took note of Park Romi, Morikubo Shotarou and Sakurai Takahiro.
I next heard her in Edward Elric from FMA, but I got distracted when I was about five episodes in and didn't finish it until mid 2006. What really pushed her to the top of my list was Natsume from Gakuen Alice and Ueki from Ueki no Housoku.
She is probably most famous for voicing younger male characters, but her female voice is pretty awesome as well. There's actually more memorable characters, but listing them all would take up too many lines. Why is Loran not on the list? Because I haven't actually watched Turn-A Gundam and have only seen bits and pieces of it so I didn't count it out of respect for the show.
Park-san's voice is very graceful and thick, so it's always a treat to hear her speak or sing. Her acting skills is very versatile, ranging from hot-blooded hero type, cold-blooded killer, confident, timid, mysterious, level-headed, evil and twisted, tsudere, innocent... She doesn't have many different pitches so it's easy to recognize her, but her characters are all given distinct personalities through her acting. Because there's so many of her characters that I like, I can't decide on an image character for her. Loran might be it after I watch Turn-A, though. We'll see. XD
As mentioned above, Park Romi also has a good voice for singing, and she sings in the character's voice for character songs. I quite like Tao Ren's character songs and the ED of Murder Princess. Ed's character songs and the ED of Ueki no Housoku are nice, too.
Since she is my 2nd overall favourite female seiyuu, it's natural that I have a very high discernment rate of her. I can also identify her at a glance. She's quite the beauty and stylish in her own way. I'm looking forward to finish more of her past works and hear more of her in future works.
ありがとう、朴さん！これからも頑張てください！( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )ﾉ
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Soramimi Project #10: Nakata Kazuhiro 中多和宏|中田和宏
First heard: Morgan (Cowboy Bebop)
First noticed: Randy (Gungrave)
Memorable characters: Randy (Gungrave), Kou Kijin (Saiunkoku Monogatari)
Image character: Kou Kijin (Saiunkoku Monogatari)
Discernment rate: below average, or average if he speaks enough
Number of works seen: 24
(Why is it another even-odd-odd combo... 4 out of 10 now. orz)
I say below average for the discernment rate for Nakata Kazuhiro, but I've been somewhat successful recognizing him ever since I started to notice him in Gungrave. It's probably rude to say this, but his voice is actually not too hard to distinguish since his tone is usually flat. That's not to say his acting is bad. At least out of the ones I've seen, he's decent enough.
The only character that I have mixed feelings about is Kou Kijin from Saiunkoku Monogatari. According to the novel, Kou Kijin not only has a breathtakingly enchanting appearance, he also has a beautiful and melodic voice. Unfortunately, Nakata-san's voice was nothing like what I imagined Kou Kijin's voice would be, so I was kind of disappointed when I heard him. Hayami Shaw's rendition in the drama CD is more up my alley, but I kind of prefer Itou Kentarou over Fujiwara Keiji for Ensei...
Nakata Kazuhiro is definitely not on my list of top seiyuu, but I still enjoy hearing him. More oyaji roles, though, please.
First heard: Morgan (Cowboy Bebop)
First noticed: Randy (Gungrave)
Memorable characters: Randy (Gungrave), Kou Kijin (Saiunkoku Monogatari)
Image character: Kou Kijin (Saiunkoku Monogatari)
Discernment rate: below average, or average if he speaks enough
Number of works seen: 24
(Why is it another even-odd-odd combo... 4 out of 10 now. orz)
I say below average for the discernment rate for Nakata Kazuhiro, but I've been somewhat successful recognizing him ever since I started to notice him in Gungrave. It's probably rude to say this, but his voice is actually not too hard to distinguish since his tone is usually flat. That's not to say his acting is bad. At least out of the ones I've seen, he's decent enough.
The only character that I have mixed feelings about is Kou Kijin from Saiunkoku Monogatari. According to the novel, Kou Kijin not only has a breathtakingly enchanting appearance, he also has a beautiful and melodic voice. Unfortunately, Nakata-san's voice was nothing like what I imagined Kou Kijin's voice would be, so I was kind of disappointed when I heard him. Hayami Shaw's rendition in the drama CD is more up my alley, but I kind of prefer Itou Kentarou over Fujiwara Keiji for Ensei...
Nakata Kazuhiro is definitely not on my list of top seiyuu, but I still enjoy hearing him. More oyaji roles, though, please.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
プリンセスナイトメア Princess Nightmare PC Version
I've known this game for about two years now but never had a chance to play it until now. I haven't played that many otome games (one hand is all I need to count the number of games I've played), but it's probably safe to say that Princess Nightmare is nothing like your ordinary otome game. The genre of the game is classified as Gothic Battle Adventure on the game's website, whatever that means...
But instead of playing an adventure game, it does feel more like watching a visual novel. One of Princess Nightmare's appeals is that it's fully voiced, including the heroine Little and every single sub-character, and that none of the playable character routes is 100% human. Really, with some clever writing, all the individual story lines can be woven together to make one OVA or even a half-season anime series, and no one would even suspect its origin being an otome game.
Only a few of the seiyuu are of my taste, but I still recommend this game for the story and the setting. Of course, the music, too. Katakiri performs the OP & ED songs (especially love the ED theme song Akumu no Himegimi), and the music is mainly composed by HIR, which almost guarantee quality BGM by that name alone.
Character design is one thing I have mixed feelings about. The girls are all pretty pretty (pun intended), and I like the looks of sub-character Izumo the best out of all the females. The guys are more hit and miss. Some of the shots are nice, but sometimes they don't look so nice. And Inukai's werewolf design is probably the worst beside some of the youma.
There's roughly seven playable routes, divided into two main story lines. Completing the game once unlocks the demon world story line which contains the real meat for the game's setting and world view. That's not to say the regular research centre story line is superficial, but rather it focuses more on the present than in the past. Out of the seven routes, I played through Franken, Phantom, Radou, Shinji, and Inukai.
I have a habit of keeping the best until last (as demonstrated when I eat), so that leaves me with either Franken or Van Helsing for the first round. Normally I'd go for the enemy-turned-love interest, but I couldn't bring myself to like Helsing's seiyuu so I went with Franken... It's kind of obvious from the beginning, but still, what a star-crossed ending *orz* I've only started to notice Taniyama Kishio recently, but he's actually pretty good. He's the reason I chose Franken over Helsing.
My second round was Phantom. This short route is more history telling than anything, where it's revealed how all three members of the current Dracurea family came to become vampires and what they were like as humans. I was once again impressed by Ogata Megumi's acting during the recount where the character went from age 11 to 13 to 17, then back to the 517-year-old poltergeist. A melancholy yet somewhat attained ending.
Radou's route enters the demon world, and the reason behind and the consequence of choosing Little as the Demon Prince's bride is revealed. The ending is rather anti-climatic, though, as the two just got married and went back to school in their human disguises, after Radou's dramatic assassination of the Demon Prince in the middle of the wedding ceremony. Then it's just normal school business as usual. I think Radou x Sumomo would actually be a better pair. orz
I wasn't planning to play Shinji's route, but Ishii Makoto's acting as the Prince kinda lured me in (he's noisy as Shinji). The little bit about the Prince shown in Radou's route also played a part. Most of the events were similar to that of Radou's, but instead of the Prince getting assassinated, he and Little duked it out. The battle spanned from the demon world to the human world, where Helsing and Inukai chipped in a little but were obviously no match to the Demon Prince. There's a couple big moves and spells from the characters, rendering some pretty cool CG. The Maou's blood inside Little emerged at the last moment, and she transformed into the Nightmare Queen and cast a very big one (think Lina Inverse casting Dragon Slav in Lord of Nightmare mode). As Little and the Prince were thrown into the chaos dimension from the forces of their opposing spells, Little's wish allowed Shinji to take back his body from the Prince, and the Prince faded away wistfully. Frankly, I feel sorry for the Prince and would prefer to have a route for him, but that's only available in the PS2 version, I heard. :(
Inukai is really the obvious choice from the start. He gets along with Little the best and fights alongside her, and he's possibly the most understanding and perceptive character out of the whole cast beside Papa Dracurea. The part about his father was cliché but still sad. The bit about him going berserk on full moon nights was hinted very discreetly in other routes and only realized here. His ending makes the most sense and is the sweetest out of the five I played. If only there's more romance in his route...
One interesting point about the game is that while bits and pieces can be induced, the real connection and background information is only obtained through another character's route. Phantom's route revealed the Dracurea family's past. Radou's route revealed the scheme of the demon world as well as a glimpse at the Prince's feelings. Shinji's route revealed Inukai's past and more of the Prince's personality. Inukai's route revealed the true identity of the Prince and his sister, and how Helsing was resurrected. The down side of that is that I will never know the full story and character background and settings because I didn't play through all the routes.
Too bad there isn't more exploring of Little's state of mind after she went berserk from not having her master vampire's blood for too long in the research centre story line. How did she feel and reconcile with herself after killing so many -even though they were technically not human- subconsciously since she's never harmed anyone before? Little is a very likable character and leaves a strong impression. If the game ever gets animated, with her style and personality, I can totally see her being popular among guys and having a sizable following.
I'd also liked to see more integration between the two story lines. Does Little's hidden power play any role in the research centre story line? Is Inukai's rare and pure werewolf father with Japanese wolf's blood connected to the demon world in any way? Yeah, I definitely think an anime series would be a good medium to put them all together in one big tale...
I've known this game for about two years now but never had a chance to play it until now. I haven't played that many otome games (one hand is all I need to count the number of games I've played), but it's probably safe to say that Princess Nightmare is nothing like your ordinary otome game. The genre of the game is classified as Gothic Battle Adventure on the game's website, whatever that means...
But instead of playing an adventure game, it does feel more like watching a visual novel. One of Princess Nightmare's appeals is that it's fully voiced, including the heroine Little and every single sub-character, and that none of the playable character routes is 100% human. Really, with some clever writing, all the individual story lines can be woven together to make one OVA or even a half-season anime series, and no one would even suspect its origin being an otome game.
Only a few of the seiyuu are of my taste, but I still recommend this game for the story and the setting. Of course, the music, too. Katakiri performs the OP & ED songs (especially love the ED theme song Akumu no Himegimi), and the music is mainly composed by HIR, which almost guarantee quality BGM by that name alone.
Character design is one thing I have mixed feelings about. The girls are all pretty pretty (pun intended), and I like the looks of sub-character Izumo the best out of all the females. The guys are more hit and miss. Some of the shots are nice, but sometimes they don't look so nice. And Inukai's werewolf design is probably the worst beside some of the youma.
There's roughly seven playable routes, divided into two main story lines. Completing the game once unlocks the demon world story line which contains the real meat for the game's setting and world view. That's not to say the regular research centre story line is superficial, but rather it focuses more on the present than in the past. Out of the seven routes, I played through Franken, Phantom, Radou, Shinji, and Inukai.
I have a habit of keeping the best until last (as demonstrated when I eat), so that leaves me with either Franken or Van Helsing for the first round. Normally I'd go for the enemy-turned-love interest, but I couldn't bring myself to like Helsing's seiyuu so I went with Franken... It's kind of obvious from the beginning, but still, what a star-crossed ending *orz* I've only started to notice Taniyama Kishio recently, but he's actually pretty good. He's the reason I chose Franken over Helsing.
My second round was Phantom. This short route is more history telling than anything, where it's revealed how all three members of the current Dracurea family came to become vampires and what they were like as humans. I was once again impressed by Ogata Megumi's acting during the recount where the character went from age 11 to 13 to 17, then back to the 517-year-old poltergeist. A melancholy yet somewhat attained ending.
Radou's route enters the demon world, and the reason behind and the consequence of choosing Little as the Demon Prince's bride is revealed. The ending is rather anti-climatic, though, as the two just got married and went back to school in their human disguises, after Radou's dramatic assassination of the Demon Prince in the middle of the wedding ceremony. Then it's just normal school business as usual. I think Radou x Sumomo would actually be a better pair. orz
I wasn't planning to play Shinji's route, but Ishii Makoto's acting as the Prince kinda lured me in (he's noisy as Shinji). The little bit about the Prince shown in Radou's route also played a part. Most of the events were similar to that of Radou's, but instead of the Prince getting assassinated, he and Little duked it out. The battle spanned from the demon world to the human world, where Helsing and Inukai chipped in a little but were obviously no match to the Demon Prince. There's a couple big moves and spells from the characters, rendering some pretty cool CG. The Maou's blood inside Little emerged at the last moment, and she transformed into the Nightmare Queen and cast a very big one (think Lina Inverse casting Dragon Slav in Lord of Nightmare mode). As Little and the Prince were thrown into the chaos dimension from the forces of their opposing spells, Little's wish allowed Shinji to take back his body from the Prince, and the Prince faded away wistfully. Frankly, I feel sorry for the Prince and would prefer to have a route for him, but that's only available in the PS2 version, I heard. :(
Inukai is really the obvious choice from the start. He gets along with Little the best and fights alongside her, and he's possibly the most understanding and perceptive character out of the whole cast beside Papa Dracurea. The part about his father was cliché but still sad. The bit about him going berserk on full moon nights was hinted very discreetly in other routes and only realized here. His ending makes the most sense and is the sweetest out of the five I played. If only there's more romance in his route...
One interesting point about the game is that while bits and pieces can be induced, the real connection and background information is only obtained through another character's route. Phantom's route revealed the Dracurea family's past. Radou's route revealed the scheme of the demon world as well as a glimpse at the Prince's feelings. Shinji's route revealed Inukai's past and more of the Prince's personality. Inukai's route revealed the true identity of the Prince and his sister, and how Helsing was resurrected. The down side of that is that I will never know the full story and character background and settings because I didn't play through all the routes.
Too bad there isn't more exploring of Little's state of mind after she went berserk from not having her master vampire's blood for too long in the research centre story line. How did she feel and reconcile with herself after killing so many -even though they were technically not human- subconsciously since she's never harmed anyone before? Little is a very likable character and leaves a strong impression. If the game ever gets animated, with her style and personality, I can totally see her being popular among guys and having a sizable following.
I'd also liked to see more integration between the two story lines. Does Little's hidden power play any role in the research centre story line? Is Inukai's rare and pure werewolf father with Japanese wolf's blood connected to the demon world in any way? Yeah, I definitely think an anime series would be a good medium to put them all together in one big tale...
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Soramimi Project #9: Yajima Akiko 矢島晶子
First heard: Announcer (Shinseki Evangelion)
First noticed: Kohaku (Inuyasha)
Memorable characters: Relena Peacecraft (Gundam Wing), R. Dorothy Wayneright (The Big O), Kohaku (Inuyasha)
Image character: Relena Peacecraft (Gundam Wing)
Discernment rate: average to above average
Number of works seen: 30
Back in the days, people who watched Gundam Wing in English despised Relena, and Relena bashing was almost the norm. But the Japanese audience seemed to love her. The only difference I could see, beside it being two different cultures, would be the voice acting. Before I even had a chance to experience Japanese seiyuu, I was already made aware of their existence.
I'll confess that I used to be a huge Gundam Wing fan (still find the concept interesting, just not how it's executed), since it's my first anime after almost eight years of blankness. And I actually made a secret resolution a few days ago to finish all my GW fanfictions in 2010 *crosses fingers*. So it was with much anticipation that I played the Gundam Wing DVD, eager to hear the voices of those famed names. I was not one bit disappointed, and I came to understand the mixed reception of the character of Relena. I had since switched from don't-really-care to like-her, btw.
Yajima Akiko's voice has a rather neutral feel and doesn't usually leave a strong impression, but she's able to manifest a sense of prestige and authority, yet at the same time being innocent and modest. I enjoy it when she plays young boys, but I also like her being impartial and imposing women. Kohaku is where I started noticing her, R. Dorothy is when I warmed up to her, and Relena is who I'll always remember her by.
I'm able to distinguish her voice most of time after hearing her female and young boy pitches, but I haven't really heard very many of her works where she plays a lead or major character. Needless to say, I'm kind of surprised of the high number of works seen. Yajima Akiko is not a seiyuu I'd actively seek out works to watch or listen to, but I definitely enjoy her voice acting and would love to hear more of her.
As promised, here's the Soramimi seiyuu acquaintance rank of 2009, from the most number of works heard to the least. This has nothing to do with how familiar I am with the seiyuu nor how much I like the seiyuu, but rather a statistic on how many chances, including nameless extras, I've had of that seiyuu.
2009 Soramimi Seiyuu Acquaintance Rank:
Yajima Akiko 矢島晶子 - 30
Nagasawa Miki 長沢美樹 - 27
Nakai Kazuya 中井和哉 - 25
Maeno Tomoaki 前野智昭 - 16
Yao Kazuki 矢尾一樹 - 15
Nakao Ryuusei 中尾隆聖 - 13
Tai Yuuki 泰勇気 - 10
Aizawa Masaki 相沢正輝 - 9
Aizawa Mai 相沢舞 - 8
First heard: Announcer (Shinseki Evangelion)
First noticed: Kohaku (Inuyasha)
Memorable characters: Relena Peacecraft (Gundam Wing), R. Dorothy Wayneright (The Big O), Kohaku (Inuyasha)
Image character: Relena Peacecraft (Gundam Wing)
Discernment rate: average to above average
Number of works seen: 30
Back in the days, people who watched Gundam Wing in English despised Relena, and Relena bashing was almost the norm. But the Japanese audience seemed to love her. The only difference I could see, beside it being two different cultures, would be the voice acting. Before I even had a chance to experience Japanese seiyuu, I was already made aware of their existence.
I'll confess that I used to be a huge Gundam Wing fan (still find the concept interesting, just not how it's executed), since it's my first anime after almost eight years of blankness. And I actually made a secret resolution a few days ago to finish all my GW fanfictions in 2010 *crosses fingers*. So it was with much anticipation that I played the Gundam Wing DVD, eager to hear the voices of those famed names. I was not one bit disappointed, and I came to understand the mixed reception of the character of Relena. I had since switched from don't-really-care to like-her, btw.
Yajima Akiko's voice has a rather neutral feel and doesn't usually leave a strong impression, but she's able to manifest a sense of prestige and authority, yet at the same time being innocent and modest. I enjoy it when she plays young boys, but I also like her being impartial and imposing women. Kohaku is where I started noticing her, R. Dorothy is when I warmed up to her, and Relena is who I'll always remember her by.
I'm able to distinguish her voice most of time after hearing her female and young boy pitches, but I haven't really heard very many of her works where she plays a lead or major character. Needless to say, I'm kind of surprised of the high number of works seen. Yajima Akiko is not a seiyuu I'd actively seek out works to watch or listen to, but I definitely enjoy her voice acting and would love to hear more of her.
As promised, here's the Soramimi seiyuu acquaintance rank of 2009, from the most number of works heard to the least. This has nothing to do with how familiar I am with the seiyuu nor how much I like the seiyuu, but rather a statistic on how many chances, including nameless extras, I've had of that seiyuu.
2009 Soramimi Seiyuu Acquaintance Rank:
Yajima Akiko 矢島晶子 - 30
Nagasawa Miki 長沢美樹 - 27
Nakai Kazuya 中井和哉 - 25
Maeno Tomoaki 前野智昭 - 16
Yao Kazuki 矢尾一樹 - 15
Nakao Ryuusei 中尾隆聖 - 13
Tai Yuuki 泰勇気 - 10
Aizawa Masaki 相沢正輝 - 9
Aizawa Mai 相沢舞 - 8
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Soramimi Project #8: Nagasawa Miki 長沢美樹
First heard: Ibuki Maya (Shinseki Evangelion)
First noticed: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series)
Memorable characters: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series), Monique Cadillac (Gundam MS IGLOO), Helen (Claymore)
Image character: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series)
Discernment rate: below average
Number of works seen: 25
(Another seiyuu whose name starts with an N... My 3rd one, actually, out of a total of 8 so far. What's the odds of throwing even-odd-odd combos three times out of eight?)
I'm rather surprised of the number of works I've seen with Nagasawa Miki as I only started to recognize her in the past few years. I'll probably recognize her when I watch the new Evangelion movies...
I first noticed her name from watching a commercial on animate.tv for a stage show of Anime Tencho. Seki Tomokazu dressed up as Anizawa and Nagasawa dressed up as Ramika, complete with the hair-do. That short clip gave me quite an impression (or shock), that her voice and name had stuck in my head ever since. Out of the 25 works I've heard her, 4 are Anime Tencho drama CDs.
Nagasawa's voice is a bit on the coarse side, but she has good acting skills. It's not unusual to see her character from any series to go from composed to angry to crazy to normal again, and still be in character. Monique from MS IGLOO is probably my favourite Nagasawa character. She really gave life and added spice to the otherwise deathly pale looking 3D doll.
Despite having seen many of her works, my discernment rate for her is somewhat below average. If she speaks close to her normal pitch, I'll probably recognize it, but if she smooths out the characteristic coarseness, I might not be too successful. Even now, I'm still having trouble connecting her voice to Ibuki Maya from EVA. Hopefully I'll her pitches down in the near future.
First heard: Ibuki Maya (Shinseki Evangelion)
First noticed: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series)
Memorable characters: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series), Monique Cadillac (Gundam MS IGLOO), Helen (Claymore)
Image character: Hoshii Ramika (Anime Tencho series)
Discernment rate: below average
Number of works seen: 25
(Another seiyuu whose name starts with an N... My 3rd one, actually, out of a total of 8 so far. What's the odds of throwing even-odd-odd combos three times out of eight?)
I'm rather surprised of the number of works I've seen with Nagasawa Miki as I only started to recognize her in the past few years. I'll probably recognize her when I watch the new Evangelion movies...
I first noticed her name from watching a commercial on animate.tv for a stage show of Anime Tencho. Seki Tomokazu dressed up as Anizawa and Nagasawa dressed up as Ramika, complete with the hair-do. That short clip gave me quite an impression (or shock), that her voice and name had stuck in my head ever since. Out of the 25 works I've heard her, 4 are Anime Tencho drama CDs.
Nagasawa's voice is a bit on the coarse side, but she has good acting skills. It's not unusual to see her character from any series to go from composed to angry to crazy to normal again, and still be in character. Monique from MS IGLOO is probably my favourite Nagasawa character. She really gave life and added spice to the otherwise deathly pale looking 3D doll.
Despite having seen many of her works, my discernment rate for her is somewhat below average. If she speaks close to her normal pitch, I'll probably recognize it, but if she smooths out the characteristic coarseness, I might not be too successful. Even now, I'm still having trouble connecting her voice to Ibuki Maya from EVA. Hopefully I'll her pitches down in the near future.
Friday, December 18, 2009
A few days ago I received a parcel pick up notice. But I didn't get any shipping notification email from Amazon.ca, so who could possibly be sending me stuff? Since I was planning to drop by friend-I's place today, I thought I might as well go pick up this mysterious package.
Half way to the post office in this beautiful, sunny, and freezing afternoon, I regretted not taking friend-P's offer for a ride there. My legs felt like being pricked by a thousand needles, and the thought that I also had to walk from the post office to friend-I's then back to my place, made my heart sink even more.
But in the end, the long trek was well worth it. Not only did I successfully complete the retrieval mission in one piece, upon opening my mailbox, I discovered the delirious? CD I ordered (no walking to the post office for pick up!). Double presents! :D
With my legs still under the freeze spell, I opened the mysterious box (okay, maybe not so mysterious now that I knew where it was mailed from) to find a card and carefully wrapped... furry slippers! And it's purple, too! XD
My dear sister back from the home church is a sweet and loving woman, indeed. :D
I just had half a tub of strawberry-flavoured Häagen Dazs as dessert. I'm going to take a nice hot shower (my limbs are going to sting from the walks), change into my warm reindeer-patterned pyjamas, slip on the pretty purple slippers, and read. That's a good way to spend my last moment as a 29-year-old, eh? XD
Half way to the post office in this beautiful, sunny, and freezing afternoon, I regretted not taking friend-P's offer for a ride there. My legs felt like being pricked by a thousand needles, and the thought that I also had to walk from the post office to friend-I's then back to my place, made my heart sink even more.
But in the end, the long trek was well worth it. Not only did I successfully complete the retrieval mission in one piece, upon opening my mailbox, I discovered the delirious? CD I ordered (no walking to the post office for pick up!). Double presents! :D
With my legs still under the freeze spell, I opened the mysterious box (okay, maybe not so mysterious now that I knew where it was mailed from) to find a card and carefully wrapped... furry slippers! And it's purple, too! XD
My dear sister back from the home church is a sweet and loving woman, indeed. :D
I just had half a tub of strawberry-flavoured Häagen Dazs as dessert. I'm going to take a nice hot shower (my limbs are going to sting from the walks), change into my warm reindeer-patterned pyjamas, slip on the pretty purple slippers, and read. That's a good way to spend my last moment as a 29-year-old, eh? XD
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Soramimi Project #7: Maeno Tomoaki 前野智昭
First heard: passer by (Kiniro no Corda ~primo passo~)
First noticed: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Memorable characters: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Image character: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Discernment rate: low to below average
Number of works seen: 16
Maeno Tomoaki is a new seiyuu to me. Even though I've heard him in 16 works, he's only played named characters in five of them, including one where he just appeared in the tricky first episode *cough*Ga-rei Zero*cough*.
According to my favourite source (ja.wikipedia.org, in case you haven't noticed), he was mainly doing dubs and essentially made his break in anime with Toshokan Sensou. Doujou Atsushi is what I remember him mostly by, and both Neko-tan and I were rather impressed by his performance in Toshokan Sensou. Doujou Atsushi is both rational and angry, leaning more toward the angry side when it comes to Kasahara. If he weren't so slow in love, he might even be branded as tsuntere. XD
Speaking of Toshokan Sensou, I mentioned before that it reminded me of GunParade March. Both seem to be battle-oriented at first glance but are love comedy in actuality (okay, so GPM has a lot more grimness and death). Both have really clumsy (in love) lead males regardless of how adept they are in battles, and both have strong-headed lead females that recognize love quicker than the guys and are not afraid to face it. The colour palettes and tones are completely different for both, but the art styles are both simple and clean. Both made me wanting to play/read the original work they're based on. Unfortunately, the Toshokan Sensou novels I have partially managed, but the PS game GPM is simply beyond my reach.
Due to the strong impression of Doujou and the Toshokan Sensou web radio show which Maeno-san co-hosted with Suzuki Tatsuhisa, I've got his solid pitch and real voice down, but I haven't been very successful if the character is soft spoken or calm. I do have high expectations of him so hopefully I'll get to hear him more!
First heard: passer by (Kiniro no Corda ~primo passo~)
First noticed: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Memorable characters: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Image character: Doujou Atsushi (Toshokan Sensou)
Discernment rate: low to below average
Number of works seen: 16
Maeno Tomoaki is a new seiyuu to me. Even though I've heard him in 16 works, he's only played named characters in five of them, including one where he just appeared in the tricky first episode *cough*Ga-rei Zero*cough*.
According to my favourite source (ja.wikipedia.org, in case you haven't noticed), he was mainly doing dubs and essentially made his break in anime with Toshokan Sensou. Doujou Atsushi is what I remember him mostly by, and both Neko-tan and I were rather impressed by his performance in Toshokan Sensou. Doujou Atsushi is both rational and angry, leaning more toward the angry side when it comes to Kasahara. If he weren't so slow in love, he might even be branded as tsuntere. XD
Speaking of Toshokan Sensou, I mentioned before that it reminded me of GunParade March. Both seem to be battle-oriented at first glance but are love comedy in actuality (okay, so GPM has a lot more grimness and death). Both have really clumsy (in love) lead males regardless of how adept they are in battles, and both have strong-headed lead females that recognize love quicker than the guys and are not afraid to face it. The colour palettes and tones are completely different for both, but the art styles are both simple and clean. Both made me wanting to play/read the original work they're based on. Unfortunately, the Toshokan Sensou novels I have partially managed, but the PS game GPM is simply beyond my reach.
Due to the strong impression of Doujou and the Toshokan Sensou web radio show which Maeno-san co-hosted with Suzuki Tatsuhisa, I've got his solid pitch and real voice down, but I haven't been very successful if the character is soft spoken or calm. I do have high expectations of him so hopefully I'll get to hear him more!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
I've been pondering whether to separate "Games" from "ACG" for the labels, and I finally went ahead with it today. I also made a few other changes regarding the labels.
- Created "Games" to incorporate "NDS" and "MUD", as well as game-related posts formerly under "ACG"
- "Dramas" posts are incorporated into "TV"
- "Travel" posts are incorporated into "Life"
- Created "Sports" to incorporate "Baseball" and "Hockey"
- "Novels" is renamed "Novels/Manga" and contains manga-related posts formerly under "ACG"
- "ACG" is renamed "Anime"
Now that that's done, time to return to my attempt at the UC Gundam Quest, since I only less than one week before the deadline...
- Created "Games" to incorporate "NDS" and "MUD", as well as game-related posts formerly under "ACG"
- "Dramas" posts are incorporated into "TV"
- "Travel" posts are incorporated into "Life"
- Created "Sports" to incorporate "Baseball" and "Hockey"
- "Novels" is renamed "Novels/Manga" and contains manga-related posts formerly under "ACG"
- "ACG" is renamed "Anime"
Now that that's done, time to return to my attempt at the UC Gundam Quest, since I only less than one week before the deadline...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Soramimi Project #6: Aizawa Masaki 相沢正輝
First heard: Takatori Hirofumi (Weiss Kreuz)
First noticed: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Memorable characters: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Image character: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 9
Another seiyuu of whom I recognize the name but not the voice... orz
Sometimes I might look up the seiyuu in the end credit roll when I hear him in an episode, but I have yet to pinpoint his voice. The main reason for this can probably be attributed to him playing a lot of nameless or minor characters in the works I've seen. I think Weiss Kreuz (out of which I only remember five voices since it's my first anime in Japanese) and Juuni Kokuki might be his most prominent works with the exception of Death Note, where he played six characters.
I quite liked him as Shouryuu, though. A wise and excellent emperor on the throne over 300 years and being called idiot(馬鹿), reckless(無謀), foolhardy(猪突), and crazed(酔狂) by his kirin and retainers. Needless to say he is one of my favourite characters from Juuni Kokuki. That's when I started to recognize his name whenever it appeared in end credits.
Aizawa Masaki's got a nice deep voice, which might explains why he does a lot of dubbing work. I'm usually not a big movie fan, having been spoiled by the extremely diverse themed anime, but I would definitely like to watch a Japanese dubbed movie if it's got a good seiyuu cast.
At the moment, my only Jap-dubbed experience consists of 1.2 movies, where 1 is 17 Again, and the .2 is He's Just Not That Into You. The plane landed before the .2 finished playing. But I was really just using Namikawa Daisuke's voice as background music while I read Saiunkoku Monogatari anyway. I gave up the movie after about 10 minutes and only recognized Namikawa during that time. One seiyuu does not a good seiyuu cast make, unfortunately.
First heard: Takatori Hirofumi (Weiss Kreuz)
First noticed: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Memorable characters: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Image character: Shouryuu (Juuni Kokuki)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 9
Another seiyuu of whom I recognize the name but not the voice... orz
Sometimes I might look up the seiyuu in the end credit roll when I hear him in an episode, but I have yet to pinpoint his voice. The main reason for this can probably be attributed to him playing a lot of nameless or minor characters in the works I've seen. I think Weiss Kreuz (out of which I only remember five voices since it's my first anime in Japanese) and Juuni Kokuki might be his most prominent works with the exception of Death Note, where he played six characters.
I quite liked him as Shouryuu, though. A wise and excellent emperor on the throne over 300 years and being called idiot(馬鹿), reckless(無謀), foolhardy(猪突), and crazed(酔狂) by his kirin and retainers. Needless to say he is one of my favourite characters from Juuni Kokuki. That's when I started to recognize his name whenever it appeared in end credits.
Aizawa Masaki's got a nice deep voice, which might explains why he does a lot of dubbing work. I'm usually not a big movie fan, having been spoiled by the extremely diverse themed anime, but I would definitely like to watch a Japanese dubbed movie if it's got a good seiyuu cast.
At the moment, my only Jap-dubbed experience consists of 1.2 movies, where 1 is 17 Again, and the .2 is He's Just Not That Into You. The plane landed before the .2 finished playing. But I was really just using Namikawa Daisuke's voice as background music while I read Saiunkoku Monogatari anyway. I gave up the movie after about 10 minutes and only recognized Namikawa during that time. One seiyuu does not a good seiyuu cast make, unfortunately.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
機動戦士ガンダムＵＣ Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
Where to start... The first of the OVA won't be out until March of 2010, but I'm already jumping with anticipation. It's great to know that it'll be a world-wide release, shortly after the Japanese release! I'm seriously considering getting the BD version, and hoping that PS3 might follow in the second half of 2010.
Let's talk about first impressions. Now, I knew Unicorn started as novels but never got a chance to read it, so I'm basing everything from the two PVs and the official website.
I don't typically pay attention to production staff and therefore don't recognize most of the names, but I got excited when I saw Sawano Hiroyuki as the music composer. It definitely sounded like him in the 40-second PV, too. XD
Character design is usually misleading when judging from static shots on websites so I'll refrain from commenting too much for now (Syam Vist can totally pass as the head of a religious cult!), but I do have to point out one thing that bothers me: hair styles. And names.
What's with theretro hair? The most glaring examples of which are demonstrated by Mineva/Audrey, Micott, Marida and Full on the character page. And the names! Why are you walking down the same horrible path of English spelling names as SEED (How do you spell Maryu with Murrue??) when you are a Universal Century series?
And Full Frontal? I assume his name signifies something in the series, but it just sounds so stupid in English. -__-
Character-wise, Banagher (another failed English spelling when it's pronounced Banaaji) seems promising. His bio reminds me of Kira, along with his school mates from the AE Industry Technical School. I also have high hopes for his seiyuu Uchiyama Kouki, based on his performance in Soul Eater and the PV.
Mineva's alias Audrey Burne is obviously gotten from Audrey Hepburn, and her hair also kind of tips her off. I've actually never seen any of Audrey Hepburn's works except for a few images, but somehow I immediately associated Mineva's alias to her from looking at the hair. I was slightly worried when I first saw Fujimura Ayumi's name because her image as Kannagi Ayano and Cecily Cambell came off a lot stronger than what I'd imagine Mineva to be, but after hearing her in the PV, I'm fully relieved. She still sounds quite a bit older than Banagher, but I can attribute that to her experience in wars. And the hair.
My first thought when I saw Full Frontal was "Char", yet at the same time there's this sense of incongruity. His hair style (again with the hair) reminds me of Neo, but the vibe he gives off is closer to that of Rau's. Char's Counterattack was supposed to be the end of the original Gundam saga, so I'm not sure what to make of this masked blond when Char is dead. Even if Char isn't dead at the end of CCA, I doubt he would stage something like this after what he witnessed during the failed attempt to drop Axis. It's probably safe to assume that there's secrets and/or conspiracies behind his name and his voice. I don't think Ikeda Shuuichi would voice another character in the UC timeline if he isn't connected to Char in some way, though... Oh, and the Neo Zeon's uniforms look so OZ. XD
Mecha-wise, Unicorn Destroy Mode looks pretty good, albeit the colouring sort of reminds me of Astray. It's interesting to finally see a Gundam model being mass produced, but the lack of the signature white likely predestines the models to be secondary. And why is everything green? Are both E.F.S.F. and Neo Zeon trying to be eco-friendly in this time and age? (Sorry, cold joke)
Sinanju looks (not listed on the website at this point, judging from the box art of the model kit) majestic and, seeing that it's red, is probably piloted by Full. The Kshatriya looks pretty ugly to me; the 666 model number might mean it's the "Devil Gundam" of this series? I like how the Neo Zeon MS all wear bibs and sleeves, though. XD
It might look like I'm complaining a lot, but don't get me wrong. I'm itching to see it. I just don't want to be disappointed and have my experience hindered by little details.
Omake: I almost didn't recognize Namikawa Daisuke in the cast photo. He's at least two shades darker and looked like a wild man! XD
Oh yeah, I definitely will have to re-watch Char's Counterattack to refresh my memory.
And I'm dropping Victory Gundam from the UC Gundam Quest for my birthday. I'm going to just finish series that pertain to the original Gundam saga. Victory is technically a UC series, but it's so far into the future and no one from the 1st Gundam generation is around. I'm still going to watch it, of course, probably before Unicorn comes out.
Where to start... The first of the OVA won't be out until March of 2010, but I'm already jumping with anticipation. It's great to know that it'll be a world-wide release, shortly after the Japanese release! I'm seriously considering getting the BD version, and hoping that PS3 might follow in the second half of 2010.
Let's talk about first impressions. Now, I knew Unicorn started as novels but never got a chance to read it, so I'm basing everything from the two PVs and the official website.
I don't typically pay attention to production staff and therefore don't recognize most of the names, but I got excited when I saw Sawano Hiroyuki as the music composer. It definitely sounded like him in the 40-second PV, too. XD
Character design is usually misleading when judging from static shots on websites so I'll refrain from commenting too much for now (Syam Vist can totally pass as the head of a religious cult!), but I do have to point out one thing that bothers me: hair styles. And names.
What's with the
And Full Frontal? I assume his name signifies something in the series, but it just sounds so stupid in English. -__-
Character-wise, Banagher (another failed English spelling when it's pronounced Banaaji) seems promising. His bio reminds me of Kira, along with his school mates from the AE Industry Technical School. I also have high hopes for his seiyuu Uchiyama Kouki, based on his performance in Soul Eater and the PV.
Mineva's alias Audrey Burne is obviously gotten from Audrey Hepburn, and her hair also kind of tips her off. I've actually never seen any of Audrey Hepburn's works except for a few images, but somehow I immediately associated Mineva's alias to her from looking at the hair. I was slightly worried when I first saw Fujimura Ayumi's name because her image as Kannagi Ayano and Cecily Cambell came off a lot stronger than what I'd imagine Mineva to be, but after hearing her in the PV, I'm fully relieved. She still sounds quite a bit older than Banagher, but I can attribute that to her experience in wars. And the hair.
My first thought when I saw Full Frontal was "Char", yet at the same time there's this sense of incongruity. His hair style (again with the hair) reminds me of Neo, but the vibe he gives off is closer to that of Rau's. Char's Counterattack was supposed to be the end of the original Gundam saga, so I'm not sure what to make of this masked blond when Char is dead. Even if Char isn't dead at the end of CCA, I doubt he would stage something like this after what he witnessed during the failed attempt to drop Axis. It's probably safe to assume that there's secrets and/or conspiracies behind his name and his voice. I don't think Ikeda Shuuichi would voice another character in the UC timeline if he isn't connected to Char in some way, though... Oh, and the Neo Zeon's uniforms look so OZ. XD
Mecha-wise, Unicorn Destroy Mode looks pretty good, albeit the colouring sort of reminds me of Astray. It's interesting to finally see a Gundam model being mass produced, but the lack of the signature white likely predestines the models to be secondary. And why is everything green? Are both E.F.S.F. and Neo Zeon trying to be eco-friendly in this time and age? (Sorry, cold joke)
Sinanju looks (not listed on the website at this point, judging from the box art of the model kit) majestic and, seeing that it's red, is probably piloted by Full. The Kshatriya looks pretty ugly to me; the 666 model number might mean it's the "Devil Gundam" of this series? I like how the Neo Zeon MS all wear bibs and sleeves, though. XD
It might look like I'm complaining a lot, but don't get me wrong. I'm itching to see it. I just don't want to be disappointed and have my experience hindered by little details.
Omake: I almost didn't recognize Namikawa Daisuke in the cast photo. He's at least two shades darker and looked like a wild man! XD
Oh yeah, I definitely will have to re-watch Char's Counterattack to refresh my memory.
And I'm dropping Victory Gundam from the UC Gundam Quest for my birthday. I'm going to just finish series that pertain to the original Gundam saga. Victory is technically a UC series, but it's so far into the future and no one from the 1st Gundam generation is around. I'm still going to watch it, of course, probably before Unicorn comes out.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
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
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
Sunday, November 29, 2009
I've been putting off this trip since October, but with snow in the forecast within 24 hours, I figured it's time at last. And thus I ventured out to find a pair of winter boots and a hat that would help me survive the dreadful winter that everyone's been warning me about.
After a few hours walking back and forth between a couple stores in the shopping centre, I was at my limit and decided to just pick something -anything- for my feet so I could pet myself on the back for a mission accomplished and be on my way home.
My loot for today (all prices before the wonderful 13% sales tax)
- Horseradish seal: $11.99
- Desktop mic: $9.99
- Energizer AA batteries x 16: $13.00
- Brown owl pilot hat: $20.00
- Fur trim town shoes: $109.99
- Not having to do this again until the shoes die on me: priceless
For the Home Grown veggie collection, I was tempted to get the broccoli camel or the cucumber alligator in addition to the seal, but my wallet won out at the end. I tend to prefer ones that's more natural with as few modification (mixture of different types of veggies or fruits) as possible. The beauty of Jagainu-kun is exactly that.
For the hat, I was leaning toward the beaver (it's even got a little beaver tail on the back!) or the raccoon, but the owl ones have a better lining layer for some reason, so I went with the brown owl.
For the boots, I was hoping to just buy a pair of rubber boots like my colleague had suggested and get it over with, but I had three shops to choose from (see the next paragraph for why) and all their rubber boots are more expensive than regular ones. Originally, I was trying to keep my budget under $100, but the only pair within that price range was made in China with obvious crude seam work which I wouldn't dare to trust. So I went with my next best choice. There's a pair that looked really promising, but it was also $160. All the ones I looked at were on sale, btw. Otherwise they'd be much higher priced.
For this shopping trip, I stayed on the 3rd level, the floor right after I got off the bus, and didn't have the energy or will to explore the other two floors. I tire very easily when shopping for things that go on my body, even though I can spend hours in a library or a zoo. Now all I need is some non-perishable or frozen food so I can coop up in my nest when the weather is less than ideal for grocery shopping.
I am ready for you, winter (I hope)! Come as you may!
After a few hours walking back and forth between a couple stores in the shopping centre, I was at my limit and decided to just pick something -anything- for my feet so I could pet myself on the back for a mission accomplished and be on my way home.
My loot for today (all prices before the wonderful 13% sales tax)
- Horseradish seal: $11.99
- Desktop mic: $9.99
- Energizer AA batteries x 16: $13.00
- Brown owl pilot hat: $20.00
- Fur trim town shoes: $109.99
- Not having to do this again until the shoes die on me: priceless
For the Home Grown veggie collection, I was tempted to get the broccoli camel or the cucumber alligator in addition to the seal, but my wallet won out at the end. I tend to prefer ones that's more natural with as few modification (mixture of different types of veggies or fruits) as possible. The beauty of Jagainu-kun is exactly that.
For the hat, I was leaning toward the beaver (it's even got a little beaver tail on the back!) or the raccoon, but the owl ones have a better lining layer for some reason, so I went with the brown owl.
For the boots, I was hoping to just buy a pair of rubber boots like my colleague had suggested and get it over with, but I had three shops to choose from (see the next paragraph for why) and all their rubber boots are more expensive than regular ones. Originally, I was trying to keep my budget under $100, but the only pair within that price range was made in China with obvious crude seam work which I wouldn't dare to trust. So I went with my next best choice. There's a pair that looked really promising, but it was also $160. All the ones I looked at were on sale, btw. Otherwise they'd be much higher priced.
For this shopping trip, I stayed on the 3rd level, the floor right after I got off the bus, and didn't have the energy or will to explore the other two floors. I tire very easily when shopping for things that go on my body, even though I can spend hours in a library or a zoo. Now all I need is some non-perishable or frozen food so I can coop up in my nest when the weather is less than ideal for grocery shopping.
I am ready for you, winter (I hope)! Come as you may!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The Soramimi Project is still undergoing development as I progress through the weeks. Just now, I've added another entry to the standard list, "Number of works seen". This should provide a better statistic on my opinion about the individual seiyuu. At the end of the year, there would be an accumulated update post for all the featured seiyuu thus far. I might even put them in order from the most seen to the least seen, if I remember.
The "works" here include anime, games, drama CDs, web radio hosts, movie dubs (of which I've only seen one and a bit so far so it won't count as much), show narrations (of which I've only seen the East West Cooking Showdown), tokusatsu and drama. For games, I'm also counting the ones I've watched rather than actually played, like FF X, FF X-2 and FF VII CC.
I'm not counting music CD 'cause that will really complicate matters when I get to seiyuu/singer people like Mizuki Nana and Sakamoto Maaya. I'm also not counting any live events since these are mostly geared toward particular audiences and therefore some seiyuu would have a much high appearance rate than others.
There's probably going to be other things I'll add to the slowly growing standard entries. Hopefully it'll reach a good list soon so I won't have to go through those appending steps too often.
The "works" here include anime, games, drama CDs, web radio hosts, movie dubs (of which I've only seen one and a bit so far so it won't count as much), show narrations (of which I've only seen the East West Cooking Showdown), tokusatsu and drama. For games, I'm also counting the ones I've watched rather than actually played, like FF X, FF X-2 and FF VII CC.
I'm not counting music CD 'cause that will really complicate matters when I get to seiyuu/singer people like Mizuki Nana and Sakamoto Maaya. I'm also not counting any live events since these are mostly geared toward particular audiences and therefore some seiyuu would have a much high appearance rate than others.
There's probably going to be other things I'll add to the slowly growing standard entries. Hopefully it'll reach a good list soon so I won't have to go through those appending steps too often.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Quick update on my Firefox Persona favourites. I removed 2 out of 11 from my last selection. Here's the 9 that remained:
- Groovy Blue
- Firefox B
- Cosmic
- Watergarden II
- New Colors 1
- concrete
- Aurora Sky
- Firefox Pierrinho
- Light & Blue
I've added 3 more to get the total up to 12 now.
- My Neurons
- Fractal Butterflies
- Pastel Butterflies
BTW, I think this only happens when the Windows theme is set to classic, but my Firefox status bar on the bottom doesn't get skinned by Persona. It remains the pale green colour as set by my custom theme, making it very difficult to see the text if it's set to white by the particular Persona.
5 out of my current 12 favourites use white text so I have to squint almost half the time if I want to read the status bar. Luckily I don't need to do this very often as I typically visit the same sites and don't need to see ahead using the link. But I wish someone would notice this and address the issue... Maybe I should file a bug?
No, I'm not turning on Aero or whatever default Vista theme it comes with just so I can see the text. There is a reason why I've been using the same classic theme for years. Beside the fact that I'm lazy, that is. XD
- Groovy Blue
- Firefox B
- Cosmic
- Watergarden II
- New Colors 1
- concrete
- Aurora Sky
- Firefox Pierrinho
- Light & Blue
I've added 3 more to get the total up to 12 now.
- My Neurons
- Fractal Butterflies
- Pastel Butterflies
BTW, I think this only happens when the Windows theme is set to classic, but my Firefox status bar on the bottom doesn't get skinned by Persona. It remains the pale green colour as set by my custom theme, making it very difficult to see the text if it's set to white by the particular Persona.
5 out of my current 12 favourites use white text so I have to squint almost half the time if I want to read the status bar. Luckily I don't need to do this very often as I typically visit the same sites and don't need to see ahead using the link. But I wish someone would notice this and address the issue... Maybe I should file a bug?
No, I'm not turning on Aero or whatever default Vista theme it comes with just so I can see the text. There is a reason why I've been using the same classic theme for years. Beside the fact that I'm lazy, that is. XD
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Soramimi Project #4: Tai Yuuki 泰勇気
First heard: Kai Kudou (E'S OTHERWISE)
First noticed: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Memorable characters: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Image character: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 10 (2009.11.25)
I don't have much to say about Tai Yuuki, unfortunately, since I can't recognize his voice a lot of the time. orz
One might think I've only heard of him through the two anime listed above, but I've actually also heard him in School Rumble, Dancouga Nova, ef -a tale of memories/melodies, Narutaru, Amatsuki and Gundam SEED DESTINY. I don't know why I still can't distinguish his voice most of the time... I know his name, though.
I've added a "Discernment rate" to the standard list and filled in for the previous three seiyuu:
- Yao Kazuki is somewhat high. I can recognize him in most works he appears in, but the rate is not high or very high because I might not had been able to tell that he's Judau if I hadn't known before hand...
- Nakai Kazuya is very high; visual. I've been able to tell him every time since I started take note of seiyuu; hasn't missed so far. He's also one of the few seiyuu that I know by face. While he's not the fashionable type, his simpleness and faithfulness to his wife are pretty cute so I like him as a person as well. :)
- Aizawa Mai is 50%. I can usually tell her high pitched voice, but sometimes hit-and-miss when she speaks in a calm and quiet voice.
I've decided not to put a deadline for the Gundam Quest. *gasp* Yeah, I know, after all the fussing over and hypes, too. But I haveexcuses good reasons.
First and foremost, as touched on before, Gundam series are not something you watch to pass the time. They're as hard and heavy as they come, and they usually require a fair amount of brain cells for processing. So I want to be able to enjoy them at my own pace and not rush through them to meet a deadline.
Secondly, I recently remembered/realized that I don't have all the Gundam works. I'm missing the 2nd movie for Turn-A. orz
But I'm not throwing the whole project away! I'm still going to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gundam by finishing the UC Gundam series by my birthday. As a result, the Gundam Quest is now in two parts.
UC Gundam Quest
機動戦士ガンダム *A
機動戦士ガンダムI *N/A
機動戦士ガンダムII 哀・戦士編 *N/A
機動戦士ガンダムIII めぐりあい宇宙編 *N/A
機動戦士Ζガンダム *B~B+
機動戦士Ζガンダム 星を継ぐ者
機動戦士ΖガンダムII 恋人たち
機動戦士ΖガンダムIII 星の鼓動は愛
機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ *B+
機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア *B+
機動戦士ガンダム0080 ポケットの中の戦争 *B~B+
機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY
機動戦士ガンダム0083 ジオンの残光
機動戦士ガンダムF91
機動戦士Vガンダム
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 *A
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 ミラーズ・リポート
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -1年戦争秘録- *A
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -黙示録0079-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO2 重力戦線
AU Gundam Quest
機動武闘伝Gガンダム *B~B+
新機動戦記ガンダムW *N/A
新機動戦記ガンダムW Endless Waltz *N/A
機動新世紀ガンダムX *B-
∀ガンダム
∀ガンダムI 地球光
∀ガンダムII 月光蝶
機動戦士ガンダムSEED *A-~A
機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY *B-
機動戦士ガンダムSEED C.E.73 STARGAZER *B~B+
機動戦士ガンダム00
機動戦士ガンダム00 S2
And I can't wait for the Gundam Unicorn OVA (機動戦士ガンダムUC) next year!!!!! The trailer looks great, the music is the usual Sawano Hiroyuki-awesomeness, and the character design is handed back to Yasuhiko Yoshikazu! I'm sure I'll be able to overcome the funny lookingChar blond masked man in no time. JUST GET THE OVA TO CANADA! (along with the MS IGLOO OVA!!!)
First heard: Kai Kudou (E'S OTHERWISE)
First noticed: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Memorable characters: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Image character: Shibuya Kazuya (Ghost Hunt)
Discernment rate: low
Number of works seen: 10 (2009.11.25)
I don't have much to say about Tai Yuuki, unfortunately, since I can't recognize his voice a lot of the time. orz
One might think I've only heard of him through the two anime listed above, but I've actually also heard him in School Rumble, Dancouga Nova, ef -a tale of memories/melodies, Narutaru, Amatsuki and Gundam SEED DESTINY. I don't know why I still can't distinguish his voice most of the time... I know his name, though.
I've added a "Discernment rate" to the standard list and filled in for the previous three seiyuu:
- Yao Kazuki is somewhat high. I can recognize him in most works he appears in, but the rate is not high or very high because I might not had been able to tell that he's Judau if I hadn't known before hand...
- Nakai Kazuya is very high; visual. I've been able to tell him every time since I started take note of seiyuu; hasn't missed so far. He's also one of the few seiyuu that I know by face. While he's not the fashionable type, his simpleness and faithfulness to his wife are pretty cute so I like him as a person as well. :)
- Aizawa Mai is 50%. I can usually tell her high pitched voice, but sometimes hit-and-miss when she speaks in a calm and quiet voice.
I've decided not to put a deadline for the Gundam Quest. *gasp* Yeah, I know, after all the fussing over and hypes, too. But I have
First and foremost, as touched on before, Gundam series are not something you watch to pass the time. They're as hard and heavy as they come, and they usually require a fair amount of brain cells for processing. So I want to be able to enjoy them at my own pace and not rush through them to meet a deadline.
Secondly, I recently remembered/realized that I don't have all the Gundam works. I'm missing the 2nd movie for Turn-A. orz
But I'm not throwing the whole project away! I'm still going to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gundam by finishing the UC Gundam series by my birthday. As a result, the Gundam Quest is now in two parts.
UC Gundam Quest
機動戦士Ζガンダム 星を継ぐ者
機動戦士ΖガンダムII 恋人たち
機動戦士ΖガンダムIII 星の鼓動は愛
機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY
機動戦士ガンダム0083 ジオンの残光
機動戦士ガンダムF91
機動戦士Vガンダム
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 ミラーズ・リポート
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -黙示録0079-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO2 重力戦線
AU Gundam Quest
∀ガンダム
∀ガンダムI 地球光
∀ガンダムII 月光蝶
機動戦士ガンダム00
機動戦士ガンダム00 S2
And I can't wait for the Gundam Unicorn OVA (機動戦士ガンダムUC) next year!!!!! The trailer looks great, the music is the usual Sawano Hiroyuki-awesomeness, and the character design is handed back to Yasuhiko Yoshikazu! I'm sure I'll be able to overcome the funny looking
Thursday, November 19, 2009
It's been a while since I visited Niconico due to time constraint *cough* so I was pleasantly surprised to see some new features (ooh, it's now at Version 9! I haven't been back since Natsu, except for one or two videos during Aki). I haven't the leisure to explore them all, so I'll just mention what I've briefly played with.
Now at the end of each video, it asks if you want to mylist-for-now the video, and you can choose to put in a comment at the same time. (There's now a Mylist-for-now section in the user's Mypage, which will allow up to 100 mylist-for-now videos and start deleting from the oldest if you exceeds the 100. The video can be retained by moving it to the actual Mylist.)
After clicking on the yes or no button for mylist-for-now, a panel appears (all this happens within the video frame with an X on the top right corner to close if you don't want to see it) to offer options such as to replay the video, to see other videos from the uploader, to blog about the video, to promote the video, to read or write about the video in the Niconico encyclopedia, to see other people's comment for their mylist of the video, to mylist the video, or to post the video to a community you belong to.
I'm using the feature to blog about the video here, of course. Blogger, unfortunately, is not in the list of supported platforms, but they do provide the scripts for manual addition as iframe or plain text links, so it's just a matter of copy & paste.
For demonstration purpose, I'm using a video I clicked from the Niconico flowing news header section:
Voilà! Niconico video at a glance! (I know people's been doing this for the longest time, but I never attempted it...)
BTW, if you have a Niconico account, I highly recommend this very hilarious video! The comments are quite funny, especially the ones that said, "There is no answer. This is just a body." or "There is no answer. This is just a shiba dog." The MUD lingo made me laugh so hard. The comment suggesting it being the latest type of robot was good, too. XD
I don't see myself doing this too often (otherwise, I'd write about almost every video I watch on there), but it's good to keep up with the technology. (wrong usage!)
Now at the end of each video, it asks if you want to mylist-for-now the video, and you can choose to put in a comment at the same time. (There's now a Mylist-for-now section in the user's Mypage, which will allow up to 100 mylist-for-now videos and start deleting from the oldest if you exceeds the 100. The video can be retained by moving it to the actual Mylist.)
After clicking on the yes or no button for mylist-for-now, a panel appears (all this happens within the video frame with an X on the top right corner to close if you don't want to see it) to offer options such as to replay the video, to see other videos from the uploader, to blog about the video, to promote the video, to read or write about the video in the Niconico encyclopedia, to see other people's comment for their mylist of the video, to mylist the video, or to post the video to a community you belong to.
I'm using the feature to blog about the video here, of course. Blogger, unfortunately, is not in the list of supported platforms, but they do provide the scripts for manual addition as iframe or plain text links, so it's just a matter of copy & paste.
For demonstration purpose, I'm using a video I clicked from the Niconico flowing news header section:
Voilà! Niconico video at a glance! (I know people's been doing this for the longest time, but I never attempted it...)
BTW, if you have a Niconico account, I highly recommend this very hilarious video! The comments are quite funny, especially the ones that said, "There is no answer. This is just a body." or "There is no answer. This is just a shiba dog." The MUD lingo made me laugh so hard. The comment suggesting it being the latest type of robot was good, too. XD
I don't see myself doing this too often (otherwise, I'd write about almost every video I watch on there), but it's good to keep up with the technology. (wrong usage!)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Soramimi Project #3: Aizawa Mai 相沢舞
First heard: Super Robot OG net radio Umasugi WAVE
First noticed: Super Robot OG net radio Umasugi WAVE
Memorable characters: __soba (Super Robot OG Umasugi WAVE), Hidaka Yumemi (MUNTO TV)
Image character: __soba (Super Robot OG Umasugi WAVE), Hidaka Yumemi (MUNTO TV)
Discernment rate: 50%
Number of works seen: 8 (2009.11.25)
Hehe, this is a pretty unusual one, as one can probably see from the above. That's right, I actually learned of Aizawa from an internet radio show rather than from an anime. While seiyuu act out all sorts of characters using various pitches, they speak in their original voice on radio. I was surprised at first to hear this really child-like voice when I listened to Super Robot OG radio.
Not being a great lover of kids, I usually stay away from this kind of high pitch voice. But the more I listened to the show, the more faces of Aizawa Mai I discovered. Although, for some reason, the only voice I've heard of her in anime is the calm and serene type, as heard in Dennou Coil, MUNTO TV, CLANNAD, or Ga-Rei Zero.
As expected, her image character is split between her renditions of the different __soba on Super Robot OG radio and Yumemi from MUNTO TV. BTW, both shows have rather long names so I've abbreviated them; the full name of the MUNTO TV series is actually Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai.
My discernment rate for Aizawa Mai is probably a bit better than 50%, but I haven't seen enough of her to be sure. I can usually tell her high pitched voice, but sometimes hit-and-miss when she speaks in a calm and quiet voice.
Aizawa is not one of seiyuu that I follow, but I sure would like to hear more of her on the radio. Speaking of which, I should get back into the habit of listening to net radio again. Maybe after the Gundam Quest (almost everything falls behind the Quest now...)
Some notes on previous seiyuu:
- Yao Kazuki's Judau Ashta is a pretty decent protagonist for a Gundam series. Yao-san voiced him just right considering Judau's background and experience, a bit on the mature side yet still retaining his youthful nature. Although, I might not be able to make the connection between Judau and Bunshichi. Compared to Bunshichi, Judau sounded... normal. XD
- Nakai Kazuya seems like a pretty laid back guy as he walked on stage with very very very casual (something I'd wear at home myself) clothes for the Sengoku BASARA pre-air special. It's quite funny when he categorized himself as a pure Japanese (ie. no English) and got corrected on his pronunciation of "Are you ready, guys" when he did the recording. XD
On a completely different note, I've decided to extend the deadline for the Gundam Quest from my birthday to the end of 2009. The extra week and a half will give me more leeway to not rush and be able to enjoy the Gundam series better. Of course, that's also just another excuse for me to slack off. My brain isn't built to strictly handle heavy stuff like Gundam for two straight months.
Omake: I sneaked out of Gundam mode yesterday due to certain reason (see last sentence of last paragraph) and watched a movie instead... And there's a scene in there that mentioned names like Dom, Jet Stream Attack, Red Comet Char Aznable, White Soldier Gundam, GM and Ball! And there's models on the bookshelves in the protagonist's room. I tried and still bumped into Gundam. orz
First heard: Super Robot OG net radio Umasugi WAVE
First noticed: Super Robot OG net radio Umasugi WAVE
Memorable characters: __soba (Super Robot OG Umasugi WAVE), Hidaka Yumemi (MUNTO TV)
Image character: __soba (Super Robot OG Umasugi WAVE), Hidaka Yumemi (MUNTO TV)
Discernment rate: 50%
Number of works seen: 8 (2009.11.25)
Hehe, this is a pretty unusual one, as one can probably see from the above. That's right, I actually learned of Aizawa from an internet radio show rather than from an anime. While seiyuu act out all sorts of characters using various pitches, they speak in their original voice on radio. I was surprised at first to hear this really child-like voice when I listened to Super Robot OG radio.
Not being a great lover of kids, I usually stay away from this kind of high pitch voice. But the more I listened to the show, the more faces of Aizawa Mai I discovered. Although, for some reason, the only voice I've heard of her in anime is the calm and serene type, as heard in Dennou Coil, MUNTO TV, CLANNAD, or Ga-Rei Zero.
As expected, her image character is split between her renditions of the different __soba on Super Robot OG radio and Yumemi from MUNTO TV. BTW, both shows have rather long names so I've abbreviated them; the full name of the MUNTO TV series is actually Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai.
My discernment rate for Aizawa Mai is probably a bit better than 50%, but I haven't seen enough of her to be sure. I can usually tell her high pitched voice, but sometimes hit-and-miss when she speaks in a calm and quiet voice.
Aizawa is not one of seiyuu that I follow, but I sure would like to hear more of her on the radio. Speaking of which, I should get back into the habit of listening to net radio again. Maybe after the Gundam Quest (almost everything falls behind the Quest now...)
Some notes on previous seiyuu:
- Yao Kazuki's Judau Ashta is a pretty decent protagonist for a Gundam series. Yao-san voiced him just right considering Judau's background and experience, a bit on the mature side yet still retaining his youthful nature. Although, I might not be able to make the connection between Judau and Bunshichi. Compared to Bunshichi, Judau sounded... normal. XD
- Nakai Kazuya seems like a pretty laid back guy as he walked on stage with very very very casual (something I'd wear at home myself) clothes for the Sengoku BASARA pre-air special. It's quite funny when he categorized himself as a pure Japanese (ie. no English) and got corrected on his pronunciation of "Are you ready, guys" when he did the recording. XD
On a completely different note, I've decided to extend the deadline for the Gundam Quest from my birthday to the end of 2009. The extra week and a half will give me more leeway to not rush and be able to enjoy the Gundam series better. Of course, that's also just another excuse for me to slack off. My brain isn't built to strictly handle heavy stuff like Gundam for two straight months.
Omake: I sneaked out of Gundam mode yesterday due to certain reason (see last sentence of last paragraph) and watched a movie instead... And there's a scene in there that mentioned names like Dom, Jet Stream Attack, Red Comet Char Aznable, White Soldier Gundam, GM and Ball! And there's models on the bookshelves in the protagonist's room. I tried and still bumped into Gundam. orz
Monday, November 16, 2009
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -1年戦争秘録- The Hidden One-Year War
I don't have a PS3, but if they release this in BD, I'll buy it in a instant without a second thought. (Bring it over to North America, Bandai!! I'll even settle with just DVD!)
When news of it came out a few years ago, I was thrilled at another new Gundam show but at the same time somewhat sceptical with the 3D CG. Of course, screen shots of the deathly looking faces of people didn't help.
While I still frown at some of the robotic movements or postures made by the humans, it was actually pretty decent by my standard. Even though they exaggerate often, the faces are quite expressive with the subtle motions.
The music and the battle scenes are some of the brightest points for the show. The score is epic and resolute at times, but always ending in a solemn and poignant note because of the nature of the show. Never heard of Taja, but the theme song is not bad, and moving as an insert song. The battle scenes take full advantage of CG to showcase the individual arm's mobility and combat style, and to orchestrate a war fleet battle in space on one of the grandest scales.
The story is unique in that it's told from the side of Zeon by a militia engineer who bears witness to the sorrowful downfall of prideful soldiers fighting until the very end. The fact that it takes place during the One Year War foretells the outcome of the war and the experiments on the prototype arms, which makes it all the more painful.
While watching the events unfold, I was reminded of RIGHT OF LEFT, which takes place before the main story of Fafner. (I briefly wrote about it in Chinese back in 2006.) Even though I didn't cry watching IGLOO, it doesn't mean it's less heart-wrenching. War is indeed a cruel reality, in anime and more so in real life. Its terrible impact doesn't just affect those directly involved, but to all humanity during and after.
Allow me to leave it on this note until after MS IGLOO Apocalypse 0079.
I don't have a PS3, but if they release this in BD, I'll buy it in a instant without a second thought. (Bring it over to North America, Bandai!! I'll even settle with just DVD!)
When news of it came out a few years ago, I was thrilled at another new Gundam show but at the same time somewhat sceptical with the 3D CG. Of course, screen shots of the deathly looking faces of people didn't help.
While I still frown at some of the robotic movements or postures made by the humans, it was actually pretty decent by my standard. Even though they exaggerate often, the faces are quite expressive with the subtle motions.
The music and the battle scenes are some of the brightest points for the show. The score is epic and resolute at times, but always ending in a solemn and poignant note because of the nature of the show. Never heard of Taja, but the theme song is not bad, and moving as an insert song. The battle scenes take full advantage of CG to showcase the individual arm's mobility and combat style, and to orchestrate a war fleet battle in space on one of the grandest scales.
The story is unique in that it's told from the side of Zeon by a militia engineer who bears witness to the sorrowful downfall of prideful soldiers fighting until the very end. The fact that it takes place during the One Year War foretells the outcome of the war and the experiments on the prototype arms, which makes it all the more painful.
While watching the events unfold, I was reminded of RIGHT OF LEFT, which takes place before the main story of Fafner. (I briefly wrote about it in Chinese back in 2006.) Even though I didn't cry watching IGLOO, it doesn't mean it's less heart-wrenching. War is indeed a cruel reality, in anime and more so in real life. Its terrible impact doesn't just affect those directly involved, but to all humanity during and after.
Allow me to leave it on this note until after MS IGLOO Apocalypse 0079.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
My right eye is still kind of sore from the lack of sleep, but after an hour of turning restlessly on the bed, I decided to get up anyway. For one, I was hungry because it's been almost 17 hours since my last meal (which explains the double portion I'm cooking right now to make up for it). I also had a hard time sleeping because memories of my childhood kept coming back and occupying my mind.
So I've decided to start another weekly project about the bits and pieces in my childhood. I had always thought that my childhood experience (mainly school life since school took up such a big chunk for students in Taiwan) was similar to that of everybody else's. I've since realized that not only are those experiences foreign in the literal sense to my fellow Canadians, they are likely alien to people that grew up in the digital age. But that's really just an excuse for me to take a trip down the memory lane 'cause I'm getting old. XD
Here's a preview of some of the topics I would like to talk about:
- cleaning duties in school
- school uniforms
- subjects taught in school
- after school activities
- commuting to schools
- stray dogs & co. in the neighbourhood
- cartoon/anime
- NES
- etc.
My first impulse was to name the project 余憶童稚時("back in my childhood years") or "Once upon a time", but all my labels are single words, so I decided to go with Mukashibanashi(昔話), which means stories of old. Japanese is such a convenient language. XD Due to the time constraint, I will start it after my birthday. 30 is as good a time for an old one to start reflecting back on one's memories.
On a side note, I did a quick calculation on the amount of Gundam stuff I'll need to go through if I were to finish them all before I turn 30. It's very obviously that I will never make it at the current speed I'm going. I think I might have to try and pull a few Higurashi, where I was so scared that I didn't want to drag the series over the week and get haunted by the images, so I gobbled through it (26 episodes) over a weekend. Same thing with Higurashi Kai (24 episodes), although it was really not necessary for Kai. Yup, I think a couple Higurashi is definitely in order.
So I've decided to start another weekly project about the bits and pieces in my childhood. I had always thought that my childhood experience (mainly school life since school took up such a big chunk for students in Taiwan) was similar to that of everybody else's. I've since realized that not only are those experiences foreign in the literal sense to my fellow Canadians, they are likely alien to people that grew up in the digital age. But that's really just an excuse for me to take a trip down the memory lane 'cause I'm getting old. XD
Here's a preview of some of the topics I would like to talk about:
- cleaning duties in school
- school uniforms
- subjects taught in school
- after school activities
- commuting to schools
- stray dogs & co. in the neighbourhood
- cartoon/anime
- NES
- etc.
My first impulse was to name the project 余憶童稚時("back in my childhood years") or "Once upon a time", but all my labels are single words, so I decided to go with Mukashibanashi(昔話), which means stories of old. Japanese is such a convenient language. XD Due to the time constraint, I will start it after my birthday. 30 is as good a time for an old one to start reflecting back on one's memories.
On a side note, I did a quick calculation on the amount of Gundam stuff I'll need to go through if I were to finish them all before I turn 30. It's very obviously that I will never make it at the current speed I'm going. I think I might have to try and pull a few Higurashi, where I was so scared that I didn't want to drag the series over the week and get haunted by the images, so I gobbled through it (26 episodes) over a weekend. Same thing with Higurashi Kai (24 episodes), although it was really not necessary for Kai. Yup, I think a couple Higurashi is definitely in order.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Soramimi Project #2: Nakai Kazuya 中井和哉
(I've decided to rename my seiyuu project to Soramimi, which means mishearing or just hearing things in Japanese, since recognizing seiyuu usually takes a lot of practices as well as trial and error.)
Now on to the main topic today, which is a rather big one. Let's start with the standard breakdown list.
First heard: Peacemakers Galil and Socom (Scrapped Princess)
First noticed: Tres Iqus (Trinity Blood)/Sugawara Fumiya (Hatarakiman)
Memorable characters: Mugen (Samurai Champloo), Date Masamune (Sengoku BASARA), Witz Sou (Gundam X), Hijikata Toushirou (Gintama), Etou Kouzou (Nodame Cantabile), Gray Ringmarc (Clover no Kuni no Alice)
Image character: Mugen (Samurai Champloo)/Date Masamune (Sengoku BASARA)
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works seen: 22 (2009.11.25)
Scrapped Princess was one of my earliest anime and I wasn't able to recognize seiyuu very well at that time. Nakai-san's roles in Scrapped Princess didn't really have a lot of screen time, so I claim full excuse for not noticing him then. I also heard him in other shows such as Gundam SEED, Inuyasha and Juuni Kokuki, but they were mostly very small roles. I became interested in his voice in Trinity Blood, but he played a cyborg and talked in a monotone so it was difficult to tell of his acting skill. Then I picked up Hatarakiman because of Tanaka Rie, and I started to take note of Nakai Kazuya.
What really made me pinned to his voice was Mugen in Samurai Champloo, an unruly and wild vagabond who trusts no one but himself and his sword, yet he would give his all and fight to the very end for something he believes in. I haven't seen enough Gintama to be familiar with Hijikata, but both Witz and Masamune resemble Mugen in a way, except that they're more like the grown-up version who knows the value of working together with fellow comrades rather than relying solely on one's own strength.
I haven't heard very much of Nakai's cooler voice in anime, but his otome game characters are must play for me if they're available. I recently finished the DS game Dual Love which has Nakai as one of the playable characters, and I endured (except for Namikawa's route) going through all five paths just so I could unlock his character. BTW, unless you're into seiyuu, I don't recommend Dual Love to anyone... Nakai's character Gray isn't very eye catching amongst the colourful cast in Clover no Kuni no Alice, but he is easily the most reasoned voice in the crooked world. He ended up as my 2nd favourite character beside Blood.
Nakai-san's got a nice low and husky voice on screen, though his original voice is softer and more laid back. While he plays a lot of rowdy characters, he is also good with cool and gentle roles. From what I can remember, his characters are usually the straightforward type that live in their own pace and prefer not to trouble those around them. It's pretty easy to like his characters even though they may have some oddities. Oh, and for some reason they give me the impression that they are easily clueless around girls they like. XD
I couldn't decide between Mugen and Masamune for the image character for Nakai-san because both have very strong persona and represent his hot-bloodedness well, so I listed them both. There's a couple seiyuu who's played a wide range of remarkable characters, so there will be times when I have multiple roles listed for image character, or none at all if the seiyuu is just too good with any character.
I'd say my discernment rate for Nakai Kazuya is very high. I've been able to tell him every time since I started take note of seiyuu; hasn't missed so far. He's also one of the few seiyuu that I know by face. While he's not the fashionable type, his simpleness and faithfulness to his wife are pretty cute so I like him as a person as well. :)
Even though Nakai Kazuya is not one of my top two male seiyuu (I seriously doubt anyone can overthrown Ishida Akira and Seki Tomokazu), but he is definitely on my growing list of favourite seiyuu. I look forward to hear more of him in anime and games (if only I have at least a PS2...)!
(I've decided to rename my seiyuu project to Soramimi, which means mishearing or just hearing things in Japanese, since recognizing seiyuu usually takes a lot of practices as well as trial and error.)
Now on to the main topic today, which is a rather big one. Let's start with the standard breakdown list.
First heard: Peacemakers Galil and Socom (Scrapped Princess)
First noticed: Tres Iqus (Trinity Blood)/Sugawara Fumiya (Hatarakiman)
Memorable characters: Mugen (Samurai Champloo), Date Masamune (Sengoku BASARA), Witz Sou (Gundam X), Hijikata Toushirou (Gintama), Etou Kouzou (Nodame Cantabile), Gray Ringmarc (Clover no Kuni no Alice)
Image character: Mugen (Samurai Champloo)/Date Masamune (Sengoku BASARA)
Discernment rate: very high; visual
Number of works seen: 22 (2009.11.25)
Scrapped Princess was one of my earliest anime and I wasn't able to recognize seiyuu very well at that time. Nakai-san's roles in Scrapped Princess didn't really have a lot of screen time, so I claim full excuse for not noticing him then. I also heard him in other shows such as Gundam SEED, Inuyasha and Juuni Kokuki, but they were mostly very small roles. I became interested in his voice in Trinity Blood, but he played a cyborg and talked in a monotone so it was difficult to tell of his acting skill. Then I picked up Hatarakiman because of Tanaka Rie, and I started to take note of Nakai Kazuya.
What really made me pinned to his voice was Mugen in Samurai Champloo, an unruly and wild vagabond who trusts no one but himself and his sword, yet he would give his all and fight to the very end for something he believes in. I haven't seen enough Gintama to be familiar with Hijikata, but both Witz and Masamune resemble Mugen in a way, except that they're more like the grown-up version who knows the value of working together with fellow comrades rather than relying solely on one's own strength.
I haven't heard very much of Nakai's cooler voice in anime, but his otome game characters are must play for me if they're available. I recently finished the DS game Dual Love which has Nakai as one of the playable characters, and I endured (except for Namikawa's route) going through all five paths just so I could unlock his character. BTW, unless you're into seiyuu, I don't recommend Dual Love to anyone... Nakai's character Gray isn't very eye catching amongst the colourful cast in Clover no Kuni no Alice, but he is easily the most reasoned voice in the crooked world. He ended up as my 2nd favourite character beside Blood.
Nakai-san's got a nice low and husky voice on screen, though his original voice is softer and more laid back. While he plays a lot of rowdy characters, he is also good with cool and gentle roles. From what I can remember, his characters are usually the straightforward type that live in their own pace and prefer not to trouble those around them. It's pretty easy to like his characters even though they may have some oddities. Oh, and for some reason they give me the impression that they are easily clueless around girls they like. XD
I couldn't decide between Mugen and Masamune for the image character for Nakai-san because both have very strong persona and represent his hot-bloodedness well, so I listed them both. There's a couple seiyuu who's played a wide range of remarkable characters, so there will be times when I have multiple roles listed for image character, or none at all if the seiyuu is just too good with any character.
I'd say my discernment rate for Nakai Kazuya is very high. I've been able to tell him every time since I started take note of seiyuu; hasn't missed so far. He's also one of the few seiyuu that I know by face. While he's not the fashionable type, his simpleness and faithfulness to his wife are pretty cute so I like him as a person as well. :)
Even though Nakai Kazuya is not one of my top two male seiyuu (I seriously doubt anyone can overthrown Ishida Akira and Seki Tomokazu), but he is definitely on my growing list of favourite seiyuu. I look forward to hear more of him in anime and games (if only I have at least a PS2...)!
Monday, November 09, 2009
A few days ago I saw a post on a forum somewhere mentioning the Hatsune Miku theme for the Google Chrome browser, which in term reminded me of Persona for Firefox. I've been embellishing my Firefox with Groovy Blue for almost two years now, so I figured it might be a good time to check out the gallery for other personas. Surely there's good ones out there!
And boy, was I in for a big surprise when I saw thousands of flavours in the gallery. I managed to browse through the entire Abstract section but couldn't bring myself to do the same for all the other sections except for the smaller ones.
There's a lot of very beautiful personas, but not all are practical and even fewer fit my Firefox both functionally and aesthetically. First of all, my Windows theme is set to classic, and the base colour is various shades of green. Then I have my Firefox icons as small, took out the search bar and extended the address bar all the way. Lastly I have a fully loaded Bookmark Toolbar. So the ideal persona needs to look good for the shorter height in the toolbar area and blend in with the Windows colours well, and it must show the texts and maybe fav icons in the Bookmark Toolbar clearly.
After hours and hours of trying out new outfits, I decided on the following personas and have them randomly displayed:
- Groovy Blue
- Firefox B
- Cosmic
- Blurry Blotches
- Watergarden II
- New Colors 1
- Floral Abstract
- concrete
- Aurora Sky
- Firefox Pierrinho
- Light & Blue
Some of these only have single-digit active daily users, which is a shame. If you use Persona for Firefox, definitely give them a try!
I was going to keep this post strictly about Firefox, but I couldn't help to not squeeze in a few paragraphs about a very funny series I am watching right now. The name of that very funny series is Gundam ZZ.
Yes, you read it right. It's a Gundam series (November is Gundam month, remember?), part of the UC timeline series, no less. Not only is Haman's carefully(?) brought up apprentice a complete Haman-worshipping idiot (I cracked up so many times at the literally rosy flashbacks of Haman handing down to Mashymre the know-hows), even Yazan, one of the most persistent and skillful pilots in Zeta, turned into a comedian with acts of running and falling into a manhole, or knocking down the main cannon of Endora as it was ready to fire at Argama with his fallen MS.
Of course, it's still early so things can easily turn ugly as Argama enters into space and encounters new and more serious enemies. Hopefully this won't be the last of Marshmellow (XD) and Yazan. Somehow I have a feeling that Yazan might make it through the series as long as he doesn't join Haman...
Protagonist-wise, Judau is a new kind of Gundam pilot for me, with his street-smart fighting style, bright personality and close bond with his group of merry-men. Very different from the somewhat introverted lone-wolf Gundam protagonists from some other series, especially Amuro and Kamille that preceded him.
And boy, was I in for a big surprise when I saw thousands of flavours in the gallery. I managed to browse through the entire Abstract section but couldn't bring myself to do the same for all the other sections except for the smaller ones.
There's a lot of very beautiful personas, but not all are practical and even fewer fit my Firefox both functionally and aesthetically. First of all, my Windows theme is set to classic, and the base colour is various shades of green. Then I have my Firefox icons as small, took out the search bar and extended the address bar all the way. Lastly I have a fully loaded Bookmark Toolbar. So the ideal persona needs to look good for the shorter height in the toolbar area and blend in with the Windows colours well, and it must show the texts and maybe fav icons in the Bookmark Toolbar clearly.
After hours and hours of trying out new outfits, I decided on the following personas and have them randomly displayed:
- Groovy Blue
- Firefox B
- Cosmic
- Blurry Blotches
- Watergarden II
- New Colors 1
- Floral Abstract
- concrete
- Aurora Sky
- Firefox Pierrinho
- Light & Blue
Some of these only have single-digit active daily users, which is a shame. If you use Persona for Firefox, definitely give them a try!
I was going to keep this post strictly about Firefox, but I couldn't help to not squeeze in a few paragraphs about a very funny series I am watching right now. The name of that very funny series is Gundam ZZ.
Yes, you read it right. It's a Gundam series (November is Gundam month, remember?), part of the UC timeline series, no less. Not only is Haman's carefully(?) brought up apprentice a complete Haman-worshipping idiot (I cracked up so many times at the literally rosy flashbacks of Haman handing down to Mashymre the know-hows), even Yazan, one of the most persistent and skillful pilots in Zeta, turned into a comedian with acts of running and falling into a manhole, or knocking down the main cannon of Endora as it was ready to fire at Argama with his fallen MS.
Of course, it's still early so things can easily turn ugly as Argama enters into space and encounters new and more serious enemies. Hopefully this won't be the last of Marshmellow (XD) and Yazan. Somehow I have a feeling that Yazan might make it through the series as long as he doesn't join Haman...
Protagonist-wise, Judau is a new kind of Gundam pilot for me, with his street-smart fighting style, bright personality and close bond with his group of merry-men. Very different from the somewhat introverted lone-wolf Gundam protagonists from some other series, especially Amuro and Kamille that preceded him.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
機動戦士Ζガンダム Mobile Suit Z Gundam
2nd Gundam series in the UC lineup. Frankly, I am still not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.
I entered the world of Zeta knowing just Kamille's and Four's names and the faces of a few of the women, and that SEED Destiny is supposedly modelled after Zeta to some degree like SEED was after First. Now I'm leaving the world of TV Zeta (the TV series aired in 1985) with names and faces of various characters but not the sense of the world situation. There is still the world of New Zeta (the three New Translation movies from 2005) which I heard are not just rehash and re-edits of the TV series like the three movies for the First Gundam. Hopefully I'll be able to understand Zeta a bit more after watching New Zeta.
The first half of TV Zeta integrated quite a few people from First and showed the changes they went through over the years. It's always fascinating to see Char interacting with the former crew of White Base. Because they used to fight each other so fiercely, they can now understand each other and work together. Yesterday's foe is today's comrade. This is indeed fitting for them. And Kamille seemed to have a older-female-complex (I wouldn't call it Oedipus complex because he didn't feel that way toward his own mother) and it took me quite a while to accept him.
The second half gradually turned chaotic with the addition of Haman's force and Scirocco's movement, which is fine withe me until they started fighting psychically in the literal sense. While the second to last episode made me believe this was what set the tradition(?) of important characters dying before the last episode for the Gundam franchise, I was rather baffled when Kamille/Zeta Gundam started gathering life forces and emotions in the last battle against Scirocco. I think TV Zeta probably predates Dragon Ball Z, but I couldn't help but blurted out "元気玉かよ？！" when I saw it.
I seriously thought Jerid would survive the series, with Jerid becoming something akin to Kamille's best rival, especially seeing how he's lived through so many failed missions and piloted so many different models. Katz not making it was a bit of an upset for me since I saw him as a child in First, and he wasn't even shot down in battle, but having Kamille snapped at the end probably came as the biggest shock. I guess he's relied too much on his New Type psych power and finally overloaded his mind.
Minerva is practically the predecessor of Mariemaia from Endless Waltz, though I didn't expect her to return when Dozle sent his wife and daughter away to safety in First. Seeing how she wasn't shown dead, maybe she'll appear againin a later series?(I just found that she's the female lead in the Gundam Unicorn novel series, which will have an OVA series next year!)
While First has a straightforward focus and is very much character-driven, Zeta adopts a multi-facet view, showing the inner workings and conflicts of various forces, and is more plot-driven. The efforts of individual characters, while still significant, aren't as crucial in the grander scale of things in Zeta. As a result, the protagonist Kamille doesn't leave as strong an impression as Amuro.
Beside the ever present New Type motif (and Cyber-New Type in the case of Zeta), the desire to be loved seems to be one of the themes of Zeta. The ratio and frequency of female characters in Zeta may even be the highest out of all the Gundam series, and every single one of these women is a fighter. With the exception of Fa (Fraw and Mirai don't count since they're happily married), almost all the female cast expressed, either openly or implied, their logic on the topic of love, as well as their value as being seen as women. Kamille's development is also heavily shaped by the women around him.
I feel that it took Kamille much longer to become independent because most people around him are experienced adults and both human and material resources weren't lacking, where White Base had to fight through the most difficult situations by itself with nothing but an all-teens green crew before finally joining the Federation force.
Mecha-wise, there's again a few new designs as in First. I like the design of Gundam Mk-II better than Zeta, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Qubeley and Hyaku Shiki. I learned of Qubeley from the SD Gundam games back in the NES days and the one-page manga in SD Gundam model kits, and Hyaku Shiki from the SD Gundam 4-koma manga that I used to read when I was little. I was so intrigued by Qubeley's design that it left quite an impression on me. One day when I finished a chemistry exam early during high school, I decided to start doodling while waiting. The fluid line of its head immediately came to mind and I did a sketch of one of my original creatures based on Qubeley's head design. I also liked the fox form of Bound-Doc.
Originally, I was planning to watch New Zeta after TV Zeta, but I think it might be better if I watch the UC series in the chronological order (yeah, I'll have to re-watch Char's Counterattack now that I have the knowledge of First under my belt, but that'll happen next year). Next in line will be ZZ Gundam!
2nd Gundam series in the UC lineup. Frankly, I am still not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.
I entered the world of Zeta knowing just Kamille's and Four's names and the faces of a few of the women, and that SEED Destiny is supposedly modelled after Zeta to some degree like SEED was after First. Now I'm leaving the world of TV Zeta (the TV series aired in 1985) with names and faces of various characters but not the sense of the world situation. There is still the world of New Zeta (the three New Translation movies from 2005) which I heard are not just rehash and re-edits of the TV series like the three movies for the First Gundam. Hopefully I'll be able to understand Zeta a bit more after watching New Zeta.
The first half of TV Zeta integrated quite a few people from First and showed the changes they went through over the years. It's always fascinating to see Char interacting with the former crew of White Base. Because they used to fight each other so fiercely, they can now understand each other and work together. Yesterday's foe is today's comrade. This is indeed fitting for them. And Kamille seemed to have a older-female-complex (I wouldn't call it Oedipus complex because he didn't feel that way toward his own mother) and it took me quite a while to accept him.
The second half gradually turned chaotic with the addition of Haman's force and Scirocco's movement, which is fine withe me until they started fighting psychically in the literal sense. While the second to last episode made me believe this was what set the tradition(?) of important characters dying before the last episode for the Gundam franchise, I was rather baffled when Kamille/Zeta Gundam started gathering life forces and emotions in the last battle against Scirocco. I think TV Zeta probably predates Dragon Ball Z, but I couldn't help but blurted out "元気玉かよ？！" when I saw it.
I seriously thought Jerid would survive the series, with Jerid becoming something akin to Kamille's best rival, especially seeing how he's lived through so many failed missions and piloted so many different models. Katz not making it was a bit of an upset for me since I saw him as a child in First, and he wasn't even shot down in battle, but having Kamille snapped at the end probably came as the biggest shock. I guess he's relied too much on his New Type psych power and finally overloaded his mind.
Minerva is practically the predecessor of Mariemaia from Endless Waltz, though I didn't expect her to return when Dozle sent his wife and daughter away to safety in First. Seeing how she wasn't shown dead, maybe she'll appear again
While First has a straightforward focus and is very much character-driven, Zeta adopts a multi-facet view, showing the inner workings and conflicts of various forces, and is more plot-driven. The efforts of individual characters, while still significant, aren't as crucial in the grander scale of things in Zeta. As a result, the protagonist Kamille doesn't leave as strong an impression as Amuro.
Beside the ever present New Type motif (and Cyber-New Type in the case of Zeta), the desire to be loved seems to be one of the themes of Zeta. The ratio and frequency of female characters in Zeta may even be the highest out of all the Gundam series, and every single one of these women is a fighter. With the exception of Fa (Fraw and Mirai don't count since they're happily married), almost all the female cast expressed, either openly or implied, their logic on the topic of love, as well as their value as being seen as women. Kamille's development is also heavily shaped by the women around him.
I feel that it took Kamille much longer to become independent because most people around him are experienced adults and both human and material resources weren't lacking, where White Base had to fight through the most difficult situations by itself with nothing but an all-teens green crew before finally joining the Federation force.
Mecha-wise, there's again a few new designs as in First. I like the design of Gundam Mk-II better than Zeta, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Qubeley and Hyaku Shiki. I learned of Qubeley from the SD Gundam games back in the NES days and the one-page manga in SD Gundam model kits, and Hyaku Shiki from the SD Gundam 4-koma manga that I used to read when I was little. I was so intrigued by Qubeley's design that it left quite an impression on me. One day when I finished a chemistry exam early during high school, I decided to start doodling while waiting. The fluid line of its head immediately came to mind and I did a sketch of one of my original creatures based on Qubeley's head design. I also liked the fox form of Bound-Doc.
Originally, I was planning to watch New Zeta after TV Zeta, but I think it might be better if I watch the UC series in the chronological order (yeah, I'll have to re-watch Char's Counterattack now that I have the knowledge of First under my belt, but that'll happen next year). Next in line will be ZZ Gundam!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Starting in November, beside my somewhat futile attempt at completing the Gundam Quest, I've also started a little pet project on another of my interested topics: seiyuu.
Using the list of seiyuu on wikipedia, I'll select one seiyuu to talk about every week. The method of selection is done scientifically with the help of a die. Really, it's nothing but scientific. I even have a chart drawn out for it. After a controlled entropy experiment, I'll just go down the list for the selected row and write about the first name I recognize to some degree.
For this pilot project demonstration, the lucky(?) seiyuu is: Yao Kazuki (矢尾一樹)! *applauds*
I actually haven't heard a lot of Yao-san, but his voice is really unique and I learned to recognize it right away.
First heard: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
First noticed: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
Memorable characters: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge), Dominikov (MURDER PRINCESS), Moroha (Sousei no Aquarion)
Image character: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
Discernment rate: somewhat high
Number of works seen: 15 (2009.11.25)
It's probably obvious that Yao-san=Bunshichi for me. XD Yao-san's performance as Bunshichi was so impressive, that even in a show full of high level seiyuu such as Tenjo Tenge, he stood out as one of the significant characters. I liked his Dominikov as well. That cute little skeleton man with a big heart. I shed a few tears when he disappeared...
I'd say my discernment rate for Yao Kazuki is somewhat high. I can recognize him in most works he appears in, but the rate is not high or very high because I might not had been able to tell that he's Judau if I hadn't known before hand...
Hopefully I'll be able to hear his Judau soon. I was surprised to see him playing the protagonist in a Gundam series, but I definitely look forward to it. As soon as I finish those Zeta Gundam DVDs...
My little seiyuu project will be something similar to the above. There will be times when I don't have a lot to say (such as today), but there will be times when I can't stop myself, especially when it comes to some of the big names.
On a side note, I realized yesterday that the Victory Gundam episodes I got were RAWs. Even though it's still in the UC timeline, it's very very remotely connected to the original Gundam's world. So I'll have to re-learn a lot of the terms. It'll be a welcoming challenge to tackle a hard and heavy series with my passing listening level. I can understand Zeta reasonably fine without reading the subtitles, so I'm hoping the same when I get to Victory Gundam.
Using the list of seiyuu on wikipedia, I'll select one seiyuu to talk about every week. The method of selection is done scientifically with the help of a die. Really, it's nothing but scientific. I even have a chart drawn out for it. After a controlled entropy experiment, I'll just go down the list for the selected row and write about the first name I recognize to some degree.
For this pilot project demonstration, the lucky(?) seiyuu is: Yao Kazuki (矢尾一樹)! *applauds*
I actually haven't heard a lot of Yao-san, but his voice is really unique and I learned to recognize it right away.
First heard: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
First noticed: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
Memorable characters: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge), Dominikov (MURDER PRINCESS), Moroha (Sousei no Aquarion)
Image character: Tawara Bunshichi (Tenjo Tenge)
Discernment rate: somewhat high
Number of works seen: 15 (2009.11.25)
It's probably obvious that Yao-san=Bunshichi for me. XD Yao-san's performance as Bunshichi was so impressive, that even in a show full of high level seiyuu such as Tenjo Tenge, he stood out as one of the significant characters. I liked his Dominikov as well. That cute little skeleton man with a big heart. I shed a few tears when he disappeared...
I'd say my discernment rate for Yao Kazuki is somewhat high. I can recognize him in most works he appears in, but the rate is not high or very high because I might not had been able to tell that he's Judau if I hadn't known before hand...
Hopefully I'll be able to hear his Judau soon. I was surprised to see him playing the protagonist in a Gundam series, but I definitely look forward to it. As soon as I finish those Zeta Gundam DVDs...
My little seiyuu project will be something similar to the above. There will be times when I don't have a lot to say (such as today), but there will be times when I can't stop myself, especially when it comes to some of the big names.
On a side note, I realized yesterday that the Victory Gundam episodes I got were RAWs. Even though it's still in the UC timeline, it's very very remotely connected to the original Gundam's world. So I'll have to re-learn a lot of the terms. It'll be a welcoming challenge to tackle a hard and heavy series with my passing listening level. I can understand Zeta reasonably fine without reading the subtitles, so I'm hoping the same when I get to Victory Gundam.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
I'm so far behind schedule on my Gundam Quest that I've considered giving up the whole idea. It was really just a whim anyway. But, going down without a fight isn't my style, so as a last resort, I've decided to make the month of November a Gundam-only month. In short, I'm putting everything else on hold and the only shows I'll watch would be Gundam.
So I spent the whole night watching the zanpakutou arc of Bleach, since it'll be nothing but sci-fi starting today.
Here's the current standing. We'll see how far I can get by the end of the month.
BTW, for the ones available in R1 DVD, I'm watching them on DVD instead of fansub for the video quality. I'm getting used to a lot of the mech and military terms now that I can almost go by without looking at the subtitles. It disorients me occasionally when the sentence I hear and see is in reverse order due to the difference in grammar. In this case, I just go by what I hear.
The Quest:
機動戦士ガンダム *A
機動戦士ガンダムI *N/A
機動戦士ガンダムII 哀・戦士編 *N/A
機動戦士ガンダムIII めぐりあい宇宙編
機動戦士Ζガンダム
機動戦士Ζガンダム 星を継ぐ者
機動戦士ΖガンダムII 恋人たち
機動戦士ΖガンダムIII 星の鼓動は愛
機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ
機動戦士ガンダム 逆襲のシャア *B+
機動戦士ガンダム0080 ポケットの中の戦争 *B~B+
機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY
機動戦士ガンダム0083 ジオンの残光
機動戦士ガンダムF91
機動戦士Vガンダム
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 *A
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 ミラーズ・リポート
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -1年戦争秘録-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -黙示録0079-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO2 重力戦線
機動武闘伝Gガンダム *B~B+
新機動戦記ガンダムW *N/A
新機動戦記ガンダムW Endless Waltz *N/A
機動新世紀ガンダムX *B-
∀ガンダム
機動戦士ガンダムSEED *A-~A
機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY *B-
機動戦士ガンダムSEED C.E.73 STARGAZER *B~B+
機動戦士ガンダム00
機動戦士ガンダム00 S2
So I spent the whole night watching the zanpakutou arc of Bleach, since it'll be nothing but sci-fi starting today.
Here's the current standing. We'll see how far I can get by the end of the month.
BTW, for the ones available in R1 DVD, I'm watching them on DVD instead of fansub for the video quality. I'm getting used to a lot of the mech and military terms now that I can almost go by without looking at the subtitles. It disorients me occasionally when the sentence I hear and see is in reverse order due to the difference in grammar. In this case, I just go by what I hear.
The Quest:
機動戦士ガンダムIII めぐりあい宇宙編
機動戦士Ζガンダム
機動戦士Ζガンダム 星を継ぐ者
機動戦士ΖガンダムII 恋人たち
機動戦士ΖガンダムIII 星の鼓動は愛
機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ
機動戦士ガンダム0083 STARDUST MEMORY
機動戦士ガンダム0083 ジオンの残光
機動戦士ガンダムF91
機動戦士Vガンダム
機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 ミラーズ・リポート
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -1年戦争秘録-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO -黙示録0079-
機動戦士ガンダム MS IGLOO2 重力戦線
∀ガンダム
機動戦士ガンダム00
機動戦士ガンダム00 S2
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