Amazon.ca finally seems to be getting the idea that "grouping items together for as few shipment" means grouping items together for as few shipment. Somewhat, at least.

In light of her Ladyship's visit, I wasn't looking forward to receiving any package from my friend Amazon for the duration. As I remember that there should be two releases today, I anxiously checked my inbox for news of the orders being shipped... There isn't any.

A quick check on my order status showed that Utawarerumono will be shipped in late December/early January with FMA Brotherhood part3, rather than being shipped as it's released. That's a first I've seen over the past year!

Bamboo Blade is scheduled to be shipped with Bleach box 7 in late December, but the image of the DVD cover was pulled, and the product page states "We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

You can't do this to me!!! （ノ`Д´）ノ～～┴───┴

Funimation's website shows the series as available and Amazon.com is still selling it. Come on, Amazon.ca! Don't let me down!

On a more cheerful news, I've successfully picked up Eden of the East and FMP Fumoffu before her Ladyship's arrival. XD

And I received the re-mastered discs for Toradora Vol.1 from NIS America yesterday. I forgive you for not making Toradora available in Canada and forcing me to order across the border, NIS A. XD

Today is a good day. :D

In light of the release of the new PS3 Move models, I scrambled to get the regular 160GB model before they're gone.

So today's loots:
- 160GB PS3
- Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DS)
- figma ブラック★ロックシューター

The first two I intended to acquire, but the 3rd item was a surprised find. After being taught by Neko-tan on how to spot pirated Nendoroid at AX, I tried to apply the same technique and stared hard at the eyes... Of course, I couldn't tell since I've only seen the images online and never paid that much attention. But seeing how the store actually sold legit anime DVDs and BDs, I decided to trust them and made the plunge.

I can't wait to play with the BRS figma next month! XD

I think what I paid for the PS3 today would be enough to get me another $20 or so in coupon, which I can use toward Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS). Now I just need to get a HDMI cable for the PS3 so I can finally start watching my very slowly growing BD collection. :D

Today is a good day indeed. XD

戦国BASARA弐 ep.6

アニキ～～～～～
Toyotomi's level probably far surpasses that of Honda-bot or even the last boss of the first season, Wakamoto NorioOda Nobunaga. もうありえないレベルだ。 Why go through the trouble of securing and dropping a space colony, when one Toyotomi can probably do the same damage in no more than a few dozen punches? He's even re-usable!

まさかのアムロ戦死？！
Yukimura learns the lesson that Kojuurou wanted Masamune to learn before... Kira would be smirking if this were a Gundam 4-koma.

浪川大輔宮本武蔵！？
Took me almost the whole preview time to realize it's Namikawa. There should be a Sasaki Kojirou to go with Miyamoto Musashi! XD

With all the Gundam references I threw here, I just remembered that I made a quick list of Sengoku Basara seiyuu in Gundam series before. With the change in characters in the 2nd season, here's a new list up to ep.6.

中井和哉 (伊達政宗) - X
保志総一朗 (真田幸村) - SEED, SEED DESTINY
森川智之 (片倉小十郎) - (V), (W), X, (0083)
玄田哲章 (武田信玄) - (1st), (ZZ), (G), 08th MS, (0083)
子安武人 (猿飛佐助) - (V), (G), W, SEED, SEED DESTINY, (0083), (F91), (∀)
朴璐美 (上杉謙信) - ∀, (SEED Special Edition), (00)
森田成一 (前田慶次) - SEED DESTINY
石野竜三 (長曾我部元親) - (V), W
中原茂 (毛利元就) - W
藤原啓治 (松永久秀) - (V), (G), (W), (X), (08th MS), (00)
古谷徹 (小山田信茂) - 1st, (Z), CCA, 00
甲斐田裕子 (まつ) - (UC)
置鮎龍太郎 (豊臣秀吉) - (W), (SEED), SEED DESTINY, (00 S2)
石田彰 (竹中半兵衛) - SEED, SEED DESTINY
浪川大輔 (宮本武蔵) - (0080) ,(SEED Special Edition), (Z New Translation I-III), 00, (UC)

(Parenthesis denotes series where the seiyuu plays a character but does not pilot a Gundam. No, Zaku and MA are not Gundam.)

I compared the 1st season to watching G Gundam when I described my impression to Neko-tan. I think the 2nd season further affirms the connection between the series with the Gundam series after numerous displays of Toyotomi's extraterrestrial strength. XD

I've been reading the original novels of Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (Denyuuden) according to the schedule of the anime episodes. At least, that was the plan.

Almost as a rule of thumb, the anime adaptation based on an original novel series overlooks a lot of character details and scenes, especially if the anime version is no longer than 2 cours. As a result, the anime version often presents the width of the story but not the depth, making it an inferior version for the series. Technically, that's the purpose of the anime adaptation, to get people interested in the original works, so there's nothing wrong with it as long as it serves the purpose.

For me, Denyuuden definitely serves its purpose and got me somewhat hooked on the novels at the moment. The only problem is... the anime hasn't finished airing, so I should wait for a few episodes before reading the next volume so I don't get disappointed by the lack of detail or scene change in the anime.

I just started vol.8 of the novel, while the anime covers up to a little bit of vol.7 (minus a scene with new characters in vol.6). Yeah, the book worm inside me couldn't wait for another couple months before the anime finishes and decided to plunge ahead.

Even though I'd know what's going to happen in the anime, that still shouldn't take away much of the fun when I watch the episodes, especially when the story follows the novels rather closely (unlike a certain *cough*Regios*cough*). I shall continue to enjoy the seiyuu's excellent performance and hearing the lines being spoken. :)

Now, back to vol.8... XD

To my surprise, I actually managed to start on most of the fall anime series. Here's my impression of the watching/might watch series as speculated based on the PV before the season started.

咎狗の血
- Haven't watched but still planning to trial watch.

神のみぞ知るセカイ
- Was going to trial watch, but decided not to when I read the series introduction and seiyuu cast list posted by the subs group. Shimono Hiro would be a selling point for me, but the story doesn't seem that interesting to me and I only know one seiyuu out of the cast of girls.

俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない
- Was going to trial watch, but decided not to when I read the series introduction and seiyuu cast list posted by the subs group. Nakamura Yuuichi is a selling point for me, but the story doesn't seem that interesting to me and I only know 2 seiyuu out of the cast of girls.

ヨスガノソラ
- Was going to trial watch, but decided not to when I read the series introduction and seiyuu cast list posted by the subs group. Shimono Hiro would be a selling point for me, but the story doesn't seem that interesting to me and I only know one seiyuu out of the cast of girls. (Yeah, I totally just copy&paste from 神のみぞ知るセカイ) Still interested in Nekokan's theme song, though.

スーパーロボット大戦OG ジ・インスペクター
- Grabbing. Won't be able to start until after I finish the first season of OG...

それでも町は廻っている ep.1
- 普通に面白い
- Omigawa's actually good at being a ドジ子
- Interesting dialogues & shooting angles
- Sugita Tomokazu. 'nuff said. XD
- Sakurai plays an old maid

そらのおとしものf
- Haven't watched but will definitely watch.

Ironman
- Didn't even trial watch. The combination of Mad House, Fujiwara Keiji and Itou Shizuka isn't enough to compensate for the visual style for me...

おとめ妖怪ざくろ ep.1
- typical series for girls; the "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" of this season, except Kei is more human than the hentai alien Usui
- soft and water colour-like colour palette
- already interested in the Yoshinokazura x Susukihotaru pairing. XD
- recognized Katagaki Ayahi's singing voice before realizing it's Sphere and not the female cast in the OP
- disappointed at the "fight" scene, especially after them going through the trouble to transform their weapons and the song

STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト ep.1
- 颯爽登場！銀河美少年～～ ｗｗｗｗｗｗ
- squealed when I heard Ishida Akira, followed shortly by Kuwashima Houko XD
- really like the chemistry between the 3 main cast
- when scene changed to the underground base just as Benio forbade ppl to go there: 何この超展開
- when Takuto called out Tauburn: 何がなんだか分からないけど、面白い～　XDD
- Takuto really reminds me of Kamen Rider Kabuto
- haven't finished RahXephon, but the painting really reminds me of the painting in RahXephon
- 1st time noticing Tomatsu Haruka's singing voice
- would have been the 本命 of this season if it weren't for...

荒川アンダーザブリッジ　＊２ ep.1
- やはり本命はこっちだ！
- a continuation of the high quality from the 1st season
- the Amazoness from the very last scene of the 1st season!?
- finally getting into Nino's background!?

テガミバチ　REVERSE
- Grabbing. Won't be able to start until after I finish the first season...

薄桜鬼　碧血録 ep.1
- a continuation of the 1st season with a wardrobe change (hurry up and change Chizuru, too!)
- still not too pleased with the series taking the Hijikata route, especially when Chizuru shows her feelings :(
- will likely see more character death...

侵略！イカ娘 ep.1
- 普通に面白い
- Tanaka onee-sama! Another solid proof that closed-eye characters are black...
- ウホ！いい触手。

バクマン ep.1
- your usual Jump anime
- characters are somewhat Obata Takeshi-ish, but the art quality is simply not comparable to that of Death Note

海月姫　～くらげひめ～
- Haven't watched but still planning to trial watch.

FORTUNE ARTERIAL　赤い約束
- Haven't watched but still planning to trial watch.

心霊探偵八雲 ep.1
- pace felt really rushed
- why is it that all 3 versions (2 manga & anime) of the same case are different...?
- glad the character design takes after the Asuka manga version, but come on, why does Haruka have light purple eyes when having red eyes is a big deal for the series??

Summary (total 28)
- Watching for sure: 11
- Not watching for sure: 14
- Undecided: 3

My watch list for the fall season is almost complete. Now if only I can keep up the weekly or bi-weekly schedule...

...バカでも風邪を引くんだ。

今晩はちょっと早寝をするか。

なんて面倒なことだ、病気は。

Soramimi Project #27: Ishikawa Hideo 石川英郎

First heard: Akira (Weiß kreuz)

First noticed: Ukitake Juushirou (Bleach)

Memorable characters: Ukitake Juushirou (Bleach), Tooyama Kintarou (Tantei Gakuen Q), Kanazawa Hiroto (Kiniro no Corda ~primo passo~), Oliver May (Gundam MS igLoo)

Image character: Ukitake Juushirou (Bleach)

Discernment rate: low; sometimes visual

Number of works seen: 19

Out of the 19 works I've heard him in, 5 are Bleach. Ukitake is one of the regulars in Bleach (unfortunately, due to the physical condition of the character, he doesn't leave a very strong impression or have too many scenes), but I still have trouble recognizing Ishiwaka-san voice in other works a lot of the times, unless it's of a similar pitch as Ukitake's. I do sometimes recognize him in photos from the few Kiniro no Corda seiyuu interviews I've seen, however.

Judging from the list of characters I've seen Ishiwaka-san played, most of his roles are supporting characters, while some are part of the main cast. The only main character I've seen him played is Oliver May from Gundam MS igLoo, who gives a glimpse of the One Year War from a rarely explored prospective. (I didn't cry watching The Hidden One Year War, but I did for Apocalypse 0079. Must-see OVA for anyone! No previous Gundam experience or knowledge required to enjoy. Of course, having it will allow you to get the full taste.)

I'd list Auron from Final Fantasy X under the memorable characters, but it's really been too long for me to remember what he sounded like, especially since Auron wasn't awfully talkative.

Since Ishikawa-san isn't as active on the anime front as many of the other seiyuu, I kinda doubt I'll ever be familiar with his voice. But he's in a couple of the series I'm waiting to watch (there's only 100+ of those, too), so I will still hear him here and there. Hopefully I'll be able to raise the discernment rate from low to at least an average...

In commemoration of the advent of dear mum and the temporary lost of freedom, here's a quick list of what I won't be able to do during her stay.

Off the top of my mind, in no particular order, I won't be able to:
- stay up late
- see the sun rise
- sleep in my bed
- have ice cream & chips for meal
- eat my current portion of meat
- watch anime
- read manga
- be on the computer all night
- listen to music all the time
- sing
- pile things around
- leave dishes out
- talk to myself
- have my own peace and quiet
- leave the bathroom door open
- throw clothes onto the couch
- not get out of the building on weekends
- have the cat to myself
- be lazy
- gaze into space blankly

...I think I will stop here before the list grows exponentially.

Of course, there's also good things (especially for the cat), but the inconvenience far outweighs the merits for me.

Ah well, as long as it makes her happy...

ヤバイ。

あの方が来る。

掃除しなくちゃ！あちこちにモノの山も片付けなくちゃ！

風呂も！台所も！冷蔵庫まで！要するに全部屋だ！！

壁｜O|￣|＿

まあ、いくら悩んでもしょうがない。
......寝るか。

One reaps what one sows. 自業自得だな...

Due to my usual laziness, I've been neglecting routine tasks such as grooming the cat, trimming his nails, and cutting off hair knots. Today, the inevitable happened, and the infamous brown stuff got stuck on the two good-sized hair bundles by the old guy's rear. Needless to say, it stunk.

At first I tried to wipe the substance off with tissue paper, but I immediately realized the futility of the tactic. So I switched to my trusty blue brush that the cat detests so much and tried to scrape the tangled hair bunches off with the help of the magic hair spray.

Of course, anyone who's tried to brush through matted hair mess know it can be painful. All the more so for the poor feline since he couldn't brace himself for the searing pain. He meowed in protest and hissed a couple times throughout the wrestling match. I felt so sorry for him that I allowed him to escape a few times (before catching him right after). It was during his last round of struggle to break free when he used my left palm as leverage and sprinted with all his might (I was kind of letting go, too).

And left a deep, long gash on my lower left palm with one of his hind claws.

In the beginning, there was just a clear slash lined with slightly raised skin that's flipped up from the cut. Then tiny red beads started to emerge from deep within the abyss after a few seconds. This was when I went to wash my hand and tried to hold my left hand up in a lame attempt to slow the blood flow and make it clot.

Once it appeared that I was able to use my left hand somewhat without the gash bursting open again, I returned to my operation. This time, I resorted to using my trusty purple scissors...

I should have done this in the first place, even though it's more time consuming and difficult to handle. orz

After another power struggle (he even coughed a couple times in an usual way from over-exerting himself) that ended in my dictatorship, his rear was free of the smelly substance as he eagerly sniffed and licked at the catnip I offered him afterwards as compensation. There's still some remnants of the tangled hair bunch left, but these won't interfere with his usual biological sessions and can wait until next time, preferably after my palm heals as I'll need to hold him down tighter than this time in order to completely rid of them.

I liken the gash to a deep cardboard cut, only cleaner. Cleaner cuts are supposed to heal faster, so hopefully I'll be able to use my left hand normally next week. Right now, I'm keeping my left palm flat to help solidify the drying blood dike. Seeing blood on my bed tomorrow morning from curling my palm and breaking the cut open during sleep would not be fun.

ちょっと痛いよ、傷。（つд｀）

Starting today, people all over the world who didn't jump at the Collector's Edition of Final Fantasy XIV will be able to embark on the new adventure with the Standard Edition.

I would have been one of those people if my video card was high-end enough. orz

The system requirement and specs for Final Fantasy XIV wasn't available when I got Cygnus, so I stupidly believed the sales guy that the video card would be able to run it. Such a bitter after taste when I realized it just prior to the game's release...

So I am going to get a new video card along with PS3 this Christmas!

I thought about getting a new monitor as well to replace my current 17" non-wide, VGA-only screen so I can get the best out of the new card (whichever card it'd be), but I think I will be able to pull it off by connecting Cygnus to my 32" panel via HDMI instead. I might need to get a new set of keyboard and mouse, which I have been planning to anyway, but it'll still be cheaper than a new 22"+ monitor.

Of course, I'll still need to get a new monitor when my 17" screen dies, but now I can wait until the time comes. The later the better.

Here's hoping to start gaming in 2011! :x

Anime Expo 2010 @ LA
Day 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anime Expo 2010 @ LA

I've been wanting to write about my 1st experience at AX 2010 but kept procrastinating as usual. Since the next big anime season is close at hand, I figured now is a good time to upload the photos to conserve bandwidth for the next season. XD

All the guests photos and other miscellaneous pictures can be found here. Those are open for view because the guests are public figures (and the cosplayers album is locked for privacy).

Most of the photos are quite grainy because I had to do no-flash, and my cheapo camera ($50!) absolute sucks when there's insufficient lighting. I'm definitely getting a new camera if I'm going to AX again.

And here's the real test to see my memory retainment rate after almost three months.

Day 0

We hitched a ride after zoo from Neko-tan's friend who's also going to pick up the badge. We had completely lost faith in LA's bus system after the bus trip to the zoo.

We spotted an itasha in the underground parking featuring Mikoto from Toaru Kagaku no Railgun (funny how I recognized her without ever watching the show or the series it spin-offed from). My 1st itasha spotting! :D

The line for the badge was expectedly long, from the back entrance to the back alley, winding around a few times. Quite a few cosplayers, but everyone's in the line up so I didn't even try taking photos. I had my book to occupy me so it wasn't too bad, but the scorching sun overhead was a different story. Everyone had much respect for a cosplayer dressed in a full plush suit (head to toe enclosed) as Akamaru from Naruto. There's an ice bar vendor that walked up and down the line selling the icy treats at 2/$10 or something outrageous like that.

It only took us less than 3 hours to get our badge and program guide, then another 20 minutes for the main event tickets. Apparently it's not as bad as once before where they lined up for 5 hours for the badge (back then, they didn't charge for the main events, but you had to line up for hours during the Expo to get the tickets). Last year, on the other hand, was a breeze as it was a far smaller crowd due to the lack of good guests.

I had sausage in pineapple sauce (didn't feel adventurous enough to try the sausage in chocolate sauce) and black sugar caramel shaved ice for dinner. XD

Seeing how the big season of fall anime series is almost upon us, I sought out the introduction video on Niconico for a rough estimate on how much bandwidth I might have to put in. Of course, it would help if there's a way for me to know how much bandwidth FF XIV will take up when I make the plunge. I'm probably fine until the winter shows, though, as I'll need to shop for a video card first...

The following is a summary of the series listed in the video and my impression based on the PV. I'm sure I'll most likely end up grabbing more than what I mark here, though. Beware of super long list ahead!

とある魔術の禁書目録II
- Not watching. Didn't watch the 1st season, either. The seiyuu and design for the main male & female don't appeal to me. Will be watching the spin-off series, though.

咎狗の血
- I'll probably watch the 1st episode to see if it's gonna be obvious BL, then drop it if it is. No idea what the original story is like. PVはカッコイのに、残念だ...

百花繚乱　サムライガールズ
- Not watching. Read the 1st volume of the novel and didn't get the urge for more, and the seiyuu cast isn't heavy enough for me to even trial watch.

神のみぞ知るセカイ
- Probably trial watch. No idea what the original work is like, but the PV doesn't seem that bad (*ry1). Seiyuu cast is all right.

俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない
- Probably trial watch. No idea what the original work is like, but the PV (ry1. If I end up watching it, it'll likely because of Nakamura Yuuichi. XD

ヨスガノソラ
- Probably not watching. しかし、まさかのねこかん！これは期待します！

パンティ＆ストッキング with ガータベルト
- Not watching. グレンラガンの次はこれかよ？！何を考えているんだ、GAINAX！ Orz

スーパーロボット大戦OG ジ・インスペクター
- Watching. Haven't the time to watch the previous SRW OG series, but will be watching it for sure.

それでも町は廻っている
- Probably watching. No idea what the original work is like, but the PV looks interesting (*ry2). The seiyuu cast is somewhat good.

そらのおとしものf
- Watching. Already watched the 1st season and found it within standard (what low standards I have...)

Ironman
- Probably not watching, even though it's done by Mad House and has two seiyuu that I like. Never watched the movies, but I just can't bring myself to like the design of the cyborgs/robots(?).

おとめ妖怪ざくろ
- Watching. No idea what the original work is like, but the PV (ry2. The art looks nice and the seiyuu cast is good.

えむえむっ！
- Not watching. Fukuyama Jun sounds really good in the PV and the female seiyuu cast is not bad, but the story... Orz

STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト
- Watching. The original story by BONES looks pretty interesting, and the seiyuu cast is really really good. 銀河美少年ってｗｗｗ

テガミバチ　REVERSE
- Watching. Haven't watched the 1st season yet, but will be watching for sure.

もっと To LOVEる　-とらぶる-
- Not watching. Never touched the series and not really planning to.

探偵オペラ　ミルキィホームズ
- Not watching. I don't do shows starring female kid characters not voiced by seiyuu I like.

荒川アンダーザブリッジ　＊２
- Watching. 秋アニメの本命だ！ I should go finish the 1st season before this air. :D

ポケットモンスター　ベストウイッシュ
- I actually would want to watch this if I have time because of the seiyuu cast. If I do, it probably will be like Naruto or One Piece to me, where I watch a few episodes here and there when I remember.

バトルスピリッツ　ブレイヴ
- Not watching. Another one of Sunrise's shows based on a trading card game. Of course I'm not watching it. But what's with the slightly heavy seiyuu cast... orz

薄桜鬼　碧血録
- Watching. This would have been my honmei for the fall season if it weren't for 荒川アンダーザブリッジ　＊２, and the fact that the anime takes on the Hijikata route, which is my least favourite out of the playable characters (not that I've played the game...) But it's still got Kuwashima Houko! XD

侵略！イカ娘
- Might be watching. No idea what the original story is like, but (ry1). The seiyuu cast is all right.

バクマン
- Watching. No idea what the original story is like, but (ry2). The seiyuu cast is all right.

海月姫　～くらげひめ～
- Might be watching. No idea what the original story is like, but (ry1). The seiyuu cast is somewhat good.

FORTUNE ARTERIAL　赤い約束
- Probably not watching. OnoD definitely appeals to me, but the female seiyuu cast doesn't. But that's okay, 'cause I can still hear OnoD in...

心霊探偵八雲
- Watching. Kazuma x Ayano OnoD! XD Never read the original novel but read one of the manga versions. Too bad it ended with just 2 volumes. Maybe I should find time to read the novels, too. I'm quite happy that Haruka's seiyuu isn't the same as the drama CD.

夢色パティシエール
- Not watching. Didn't watch the 1st season and likely won't. I'll probably like the food, but most likely not the kids.

ヘタリア４期
- Not watching. Never watched/read the series. I might in the future, but it's pretty low priority despite the heavy seiyuu cast due to the lack of story.

Summary (total 28)
- Watching for sure: 9
- Not watching for sure: 9
- Undecided: 10

I think there's a few other shows for the fall season not included in the video. Regardless, it seems like it'll be another heavy season. The 2nd chapter of Gundam UC also comes out during the season. FF XIV will definitely need to wait until after fall...

Project NewType #6: バカとテストと召喚獣 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
13 episodes
SILVER LINK.

[Other media]
- original novel (ongoing, never read)
- spin-off manga (ongoing, never read)
- drama CD (pre-anime with different seiyuu cast, never heard)

[Highlights]
- PV
- comical gags

If I had known what the story is about before hand, I probably wouldn't had bothered watching it. What really got me was the PV for the anime, narrated by Ootsuka Akio and scripted to be RPG-like. Well, a number of people on Niconico (where I saw the PV) warned that it was nothing like the actual thing, but it already piqued my interest.

I quickly realized, after watching, that the anime itself is no where near the atmosphere depicted in the PV. Luckily, the "baka" in the title isn't just for show, and there's a good amount of comical gags to keep me entertained. The anime parodies are always fun to watch as well.

[Notable seiyuu]
- Shimono Hiro, Mizuhashi Kaori, Suzuki Tatsuhisa, Katou Emiri, Miyata Kouki, Terashima Takuma, Okamoto Nobuhiko, Ootsuka Akio, Tsuda Kenjirou, Kakazu Yumi, Inoue Kikuko

I find myself rather foreign to most of the new female seiyuu with their moe voice, so the male seiyuu (Suzuki Tatsuhisa in particular) were the main driving force for me. What took me by surprise here is Katou Emiri, for whom my impression was perpetually stuck as Hiiragi Kagami from Lucky Star. It's my first time hearing her play a male, and she did it beautifully (in a literal sense, to be explained in the next section).

[Favourite character]
- Sakamoto Yuuji, Kinoshita Hideyoshi

I had my eyes on Yuuji from the very beginning because of his seiyuu, but I immediately thought he's bigger than what he appeared to be, which he proved throughout the anime.

I don't often pick a female character for series such as this unless she's voiced by a seiyuu I like, and I don't actually have much love for Katou Emiri 'cause I'm not particularly fond of Kagami's tsundere character. But I don't believe anyone can say no to Hideyoshi, since Hideyoshi is Hideyoshi, of the Hideyoshi gender. XD

[Couple supported]
- Sakamoto Yuuji x Kirishima Shouko

I've been rooting for this couple since before Shouko asked to be Yuuji's girlfriend. If only Shouko would be less S towards Yuuji. I might actually want to read the novel if there's a love-love chapter about the two without Yuuji getting physically abused...

[Buying guide]
- not interested

I started on the anime with absolutely no previous knowledge. After watching the first season (2nd season to air in 2011), I had no desire to read the original novel or the spin-off manga. In this sense, the anime failed in the promotional department. Though, I'll likely watch the 2nd season next year just to complete the anime series, but not enough to spur my buying urge.

ドアホだ、わたし。 orz

I foolishly deleted a whole bunch of folders in Sebastian (the awesome 2TB external HDD) thinking those files were previously backed up on discs... but they're not!! I recorded those folders into the master list but failed to specified their location (thought about it but didn't follow through...)

Some folders I still have on Cygnus or Stargazer that I can just copy over for real back up, but others are already partially deleted and the files scrambled. I also need to go through the master list and remove the folder names, then record the salvaged ones into a new list.

Not sure how much longer this'll take, but there goes my wonderful Saturday afternoon... orz

I want to clean up Cygnus and run the benchmark tool for FF XIV, damn it! I need to clear up some serious space in preparation for the actual game, too. 15GB out of my current <20GB space would not work very well...

I'm sure a lot of people have already seen Popo-chan transforming on YouTube. So it was no surprise that it came to mind when I saw the owl thief in the first episode of Sora no Woto, and I just had to laugh when the same owl transformed into both forms in the second episode. The point here, of course, is to show the hierarchy of the platoon in the owl's POV...

However!

According to ja.wikipedia, this particular breed of owl, White-faced Scops owl/アフリカオオコノハズク/Ptilopsis leucotis, doesn't alter its body shape depending on the strength of the opponent, as narrated in the video clip. Instead, it mimics a tree branch when it is not yet spotted by the enemy at a distance and still has a chance to run away. When it's discovered by the enemy and too late to escape, it flares its feathers and wings to try to make the enemy back off.

In addition, the act of elongating one's body to mimic a tree branch isn't limited to White-faced Scops owls and is done by other owl breeds as well.

So, kids, don't take everything as the truth on TV, especially if it's meant to be entertaining.

On a side note, what Kanata initially saw underwater, the one wing and partial ribcage, reminded me of Macross Zero. Then the almost-full thing was shown and ruined the moment for me because it rather resembles the famous Archaeopteryx fossil.

On a second note, when I saw the owl emblem and the name 1121 platoon, it reminded me of the 5121 platoon from GunParade March, whose emblem is a black cat. Speaking of GPM, it's the first anime series I bought and the R3 version purchase was spurred by the fact that Haniwa-dono translated it. I used to want a PS for the longest time so I could play the original game, too (I kinda gave up the idea since the game is too hard to find). Seeing people's fan arts made me realize the anime didn't even scratch the surface of the complexity and depth of the game. I think I would want the novels as supplementary material...

I'm out of my obsession of 番凩（つがゐこがらし） (ie. singing it no more than three times a day now) and somewhat moving into another one, Sakamoto Maaya.

Just finished watching Maaya's 15th Anniversary Memorial Live @ Budoukan yesterday, and I'm seriously considering to just pay shipping and order it from Amazon.co.jp (along with a couple other BD movies). I just need to find a shipping address and maybe wait for the 2nd Gundam UC chapter release...

Maaya is the first seiyuu that I also acknowledge to be a great singer. Not only is she awesome in voice acting, she has a wonderful and crystalline singing voice. She's my 3rd favourite female seiyuu, and I've been singing along her songs the most out of all the seiyuu I listen to.

(While that may not seem like much, let me give you a bit a statistics. According to my last.fm chart over a span of almost five years, out of the top ten vocal artists I listen to, four are seiyuu, two are Vocaloids, one is a singer on Niconico, and one used to be doujin. If you extend the list to the top 20 vocal artists, eight are seiyuu. If you really want to push to top 30, 11 are seiyuu.)

(On a side note, there's only one seiyuu in my top ten artists, where seven are composers for anime or games.)

Her concert costumes were specially made for the occasion and more flamboyant than her usual style, but even the idol-like "gift" costume and lace-seamed dress couldn't link your typical idol image to her. The swinging of her hips and the tilting of her head, gestures often used by idols to fake cuteness, only made Maaya all the more innocent.

Kanno Yoko is always a pleasant surprise whenever she appears as a special guest, but it's especially meaningful here when she was the one that discovered and helped shaped Maaya 15 years ago. Too bad "Triangular" wasn't part of the program, so everyone was seriously teased when she sang the one line with Kanno Yoko on piano.

Maaya's live concert happened on her 30th birthday, and she shared a lot about her journey over the years. There was no drama, just Maaya as is. I almost cried during "everywhere" after hearing her account of travelling in Europe for five weeks all by herself, and tears escaped when Maaya bowed one last time at the end of the concert. I've watched a number of live performances, but this was the first to had moved me to tears. Real music isn't just about the sound produced from vibrations in the air, but the stories and emotions behind each note and word.

真綾さんのように、私も毎日を楽しんで過ごしてるよ～

劇場版BLEACH 地獄篇

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

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

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

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

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

Barely one week after the release of Lily on August 25th, Yamaha quietly heralded the advent of VY1 Mizki on September 1st.

I'm not even caught up with all the popular Vocaloid songs since I kinda ceased visiting Niconico on a regular basis in late 2008, so it'll be a long time (at least 2011) before I get more familiar with the new Vocaloids. But here's my first impressions on the two new additions, based on the packaging and the demo songs.

Lily has a rather eye-catching appearance, but only at the first glance. The yellow and black colouring coincides with the Kagamine twins too much to make an impact, and the design of her clothes and accessories seems generic. In short, the art for Lily is a bit too typical to really stand out, especially considering all the moe characters out there.

The voice of Lily is supplied by yuri, the female singer of m.o.v.e. I don't usually listen to J-pop and have never seen the Initial D anime, but I have heard m.o.v.e's Romancing Train from Final Fantasy: Unlimited (where else?) and a couple songs performed at Animelo, so I have a good grasp of what yuri is capable of.

Unfortunately, yuri's powerful vocal doesn't translate well to Lily, as demonstrated in the sample tune Gamble Rumble which I had heard the Animelo live version. That, and Lily's voice is too similar with that of Luka's and Len's. As a result, I think it'd be difficult for Lily to find her own music style. To quote the comment I sent to Neko-tan, "Lily的聲音好微妙啊... 除了外觀以外紅不太起來的感覺" (It's really hard to describe Lily's voice... Feels like only the look might sell.)

On the other hand, VY1 Mizki has no character persona and Yamaha purposely hid the identity of the person that lent her voice to VY1 Mizki. The absence of any kind of background setting for VY1 Mizki is meant for the users to illustrate their own images to fit the music they create. This is a rather bold move for a product that comes after an established line of character series, especially when character sells better than anything in the land of the rising sun.

The deluxe package is peach coloured with a traditional folding fan, while the standard package is peach coloured with a traditional ornate hairpin. Both items are adorned with flowering dogwood (ハナミズキ, hence the code name Mizki). It's no wonder a good number of the designs out there are girls in pink/peach coloured kimono. I wouldn't be surprised if a few designs stick around and become the unofficial official characters like the plethora of current Vocaloid subspecies.

It's obvious that Yamaha wants people to focus on the voice of VY1 Mizki, and rightly so. VY1 Mizki sounds a lot more natural than the other Vocaloids, though it may seem to resemble Luka and possibly Miku Append at times. It's hard to say how far VY1 Mizki will go, but it definitely has a lot of potential. I can see it getting mixed into the "family" like Gakupo once the character identity crisis gets resolved somewhat, and I look forward to seeing more Vocaloid drama involving VY1 Mizki as well.

Looks like Yamaha will be releasing another Vocaloid in the VY series within the year, this time hopefully a long awaited male voice. Gakupo is good, but it just can't match KAITO in terms of vocal range and depth. Though, I'm sure KAITO will always be everybody's favourite Bakaito even if the next VY rivals KAITO's capacity. XD

I have a new obsession. One song, to be exact. 番凩（つがゐこがらし）


I'm posting my favourite PV for the song, done by 佐々木ササさん.

I haven't listened to a lot of MEIKO so far, but 仕事してP's MEIKO is probably one of the best out there. MEIKO really suits the traditional Japanese style of this song, and KAITO's harmony is great as usual. まさに神調教。

MEIKO has some high pitch parts so the female singer would need to have a steady yet strong enough pitch to pull a good one. The real challenge, however, is KAITO. While there's lower pitched parts, there's quite a bit of higher pitched harmony, so the male singer would need to have a wide vocal range and an excellent command of falsetto to illustrate the full spectrum of KAITO.

There isn't as many live renditions for this song compared to other popular Vocaloid songs, but I found two really good ones, by しのぶ & 石敢當 and 憂辛(うさトゥライ). Other decent ones include びびあん & clear, 海苔 & シャオ, and even another Vocaloid cover by Luka and Gakupo.


While MEIKO seems to sing the main melody for most of the duet part, KAITO's presence is equally impressive. But due to the difficulty of KAITO's part in the song, it's hard for me to just pick any live version over the original even though it's human vs. machine, as some of the female singers tend to overshadow the male singers and thus tipping the balance of the duet.

Equipped with the latest Vocaloid engines, Luka and Gakupo obviously have the advantage of having more natural sounding voices, but the pitch of their voices don't seem as flexible as the 1st generation to me. As a result, I still prefer the original MEIKO & KAITO version for the song.

I just listened to the version included in the EXIT TUNE CD, and I was disappointed to find the instrument change. The absence of the prominent samisen beats drastically altered the feel of the song and makes it less attractive to me.

I've been singing along since Labour Day, and it doesn't seem like this new obsession is gonna go away anytime soon. In the mean time, I think I should take the chance to explore other singers on Niconico; I'm only familiar with うさ out of the list of people that's performed this song.

Lastly, let me leave you with a few lines by KAITO that I really liked from the song.

信ずる道を　 ただひたすらに
歩むお前の　支えとならん
紅の剣を　携えて
この身　木の葉と　吹かれて行こう

Due to the rate of my recent anime consumption, it's not uncommon to hear the same seiyuu in consecutive series. In most cases, the same seiyuu would play the respective characters so differently that one can never cease to be amazed by this great display of skills.

It's impossible to list all such examples, but I just want to quickly point out two seiyuu in particular here, Seki Tomokazu and Kawasumi Ayako.

What spurred me to jot this down was mainly the episodes of RAVE (2001) and Nodame Cantabile Finale (2010) that I watched today, both of which the pair starred in. The two were already accomplished in 2001, but the evolution was still obvious in Nodame Cantabile Finale, and it's made me like them even more.

I've always enjoyed and respected Kawasumi Ayako's acting, so it was no surprise for me. On the other hand, I was reminded once again why Seki Tomokazu has been my 2nd favourite male seiyuu. The 3rd seat candidates, Ono Daisuke and Miyano Mamoru, don't seem like such a threat anymore.

This, coupled with Seki-san's role as Manji in Mugen no Juunin and Kawasumi-san's role as Shizune in Senkou no Night Raid that I watched within the week, is another great exhibition of their capabilities. And these are only two of the myriad of seiyuu out there.

こんなに凄い声優さんたちがいるから、声優好きになるのは自然なことだ。XD

PS. I haven't finished reading the Nodame Cantabile manga nor seen the Finale real action movies yet. I'm sure the manga would be really awesome, but I don't think the real action version can compare to the anime version for the Finale Chapter. The anime version was already better for the Paris Chapter for me, so the trend(?) will probably continue as the focus of the Finale Chapter is again on the characters.

I just trial-watched the first little bit (up to the end of the OP) of the 1st Break Blade movie, and it did not betray my expectation ever since I saw the single-page ad for it in the Goods Press magazine a couple months ago.

The first thing that caught my attention from the little bit was the high quality of the visuals. The movements of the Golems were also nicely organic and mechanic at the same time, and the music was quite good.

And the OP "Fate" by KOKIA was heavenly. In fact, I'd say it's the best I've heard of KOKIA so far. The feel of the melody reminds me of her other songs from Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, but I guess some of the themes for both series are similar in a way, too (自分の信念と生き方を見つけ、そしてその道を貫いていく。 Though I could be wrong as I haven't read past the 1st volume of the original manga).

It's obvious that シギュン harbours feelings for ライガット, but even for a romanticist like me (いや、ロマンチストだからこそかな), I hope this aspect doesn't get explored too much. Let the focus be friendship vs. patriotic responsibilities!

In case anyone's wondering, I'm not going to refer to it as BROKEN BLADE, as per the official English title. ブレイク ブレイド is literally Break Blade. The author might had meant to name it on the motif of broken blade(s) and mis-used the verb for the adjective, but it's an established title nevertheless. Beside, Break Blade sounds cooler than Broken Blade. XD

Length-wise, it's almost the equivalent of a 12-episode series (6 movies x 50mins each). But it's probably a much bigger budget series than an average one-cours anime, so it makes sense to release it as theatrical features rather than disc only OVA, as it'd be more profitable and easier to build a reputation.

If only Gundam UC goes the same route... You know the Gundam MS igLoo OVA series? Haven't been available for sometime now on North American online retail sites. Which means I'll need to try to find it 2nd-hand when/if I go to Japan.

Speaking of which, the BD for the 2nd Break Blade movie was out a few days ago, and the 3rd movie will be in theatre on Sept 25th and the 4th movie on Oct 30th. Seeing that it's Production I.G. and XEBEC, I hope somebody would pay attention to this series and license and release it soon!

I want the Blu-ray~~~ *rolls on the ground*

Although... If the North American release doesn't include the booklet, I'm importing it from Japan, along with Gundam UC.

Just finished watching Black Rock Shooter on Niconico...

なるほど、よく解らん。そして無限ループってこわくね？（タグより）

I never did any research on BRS and didn't even bother to read the lyrics for the song, so I had no previous knowledge for it except for a trailer. The battle scenes were not bad at all as shown in the trailer, but the real life scenes were definitely not what I had expected. It made the reason behind the battles that much more shallow and cheap for me, and I was tempted to think the "nice boat..." tag was actually directed at the audience for having invested the time in watching the pseudo-melodrama. orz

This is not to say there's no merits for the show. Hanazawa Kana and Sawashiro Miyuki were awesome, of course, and the BGM music by ryo was good. And I learned that 小鳥遊 is pronounced as 鷹無し because if the birds are playing about, that means there's no eagle around. So clever! :D

This seems like just a prologue to the BRS series, as there's still many puzzles to be solved, but I'm not really hooked by the story so far. And why isn't the ending song or maybe the opening or insert song "Black Rock Shooter"!!?? I heard Gome's song during the BRS Nico Live Broadcast so I knew it's the ED, but I was still hoping that they'd actually have "BRS" in the anime. :(

Another thing I got out of the live broadcast was the rumour of possibly a RPG game for BRS. Looks like it'll be focused on BRS this time, instead of having real life girls fusing with the otherworldly persona as in the OVA. I hope.

On a side note, I've been watching Sengoku Basara 2 following Niconico's schedule for the past three weeks. When I tried to load the episode 4 earlier, the inevitable finally happened! It rejected my non-Japanese IP and refused to even show me the page! I was just considering joining the premium membership starting in September, too!

Guess I'm back to watching the series by myself... :Q

There was a ten-day gap between my last two posts, and my gremz tree had a withered look and was bent down when I loaded the page yesterday. A quick trip to my gremz page showed the tree as brown.

After the post yesterday, the tree has returned its luster somewhat and stands strong today. It even looks a bit taller than when I last saw it! I guess persistency is key to keeping the tree healthy, while maybe volume makes it grow?

Judging from the other gremz tree pictures for other users, mine still has a long way to go... I can't wait to grow the tree fully and get my 2nd sapling!

Soramimi Project #26: Yamatera Kouichi 山寺宏一

First heard: Kaji Ryouji (Evangelion)

First noticed: Kaji Ryouji (Evangelion)

Memorable characters: Kaji Ryouji (Evangelion), Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop), Romaiya senpai (Honey & Clover), Cain Highwind (Final Fantasy IV DS)

Image character: Kaji Ryouji (Evangelion)

Discernment rate: average

Number of works seen: 17

Anyone who's watched anime for some time would know this name even if one hasn't heard him in Evangelion or Cowboy Bebop (rather over-rated in North America IMO but nevertheless monumental series). More seasoned anime fans would remember him as Hibiki Ryouga, P-chan and the Cursed Spring guide from Ranma 1/2. Unfortunately, I've only seen a short youtube clip on Yamatera-san's prowess as the three characters in one scene but have not the opportunity to actually watch the series, which I'd very much love to.

Out of the 17 works I've heard Yamatera-san, four are Evangelion, including the 2nd movie of the Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE. Of course, Kaji speaking English was a highlight for us before we realized the personality transformation for the main characters and a depart from the typical drama(!?) that Evangelion has been famous for. Yeah, can't wait to see the last two movies to see where it'll lead to. XD

While going through the list of works on ja.wikipedia, I noticed that he played Gyunei Guss from Char's Counterattack! However, CCA was the very first work I ever saw for UC Gundam, so I was focusing on getting the background and the story and didn't notice him. That, and due to the age of the movie (1988), I didn't expect to hear anyone I'd know beside Seiya, Shiryuu and, of course, Char. XD

I haven't heard that much of Yamatera-san, but he's definitely a great seiyuu and a veteran in the field, and I'd want to hear more of him for sure. If only I have access to the older anime series...!

Four-leaf clover is a widely recognized symbol for luck in the West and happiness in the East. The motif is often used in ACG as well and typically claimed that four-leaf clovers grow in places where high number of people walk by and step on (actually not true, but let's overlook that little fact for now).

The logic here is that one of the three leaflets gets damaged and splits, and if the injured leaflet recovers, the split turns it into two leaflets to make the clover four leaves. On this ground, I can see why it's associated with happiness.

As humans, we all get trampled by difficulties and hardship in life, and it hurts, sometimes to a point where the concept of being alive and well is simply unfathomable. But if we tough it out and overcome the ordeal, the split wound becomes an honourable badge, proof of our perseverance and growth. And then, we transform into a four-leaf clover that bring about happiness for ourselves and those around us.

Happiness isn't something that's just handed to you, and you can't really appreciate true happiness unless you go through the experience. Only when you've fought the battle, and it doesn't need to be a winning battle, will you be able to see yourself as a four-leaf clover. Otherwise, you'll just see yourself as a broken leaf, mutilated and waiting to wither.

By not having to fight a winning battle, allow me to illustrate with one of my favourite examples. I flunked all the required pre-vet courses in the first term of my 2nd year in university. However, I never see that as a failure but rather a triumphant moment. That was when I looked at myself and figured out what I really liked and how much effort I was willing to put out. I learned the extent of my will (which is different from the extent of ability and strength), and I didn't have to go on wondering later in life if I'd be better off being a vet.

Happiness doesn't necessarily mean everything goes well according to plan, but it will leave you with no regret because it's out of your own will. It's to be able to make peace with the consequences of your choice.

Of course, knowing God makes it a lot easier for me to achieve that state of mind, but it's a perfectly legit cheat! XD

今日の君も幸せかい？
一緒に四つ葉のクローバーとなり、周りの人たちに幸せをあげましょう～

I took down the gremz tree last year and have completely forgotten about it since...

Until I found out today that my tree actually grew, as can be seen on the right! （　ﾟ ∀ ﾟ ）ﾉ

I think the culprit might had been the lack of title for my posts, as it's listed as a possible reason for the tree not growing in the FAQ (the question wasn't in there when I gave up on the tree). Despite it still currently being listed in there, the issue might have been resolved since I still don't have titles for my posts, yet my tree's grown. I did notice, however, that the bubble over my tree in the "just posted" section on gremz used to be completely blank except for the name of the blog, now it shows "Empty" for the title and a snippet for the post.

Now that my gremz tree is back in action, I'm surely more motivated to write. Maybe I'll try a few gremz keywords to get the specials for my tree. Or maybe I'll even get serious with Saluki's Adventure Log and get another gremz tree there...?! XD

Eat lots and photosynthesize lots, so you can grow up to be a big tree for planting, my little gremz tree! It's probably too late for this year, but hopefully it'll grow enough to contribute one tree when they do the planting next year! :D

Soramimi Project #25: Ishii Makoto 石井真

First heard: Makabe Kazuki (Soukyuu no Fafner)

First noticed: Makabe Kazuki (Soukyuu no Fafner)

Memorable characters: Makabe Kazuki (Soukyuu no Fafner), Nakagami Shinichirou (true tears), Kobayakawa Shinji/Prince Chaos Crimson (Princess Nightmare)

Image character: Makabe Kazuki (Soukyuu no Fafner)

Discernment rate: above average

Number of works seen: 10

It's obvious that I haven't heard a lot of him, but his voice is rather easy to recognize. Having heard him as the lead for some shows also help, especially when those are memorable works.

When I first watched Soukyuu no Fafner, the only seiyuu I knew were Saiga Mitsuki and Toyoguchi Megumi. Ishii's acting was still crude at that time, but it fit the character and experience of Kazuki, who is green in both human relationship and the way of the world. As the war against Festum progressed, so did Ishii's acting.

By the time I heard him again as the lead in true tears, he's already quite decent (I'm a supporter of Noe, btw). He even got me to play Shinji's route in Princess Nightmare even when I found Shinji to be somewhat annoying.

Ishii doesn't seem to be very active, but I do have a couple series on hand in which he played. I look forward to see how he's evolved!

As mentioned before, I got my current computer last year and tentatively named it Sirius. It was meant to be a temporary name until I upgrade to Windows 7 and give it an official name.

Almost two weeks ago, I finally dug out my Windows 7 upgrade disc and got rid of Vista. A new start calls for a new name, and after days of neglect and procrastination, the C drive no longer displays "Local Disk".

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cygnus!

And here's how the name came about:
- Windows 7 ＝＞ 七
- I want something to do with stars (and thus the previous name Sirius)
- 七 + stars = 北斗七星　(Big Dipper) ＝＞　北極星 (Polaris)
- "宿命にはりつけられた北極星が燃えてる" from the song Northern Cross (actually listening to a guy singing the song on Niconico right this moment)
- Northern Cross = Cygnus

Straight forward, no? XD

omake:
- Cygnus ＝＞　白鳥座の氷河 = Hyouga
But my favourite Bronze Saint is Shiryuu, and I want to stay with the star motif, so the idea was scratched on the spot...

Soramimi Project #24: Ikeda Shuuichi 池田秀一

First heard: Natsume Shin (Tenjo Tenge)

First noticed: see notes below

Memorable characters: Char Aznable (Gundam, Z Gundam, ZZ Gundam, CCA), Kou Shouka (Saiunkoku Monogatari), Gilbert Dullindal (Gundam SEED DESTINY), Margarette (Ueki no Housoku)

Image character: Char Aznable (Gundam, Z Gundam, ZZ Gundam, CCA)

Discernment rate: high; visual

Number of works seen: 21

I'm sure the first thing that comes to mind to any Gundam fan when they see the name of Ikeda Shuuichi is: Char!! Same here. XD

Out of the 21 works I've heard him, 12 are Gundam, of which he played Char in all but two. Even for the two where he's not Char, he's close friend with a Char-like character and died in a sunken space fort with the woman played by the ex-wife of Amuro's seiyuu.

Despite his strong presence in the Gundam universe, I actually first heard him in Tenjo Tenge, which is a martial fighting-themed show where the most advanced technology is the cell phone. His voice and acting as Natsume Shin left an impression on me, but I didn't know anything about UC Gundam except for the title of the series and who the main characters were. I did not know I was in the presence of the Red Comet since I had yet to know who voiced Char or what he sounded like.

Then came news of a SEED sequel, which I started following on NewType (also explains the various SEED DESTINY goods I have) before it aired. Then, I learned that the seiyuu for the chairman was no other than the seiyuu for Char...! And the rest is pretty self-explanatory. XD

To be honest, his voice hasn't changed that much since his Char days, so it's almost the same pitch for most of the characters I've heard him as. But he's quite good at acting, so I can easily forget that it's Char's voice when I listen to his other characters.

There's one character that I liked but didn't list as a memorable character, and that's Yappi, an anime original character that appeared for one episode, from World Destruction. Frankly, I almost forgot about this character until I was looking up his list of works on ja.wikipedia. But this furry creature is definitely worth a mention, mainly due to his interaction with his rival/best buddy Toppi played by Amuro's seiyuu. I'm sure all Gundam fans viewed it as a teddy bear version of Char vs. Amuro and awwwed while watching. I did. XD

Seeing how he's not so young anymore, he's probably not gonna be too active. But I would definitely love to hear more of his works, old or new.

それでは、勝利の栄光を君に！

Soramimi Project #23: Kakazu Yumi かかずゆみ

First heard: Shoubu (Inuyasha)

First noticed: Okuni (Samurai Deeper Kyo)

Memorable characters: Okuni (Samurai Deeper Kyo), Silvia de Alisia (Sousei no Aquarion), Ririn (Bleach), Lyra/Dante (Fullmetal Alchemist), Sala Tyrrell (Gundam X)

Image character: Okuni (Samurai Deeper Kyo)

Discernment rate: above average; visual

Number of works seen: 18

I haven't heard many of her works, but her voice is so recognizable that I almost got it down by the 2nd time I heard her in Samurai Deeper Kyo. Interestingly, because of the personality of Okuni, her voice and acting in SDK is very different from her other works that I've heard. But I still picked Okuni as her image character because that's how I related to her voice afterward, even though the pitch vastly differed. In actuality, because I've seen her on TV show (NHK anime show), I usually connect her voice to her face whenever I hear her.

Apparently, she made her debut as Sala in Gundam X in 1996, which is actually the latest work I heard her in. I don't like her role as Ririn in Bleach too much, but that's mainly because it's an anime-only character created for a bad filler arc. The concept for the Bounts isn't so bad, but the execution and story flow is, especially regarding the involvement of Shinigami and Rukia.

I like Silvia in Aquarion, but the series doesn't quite allow for character development in depth, and the relationship between Silvia and Apollo is only touched on slightly. Not enough romance at all, considering that the series supposedly revolves around the reincarnation and reunion of the two after 12,000 years.

She seems to be doing less anime since child birth, but there's still a lot of chances to hear her if I watch the older series. Of course, when I'd get to do that depends on how much time I have, and it usually isn't much.....

---

I was planning to do a ranking every half year, but I missed the mid-year mark since I was at the Anime Expo. Didn't expect myself to be punctual in this anyway, so here it is, the top 10 list of seiyuu I've heard the most out of the Soramimi seiyuu.

#1 朴璐美: 53
#2 安元洋貴: 34
#3 矢島晶子: 33
#4 山口勝平: 32
#5 中井和哉: 30
#6 長沢美樹: 29
#7 秋元羊介: 25
#8 中多和宏: 24
#9 甲斐田裕子: 22
#10 浅川悠: 20/家中宏: 20

I'm planning to do more Soramimi until I hit another seiyuu on my top list according to the survey I did the other day. That might give Park Romi a bit more competition here. XD

女性声優140人ソート
男性声優160人ソート
I saw the above links and couldn't resist taking the survey.

No sure when the surveys were compiled, but they seem to lack some of the newer seiyuu. The female seiyuu list is missing a lot of seiyuu, especially considering that there's more female seiyuu than male seiyuu out there...

Here's the result for the top 14 female seiyuu:
1 桑島法子
2 朴王路美
3 坂本真綾
4 釘宮理恵
4 田中理恵
4 豊口めぐみ
4 久川綾
4 雪野五月
9 伊藤静
9 井上喜久子
9 堀江由衣
9 三石琴乃
9 皆川純子
9 ゆかな

No surprise on the top two there as they've always been the 1st and 2nd on my list. Kind of figured Sakamoto Maaya would be the 3rd, too. The list from the 4th place down doesn't quite fit what I would imagine it, however. I'd probably replace a third of the people with others placed lower than 15th.

Top 13 male seiyuu result:
1 石田彰
2 小野大輔
2 宮野真守
4 置鮎龍太郎
4 神谷浩史
4 小西克幸
4 子安武人
4 関智一
4 中井和哉
4 中村悠一
4 福山潤
4 保志総一朗
4 若本規夫

Ishida Akira at the top is expected. Seki Tomokazu, whom I had stated as my 2nd favourite male seiyuu back in 2008, is 4th place. This actually fits what I've been feeling lately, that his 2nd place standing is being threatened by a few other seiyuu. Those other seiyuu are Ono Daisuke and Miyano Mamoru, which are placed 2nd here. I think this list is quite accurate if I were to compile a list myself.


That was an interesting hour spent doing the surveys and writing up the post. XD

Mukashibanashi chapter1 昔話第１章

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. I really am starting the Mukashibanashi project. I know I probably should write about my experience at the Anime Expo 2010, but I secretly made a resolution to write about this topic if I saw this at AX.

I kind of figured there's probably still people cosplaying Sailor Moon, but I wasn't sure if I'd actually see any. I did. And you might be able to guess what the topic is by now, at least partially.

セーラー服(Sailor uniform) Uniforms

(Before I start on the actual post, let me just remind you that Mukashibanashi is derived strictly from my own memory, and memories do fade or get dressed up with the effect of time. If possible, try not to take everything seriously.)

Students in Taiwan, at least in my time, have the privilege of not having to think about what to wear to school in the morning. Every school has its own design, and there's tales of girls aiming for particular schools when doing the high school entrance exam for their cute or pretty looking uniforms, according to my Mum.

The uniforms for my elementary school were pretty much the same for both boys and girls: plain white button-up shirts with black shorts for boys or dark blue pleated skirts for girls. Short sleeves in the summer and long sleeves in the winter. The uniform for the lower grades up to maybe Gr.3 (can't remember) have suspenders. Both boys and girls wear long pants in the winter. There's no school jacket so students just wear their own jackets.

The uniforms for my junior high school were a bit more interesting. The design for the boys uniform is basically the same as the elementary school uniform, except for the colour of the shirt. Instead of white, it's light lime green. I know, not the most appealing nor complimenting colour on a person. The dark blue jacket helps concealing the green somewhat in the winter.

The girl's uniform is sailor style in white except for the two dark blue bands on the collar and maybe the short tie (can't remember). It's still pleated skirts for the girls in the winter, only with thicker fabrics. Same jacket style as the boys (I think), and same white socks to just beneath the knees as the boys. There's a rule for the shoes but I can't remember what; I think it has to be white.

The delinquent girls in anime or manga are always depicted as wearing overly long pleated skirts, but it's actually the opposite in my junior high school. The usual length of the pleated skirt is around the knee area. A few 'delinquent' wannabes would wear them near mid-shin, but most of them would scroll up the waist or cut off the bottom to shorten the skirt to near mid-thigh. Mid-thigh is probably nothing in the distorted modern standard, but it was a sign of rebellion in my time.

I used to think that all school uniforms are similar to the ones I had seen, until a Taiwanese from my high school (in Canada) read the draft of a story I was writing and wanted to know why I picked the style for the lead male's school uniform (white shirt and black pants). So the myriad and sometimes senseless uniform designs I've seen in anime and drama aren't just limited to Japanese schools! They do exist in Taiwan as well!

On a side note, my junior high had hair restrictions. Guys had military cuts, and girls' couldn't be longer than 2~3cm under the ears. No perming or dyeing as well. It was a pain to maintain the hair. There's a girl in my class who had naturally lighter hair so it appeared dark brown, and she also got questioned by the teachers. Apparently, hair restriction isn't enforced in all public schools, either, as I recently found out!

For reference, both the elementary school and junior high I went to were public schools. I think there's one or two private junior highs in my county that didn't have hair restrictions; one of the reasons that some people from my elementary school took the entrance exams for them.

---

I've been meaning to post this earlier, but Blogger hasn't worked for me since I came back. I finally got fed up waiting for a fix and went searching the forum today and found a work around to get past the issue.

There won't be a template to follow for Mukashibanashi posts, since it's mostly just incoherent babbling as I tap into my frontal lobe (which reminds me of Full Frontal from Gundam Unicorn and his ridiculous hairdo XD). As such, beware of abrupt endings or incomprehensible analogies and references. You know how old people like to rant about anything? There you go. XD

Soramimi Project #22: Yamazaki Takumi 山崎たくみ

First heard: Juuroumaru/Kageroumaru (Inuyasha)

First noticed: George de Sand (G Gundam)

Memorable characters: George de Sand (G Gundam), Muu (Saint Seiya Hades Chapter Sanctuary), Roybea Loy (Gundam X), Jiras (Slayers TRY)

Image character: George de Sand (G Gundam)

Discernment rate: average

Number of works seen: 16

I haven't heard that much of him, but a couple of the characters, namely those listed under memorable characters, leave enough impression on me. Even though he's done quite a bit of work over the years, judging from the list on jp.wikipedia, I think I've covered many of his major roles.

His Gundam characters are rather flamboyant and seem like a ladies' man, but both are actually single-minded toward the girl of their heart. Muu carries a regal air befitting his status of a Gold Saint, helping the Bronze warriors in his own way before heading to the final battle against fellow Gold Saints. Frankly I don't quite remember his Jiras voice since Slayers TRY was one of my earliest series, but I do plan to re-watch the series sometimes now that I have the DVDs.

Yamazaki Takumi doesn't seem to be as active as before so there's not much chance hearing him unless one watches an older series. I'll probably hear more of him when I find the time to dig out some older shows.

Project NewType #5: カイバ Kaiba
12 episodes
MADHOUSE

[Other media]
N/A

[Highlights]
- seiyuu

Seiyuu was the only reason I picked up this anime; Kuwashima Houko and Park Romi, to be exact. The pace and the plot is very slow so most brave souls would probably drop it in an episode or two. Unless the poor souls like Kuwashima Houko as much as I do.

[Notable seiyuu]
- Kuwashima Houko, Park Romi, Nodo Mamiko, Fujimura Ayumi, Kaida Yuuko

Right before the series aired, the only thing I knew was that it featured Kuwashima Houko, Park Romi and Nodo Mamiko. There's very few characters that appeared on a regular basis for this series, hence the very small number of notable seiyuu, despite the fact that seiyuu was the sole driving force for me.

[Favourite character]
- Chronico/Warp

I wasn't going to put down anyone for this category, but Kuwashima was quite cute as Warp in Chronico's body. Because of the art style and the type of story, there's no good looking and few strong willed characters.

[Couple supported]
- N/A

There was a few Chronico and Vanilla moments, especially at the end of their "relationship", but it was completely one-sided, so that doesn't really count.

[Buying guide]
- not interested

Kaiba is not your usual anime at all. Not only is the art style unattractive (it actually reminded me of really old school cartoon characters before the beginning of modern animation as we know it), the story concept and world setting can be quite confusing. I had a hard time orienting myself halfway through the story because there was a couple months' gap before I resolved to finish the series just to get it over with. The concept of interchanging memory and body itself is somewhat interesting, but the execution made it appear too philosophical for my taste...

Soramimi Project #21: Yamaguchi Kappei 山口勝平

First heard: Inuyasha (Inuyasha)

First noticed: Inuyasha (Inuyasha)

Memorable characters: Inuyasha (Inuyasha), Rokuta (Juuni Kokuki), L (Death Note), Sai Saishi (G Gundam), Souya Hideyoshi (Ueki no Housoku), No.28 (World Destruction)

Image character: Inuyasha (Inuyasha)

Discernment rate: above average; visual

Number of works seen: 30

Ranma 1/2 and Detective Conan or One Piece probably come to mind when most people think of Yamaguchi Kappei. Unfortunately, I've never seen any of these. But I did meet him through another one of his major career works, Inuyasha. I will try to watch Ranma 1/2 and maybe Conan to hear what he sounds like before (this summer is probably a good time as I currently only have 4-6 anime planned and would have the time and bandwidth; One Piece is already planned for the near future because I want to hear Nakai-san's Zoro XD).

Yamaguchi Kappei has a unique nasal and somewhat scratchy voice, and he is really good at acting. Having heard him first in 2000 in Inuyasha and recently in Inuyasha Kanketsuhen, the effect of age and extensive wear on his vocal cord was noticeable, but he was still the Inuyasha we all loved, and more.

Most of the characters I've heard of him are the hot-blooded or genki type, but he's good with a cool type like L from Death Note as well, or a calculating type like Noin from Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. Regardless of the character type, though, most of them have an inner innocence despite the front they put up. I find this quite fitting, because Yamaguchi-san always carries an air of innocence himself. He's a very cute and family-loving man. :)

Never seen him in a play, but judging from his seiyuu performance and his character, I'm sure he's great on stage. Would definitely like to hear more of him in works to come, as well as his past works. これからも頑張ってください！

Soramimi Project #20: Kaida Yuuko 甲斐田裕子

First heard: librarian (Gundam ParadeMarch)

First noticed: Ikoma Yumi (Soukyuu no Fafner RIGHT OF LEFT)

Memorable characters: Ikoma Yumi (Soukyuu no Fafner RIGHT OF LEFT), Matsu (Sengoku BASARA), Kusakabe Mari (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0), Marida Cruz (Gundam Unicorn), Vivaldi (Clover no Kuni no Alice), Rosa Farrell (Final Fantasy IV DS)

Image character: Ikoma Yumi (Soukyuu no Fafner RIGHT OF LEFT)

Discernment rate: slightly below average

Number of works seen: 20

Due to the similarity in name, I used to mix up Kaida Yuuko and Kaida Yuki a lot before I heard Kaida Yuuko in RIGHT OF LEFT and Kaida Yuki in Shounen Onmyoji. However, even though I can tell the two apart now, I would notice K. Yuuko's voice while watching a show but only recognize it about half the time. She has the acting skill, but her voice has a rather neutral tone so it's not as easy for me to remember and squeeze into my limited-capacity memory. Even in RIGHT OF LEFT, her voice didn't leave that much of an impression on me, but the character was played so vividly that I extended the notice from the character to the seiyuu.

While I named Ikoma Yumi as my image character for her, the character that left the most impression on me is actually Vivaldi. The reason why Vivaldi wasn't picked was because the impression was more due to a combination of the character's setting and the nature of the medium (adventure game) rather than the voice. Vivaldi is not really a playable character, so I didn't bother to get her CGs or take her friendship route. As a result, her presence isn't as strong as Yumi's, who went through traumatic ordeals and fought to the very end in RIGHT OF LEFT (speaking of which, I really really really want the DVD or BD for it).

Because of her slightly deep and husky voice, a lot of her characters seem to have strong resolution and inner strength, as illustrated in my list of memorable characters. They're all likable characters, if only I can learn to recognize her voice better... I look forward to when that day comes!

Project NewType #4: 探偵学園Q Tantei Gakuen Q
45 episodes
PIERROT

[Other media]
- Original manga
- Japanese drama (never seen)
- consumed order: anime -> manga -> anime

I picked up the anime because it's rare to see Ogata Megumi playing the protagonist. Of course, Kuwashima Houko was another big factor. I lost my source about half way through the series and didn't resume watching it until a few years later. I went to the original manga when the anime became unavailable and ended up finishing the manga before I was able to finish watching the anime.

[Highlights]
- seiyuu

While I read mystery stuff, I'm not a huge mystery fan. It's nice if it's available, but I won't wither if I don't get my fix. As a result, I'm kind of meh for the series itself. The only highlight for me is the seiyuu as it's my reason for picking up the anime in the first place. Needless to say, the manga probably isn't something I'd read more than once.

[Notable seiyuu]
- Ogata Megumi, Kuwashima Houko, Touchika Kouichi, Kawakami Tomoko, Ishikawa Hideo, Tanaka Hideyuki, Seki Toshihiko, Hisakawa Aya, Narita Ken, Miki Shinichirou, Yukino Satsuki, Chiba Susumu, Tobita Nobuo, Noda Junko, Midorikawa Hikaru, Ishida Akira

I actually started on the anime in the earlier days of my anime watching career so I didn't know a lot of the seiyuu at that time. By the time I went back to the show, I was able to recognize most of the people I know.

[Favourite characters]
- Minami Megumi, Amakusa Ryu

Megumi, voiced by Kuwashima Houko, is a given. Ryuu, played by Touchika Kouichi, features a gentle and calm voice that I find soothing, especially out of the noisy cast for the Q class. Appearance wise, Ryu is set to be the bishonen on the team, so he has the advantage of voice and looks over his fellow classmates.

Katagiri Shino and Nanami Koutarou are two other possible candidates, but they don't have enough screen time to showcase their personalities. The main character Kyuu? Sorry, I need more than Ogata Megumi to go for a gaki.

[Couple supported]
- Amakusa Ryu x Minami Megumi

This is pretty self-explanatory if you've watched the series. I think the staff is leaning more toward Kyuu x Megumi, but Kyuu is too much of a kid for me to see the potential in that pairing. Colour coordination also speaks for Ryu x Megumi with the light grey/purple and soft pink. XD

[Buying guide]
- not interested

As mentioned in the Highlights section, this isn't something I'd watch again. There's often times too little character growth in mystery series, especially for the main character, as it usually focuses on the tricks and the rivalry between the opposing organizations. This is a prime example of that sad tradition. I think almost everyone else developed more than Kyuu by the end of the series...

Soramimi Project #19: Takagi Wataru 高木渉

First heard: Kawaji Isao (Weiss kreuz)

First noticed: Valgarv (Slayers TRY)

Memorable characters: Valgarv (Slayers TRY), Garrod Ran (Gundam X), Shiba Ganjuu (Bleach), Ned Gold (17 Again Japanese dub)

Image character: Valgarv (Slayers TRY)

Discernment rate: above average to high

Number of works seen: 10

One of the few seiyuu I haven't seen much but know the voice fairly well; Takagi's husky voice is hard to miss. Again, Weiss kreuz being my first ever anime in Japanese and happened years before I really started to watch anime, I don't remember almost anyone except the Weiss members. So if it's discounted, I really first heard Takagi as Valgarv in Slayers TRY.

Valgarv is an interesting character, born Ancient Dragon but able to wield Chao Dragon Garv's Mazoku power, swearing revenge on the Gold Dragons but didn't extended the killing spree to Filia and eventually came to be under Filia's wings. Common fanfic settings is to have Valgarv being interested in Filia during TRY season or AU and being protective of adoptive mother Filia post-TRY. At least that's I see it when I write.

His role in the dubbed version of 17 Again frankly isn't all that memorable compared to his other roles, but he's one of the first two voices I recognized and made me continue watching the unsubbed dubbed film on the plane. Of course, Morita was the deciding factor when the main guy turned 17. XD

My latest meeting with Takagi was in Gundam X where he played the protagonist Garrod Ran. Garrod wasn't my main focus in Gundam X (Witz was more my type), but it's nice to add another seiyuu to my list of Gundam roster. Looks like he'll appear in the next instalment of Gundam UC as well. Definitely looking forward to it!

Soramimi Project #18: Amano Yuri 天野由梨

First heard: Hoshiyomi (Inuyasha)

First noticed: Rain Mikamura (G Gundam)

Memorable characters: Rain Mikamura (G Gundam), Ichiki (Nabari no Ou)

Image character: Rain Mikamura (G Gundam)

Discernment rate: low

Number of works seen: 16

Another one of those seiyuu I'm only familiar with the name but not the voice. It's obvious that I tie her with Rain from G Gundam by just looking at the stats above.

Even though she is the heroine, she is unfortunately cursed with the deadly trait of having the majority of her lines being the protagonist's name. As a result, there isn't very much character development and thus making her less memorable amongst the extremely colourful cast of characters in G Gundam. The Sekiha Love-love Tenkyouken(石破ラブラブ天驚拳) she performed with Domon at the end that released heart-shaped beam is awesome, though. XD

Her G Gundam songs are quite good, and I find the Hong Kong touring song with Seki Tomokazu especially hilarious. On a side note, G Gundam probably isn't remembered for its music, but it's got some pretty good character songs, by Seki before he destroyed his vocal cord with all the Domon shouting, no less! The four Cantonese tracks from the G Gundam Round 3 OST also happen to be the only Cantonese songs I have.

Quite a few of the roles I've seen her are of a motherly nature which I think suits her well (even Rain kind of acts like a mother to Domon sometimes). I may not have her voice down yet, but I sure hope to hear more of Amano Yuri!

Project NewType #3: 彩雲国物語 Saiunkoku Monogatari
1st season: 39 episodes
2nd season: 39 episodes
MADHOUSE

[Other media]
- Original novel (ongoing)
- Spin-off manga (ongoing)
- Drama CDs (released pre-anime; covers vol.1-2 of novel)
- consumed order: anime -> Drama CD -> novel -> manga

I recently started on vol.3 of the novel and only have up to vol.14 of the main story and two out of four side story volumes. The anime covers up to the end of vol.12, so I went ahead and read vol.13-14 online in Chinese. I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and it'd taken me way too long to catch up in Japanese.

Even though it was only mentioned briefly in vol.13, the name of two certain creatures made me realized that the anime left out some crucial setting. I don't know exactly what since I didn't bother reading the preceding volumes covered by the anime, but I will when I get to it in the novel. I look forward to get the full story.

The novel series, standing at 16 volumes so far for the main story, appears to be entering its final arc now. Hopefully Yukino-sensei will tie up all the lose threads in a satisfying way and, I know it's wistful thinking, pair up Shuurei with Seiga! I really like Kuwashima Houko with Morikubo Shoutarou. XD

The manga is done by the illustrator for the novel and I haven't read much since it's pretty hard to find. Nothing special about the manga version as it follows the novel closely.

The drama CD has a partially different cast than the anime. With the exception of Hayami Shou as Kou Kijin from the drama CD and Okamura Akemi as Shuusui from the anime, the cast for both version are pretty comparable. It's a really hard toss for Reishin and Ensei, but I think the anime version is slightly more fitting considering the age of the characters.

[Highlights]
- story, setting, seiyuu, music

It's obvious from the cast of good looking guys that the series is aimed at the female population. But what caught me foremost was the seiyuu, then the story and setting as well as the music. I find the character design quite decent, but not enough to attract me by appearance alone. While a lot of "for female" series focus on the hot guys as selling points, Saiunkoku never leaves the main character Kou Shuurei. It's easy to dismiss the series as a reverse harem for Shuurei, but such notion is actually quite low on the radar. Even I get more excited when Shuurei turns the table and deals a great hand than when Ryuuki tries to woo her. In short, Saiunkoku is an account of trials, obstacles and accomplishments of Shuurei as she fights for others in the unfriendly world of politics and power struggles dominated by men.

The music is scored by Ryou Kunihiko, whom I've known since Juuni Kokuki and Emma. I personally find the music of Saiunkoku not quite on par with that of Juuni Kokuki, but it's still very nice. I'm a sucker for oriental ethnic instruments. XD

[Notable seiyuu]
- Kuwashima Houko, Seki Tomokazu, Midorikawa Hikaru, Hiyama Nobuyuki, Morikawa Toshiyuki, Ikeda Shuuichi, Kanna Nobutoshi, Madono Mitsuaki, Kisaichi Atsushi, Nakata Kazuhiro, Okamura Akemi, Narita Ken, Morikubo Shoutarou, Katsu Anri, Sugiyama Noriaki, Ookawa Tooru, Namikawa Daisuke, Itou Kentarou, Akimoto Yousuke, Chiba Susumu, Toriumi Kousuke, Suwabe Junichi, Koyasu Takehito, Yusa Kouji, Okiayu Ryuutarou, Kiuchi Hidenobu, Miyamoto Mitsuru, Toyoguchi Megumi, Onosaka Masaya, Nojima Hirofumi, Seki Toshihiko, Kaida Yuki, Sendai Eri

Yeah, that's how luxurious　the seiyuu cast is for the series. I think it's getting common as well for works targeting females to have exceptional seiyuu cast. Kuwashima Houko is my favourite female seiyuu, and Seki Tomokazu is my 2nd (though he's in danger of losing that spot) favourite male seiyuu. 'Nuff said. XD

[Favourite characters]
- Kou Shuurei, Li Kouyu, Rou Ensei, Riku Seiga, Ran Ryuuren, Shin Suou

I like most of the characters played by the seiyuu listed above, so I only point out the most notable ones here. Shuurei is a given, and so is Seiga. Actually, I just realized that the five guys I mentioned here are the ones I support with Shuurei...

[Couples supported]
- Shuurei x Seiga
- Shuurei x Ensei, Shuurei x Kouyu, Shuurei x Ryuuren, Shuurei x Suou
- Shuuei x Shuusui
- Eigetsu x Kourin
- Juusanhime x Jun

Of course there's couples that I support! I'm a romantic at heart (?!) and this series has a lot of potentials. My vote goes to Shuurei x Seiga, but I also support other combinations. I used to like Shuurei x Ryuuki but it faded away once Shuurei entered the Censorate. I guess I'm kind of fine with Shuurei x Seiran, but I will not tolerate Shuurei x Sakujun.

It is very possible that Shuurei won't end up with anyone, but there's always hoping and fanfics. XD

[Buying guide]
- already bought 1st season

Given the medieval Chinese setting and politic terms, it'd be ideal to buy the series with Chinese subtitles instead of English. I hate it when I have no source to get R3 DVDs and have to settle for inferior R1 DVDs. Story-wise it doesn't flow as well as the original novel, but nothing beats being able to hear the grand cast of seiyuu. :D