Hello Again.

It's Autumn again, my favorite season of the year.


I have not posted here since last Autumn. So many things have happened since then, and yet nothing has really changed.
There's something about the seasons that really make you aware of this. Nature changes so often, so dramatically; Green changes swiftly to Gold, Brown, and Red, and then suddenly goes White, temperatures peak and plummet, and the wildlife acts according to these cycles.


But even so, it is a cycle. No matter how much it changes, it is the same life, and where old things died, new things have taken their place. (Mostly metaphorically in Life, of course)

I am mostly alone in my house, living with my Mom, who has a very different schedule from myself. So, when my friend who recently moved back to Washington came to stay with me, it was a little strange. Definitely a change in my normal "wake up to an empty house, feed myself and get on with it" routine. I was never alone in my small apartment, and for three long weeks had to provide for someone other than myself.

She is more beautiful than her teenage self-consciousness allows.

My friend, who's name is Keri, is the closest I have found to a person who I naturally get along with.

Anime Expo 09; Keri, dressed as Keri, and I, dressed as a character nobody will ever recognize.

We understand each other, whether it be pop-culture references("End of the Line, Sonny Jim") or that feeling of a non-awkward silence, or even just the fact that we have the same faults(stubborn, Liberal to a fault yet in love with the Past), and I never felt burdened by her presence in any way.

She went back to Washington a few months ago, and I can't believe how much I miss her.

HP midnight premier. She would kill me if she ever found this post, which she will not.

It's like that cycle of my life ended, and we are starting a new one. She's thinking(not sure how seriously) about moving down here to become a California Resident again, so she can go to college for 300$ less per class(which made me eternally grateful to California's Educational System, no matter it's faults). So maybe It'll come around again.

Our lives change, because of the people we meet who cause us to change, or because of unstoppable forces(College, getting a Job, giant hurricanes that wipe out half the East Coast), but we find normalcy again in a new place or state.

Anyway, I really like Autumn. I like the crunch of the leaves underfoot, and the colors of the cloudy sky, and how it's not 80+ degrees outside, even at night.

Hopefully I can experience something interesting to write about on this blog, besides the seasons.

My next project (kitchen-wise)

So, I've recently rediscovered my passion for trying to bake.

Moe girls = best adverts EVER.

After testing out a few recipes on baking Melon-pan, I found one that didn't completely fail(like the on on the wiki page) that was so kindly translated by the nice lady at Happy Home Baking. She even included step-by-step pictures(which I would do if I had a camera...wahh) - and because of her detailed instruction, I was able to make wonderful Melon-pan of my own!

[Pretend there's a picture of 12 fantastic melon-pans here]

Her instructions lead to the Pan being a little bit crispy though, so I take them out of the oven early to have that spongey-softness I'm more accustomed to.

By the way, Melon-Pan really has no melony(?) flavour whatsoever. More recently, it's been common to add Melon Extract to the inner bread part, but only for scent. I found that to be one problem with my Melon-pans; I could not find Melon Extract in any Crappy American Grocery Store, and without it my Melon-Pan smelled (and as a result, tasted) like Regular-Pan. I'll check Trader Joe's when I'm not poor the next time I go.

My favourite brand of Melon-Pan~

I'll post pics of my next batch when I borrow my step-dad's Minolta, yes.



My next Baking Project will be Earl Grey Tea Muffins; because they're small and cute and Earl Grey Tea has caught my interest for no apparent reason.

I think next I'll try to make "Earl Grey Pudding," in commemoration of our favourite Pudding Earl.

Also, for some reason my right middle finger hurts. Maybe I have a grudge, or something.

The Anime Season So Far :)

あ、もう！元気になりたいんだ！；。； あのドイツ試験が月。。。やだ。。。

So, I've started watching some of the "Fall Anime," along with some other anime I've missed out on over the summer and earlier. Now that I'm in college, I have a lot more time to marathon series(it's funny that the word "marathon" can be used in such a way >.>)

I've found most of them to be pretty good, even "Toradora!"

I'm really not used to the "school life comedy" series, and was surprized by the "depth" of the episode. I really kind of expected a girl jumping around blushing and screaming, "うるさい！" Which there was, of course, but it was...like...funny... >///< style="font-style: italic;">

Eve no Jikan; Sammy (a.k.a. part 2)

God, I love Yasuhiro Yoshiura. Him, and Makoto Shinkai. Seriously the best Independent Directors in Japan(if not the best directors, period). Too bad Yoshiura-san is far less well-known, but hopefully that will change when people start to realize his epic-ness. I guess his name is kind of hard to remember, though...
Even though I compare the two, Yoshiura-san's work is much deeper(in the case of Eve no Jikan) and sometimes darker(as in the under-appreciated Pale Cocoon). This anime mini-series really strikes something deep, despite it's "robots with individuality" theme. And the art is just another bonus, in addition to the (can't think of a proper adjective) BGM. This anime...why aren't there more like this?? <<<スーパrecommended, yah!>>>

Hakushaku to Yousei
(EARL! and Fairy...I stand by my translation, lol... but "count" does sound cool...-///-)

I had to watch this in Raw form, because nobody has finished subbing it and I was bored. So, I got most of what was happening, but they just talk so fast sometimes.
Anyway- It's pretty good for a Shoujo-anime, without too much sparkle-sparkle. I almost expected the comedy stylings of Ouran KouKou for a second, then realized this was a SERIOUS shoujo...heheh. But, sparkle aside, the visuals(the clocktower, YES) and the characters are original enough to keep watching. I would recommend it! (clocktower....hmmmm, かっこいじゃ。。。)

Bounen no Xamdou(Xam'd; Lost Memories)

すげ！ちょうすげ！I love this anime! The visuals, the characters, the Ghibli-like universe and animation, the opening Epitaph, the opening MUSIC! I swear, I have testosterone sunning through me right now! *begins to undertand fight scenes in shounen manga* I just got so pumped watching this! I can't beleive I could be watching this on the PS3 if I wasn't poor! Damn you, Sony! Aughhh, this is one of the anime that brings thousands of people to conventions and makes 30-year-olds bring home mecha-models in opaque plastic bags! *calms down* Ok. Watch this. Then watch Eve no Jikan, to calm you down before you hurt your fist after slamming it on your desk repeatedly.

That's it for this season's anime, but I have been catching up;

Soul Eater - Like D. Gray-Man(the manga, of course) on Crack. Or more like LSD. And, gasp, a female lead I don't hate? And a very original voice-acting cast. Episode one, and I'm hooked. パン。。。キン！

Natsume Yuujinchou - When I first heard the title, I translated it subconsciously in my mind as "natsume's friend-butterfly"...yeah, anyway, I followed my nose after hearing the word Mushishi and was not dissapointed. It is really nothing like Mushishi, but in a good way; it's a so-far light-hearted anime, with a touching storyline that's not overdone at all. And the Maneki-neko-youkai. Yeah, I'll probably finish this before the second season's subs come out (screw studying for German! I have other languages to "brush up on").

Gurren Lagann - Despite the AWESOMENESS of this series, I am having a hard time catching up. I love the characters, but alot of the series so far is made up of filler-like episodes. But I guess it's worth it to watch the ending theme. The part with the close-up of Simon's face and the clouds...so cool! -is a sucker for cool visuals-

[オレを誰だと思ってやがる！　＞：Ｄ]

As for Junjou Romantica...I'm no hater of Shounen-ai(Kyou Kara Maoh was pretty funny...), but COME. ON. My god, they have mansex in the SECOND EPISODE. And I don't think I'm supposed to be laughing when the main character is crying...Really, point me to a GOOD Yaoi, and I'll watch it, but...I really don't think one EXISTS. (Yes, I tried to read Loveless. TRIED.) If it doesn't get better in the next episode, It's gettin' dropped.

Fall 2008 Anime~!

So, now that I've been sick for 4 days with no sign of getting better any time soon(101-100F, woohoo...), I have decided to do something constructive with my time.



The Anime lineup for this fall is ENORMOUS. Meaning that there's, like, more than 30 new series. Meaning I will have to find time to do other things, like eating and sleeping homework.
I'll link some sources that have the full list at the end.
First, I'm starting this season with two types of anime I would normally NEVER watch; a Yaoi and a School Life Comedy Romance(that's a mouthful...).


Junjou Romantica.
It's a Yaoi, and it comes without saying that there will be rushed plotlines, sub-par animation, over-cute animal mascots, and things that cannot be unwatched. But, because of a certain someone's opinion, I have decided to give it a try. She did say she's not a yaoi-fan, after all...so if it DOES turn out as an acceptable piece of animation, I'll watch the second season this Fall.

ToraDora!
The fact that I have never gotten past the first few episodes of this kind of anime is proof that I am way out of the loop in the anime world. I'm not one to go with trends, but there has got to be something good about this genre if half of all anime fans have seen Haruhi Suzumiya(that's an estimate, but probably not far off...). So, I will try this anime, partially because of Sugoi's recommendation and mostly because I trust GG fansubs. And the promotional art's not bad, either.

If I can't find the time, though...these might be the first to go.


And here's getting back to my NORMAL anime tastes; Anime I...

Will Watch NO MATTER WUT YES;


Bounen no Xam'd(Xam'd: Lost Memories)
It's being broadcasted on the PS3, which means it's already liscenced. But It's by Studio BONES, so like hell anything's gonna stop me from watching this.



Hakushaku to Yousei(Count and Fairy)
19th Century England. 'Nuff said, but for the sake of blogging, the story is about some kind of fairy cleric running into a certain member of the "Blue Knights" and going on a Journey *yesyesyes* to find a family heirloom. (pretty much copied from the MAL summary...). The original Manga's a shoujo, but after Ouran and Hana-Kimi, I'm totally open to that genre as long as the characters are well-developed. Because shoujo manga are nothing without thier characters, right?


Eve no Jikan Act 2: Sammy(Time of Eve Season 2)HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This series delves into my favourite genre; the story is incredibly deep, the BGM is amazing, the characters are developed well, and the anime itself rings with a beautifully independent voice and style. As far as the story goes, it's basically about a world where robots and men co-exist, but in a way that the common view is that the androids are viewed as tools(they're metal and wires created by humans, after all). People who treat them in a humane way are looked down upon, except for one place; a cafe that ignores the line between Human and Android. The story revolves around a boy who follows his robot to the cafe after finding an abnormality in her regisrty. Not cheesey and not cliche, despite my summary. It's definetly on my watchlist, once again. Watch this anime, if you watch anything this season. (Btw, Akiko = Pure Awesome.)



Shikabane Hime: Aka (Corpse Princess: Red)
Gainax and Starchild Records. It's like FLCL all over again. Let's see if they can top The Pillows. I doubt it, but I'm NOT missing this. GOOD MUSIC HERE!


Kurogane no Linebarrels (Iron Linebarrels)
Gonzo. GonzoGonzoGonzo. Gonzo Studios, people. Anyway, a boy unknowingly gains a special power while in a coma, art style is gundamSEED/oldschool gundam-esque, and it's by GONZO. Gankutsuou, Full Metal Panic!, Gantz, Last Exile, Peacemaker Kurogane, Samurai 7, Romeo x Juliet (and strike witches...I guess they can do EVERY genre well...)! THAT Gonzo! And there's an English Page(with the mecha previews even). Looks like they caught on.

Gundam 00 Season 2, of Course.
It's Gundam, I would probably watch it even if it sucked >.>;;



Will Watch IF...(and will probably watch anyway...)


Yozakura Shijuusou ~Yozakura Quartet~(Night Cherry Blossom Quartet)
A seemingly typical super-natural anime; A conjuress, a superheroin, and amind-reader, and of course a normal human boy who is followed by these three girls to help protect the town. Let's see if it ends up being more than "typical"(the art is pretty impressive so far).


Kuro Shitsuji(Black Butler)
If it ends up as cool as it seems; A part-demon butler who will do anything for his head-of-the-family-12-year-old-stoic-master? We'll see.


Casshern SINS
If having seen Eve no Jikan didn't spoil me and make me look down on all other robot/human anime that will ever exist(GitS*cough*). Then I will make this part of my prime-time. It's by Madhouse, after all.


To Aru Majutsu no Index(A Certain Magical Index)
An escap-ee from the Church of England flees to protect herself and, indirectly, the banned literature in her head. I'll probably watch this, because it seems interesting(and cuz the main female lead looks like Mirelle from .hack).


Kurozuka(erm....i think its supposed to remain untranslated *cough*)
It's by Madhouse, is about a man who cannot die and has seen the life of Japan up till the present, and has Paku Romi(Romi Park) as the main lead. Cool. I hope.


Mouryou no Hako(Box of Mouryou?)
Character design by CLAMP? Is this some kind of new trend? Anyway, it worked with Code Geass, and CLAMP is awesome, so I'll check it out.

[PICTURE WON'T UPLOAD RAWR! ITS SO SHMEXY TOO!]
Michiko to Hatchin(Michiko and Hatchin)
LOL...I need a comedy anime this season, after Code Geass....


Tytania - Space anime, rebellion, etc etc... Cool.


Ga-Rei -Zero-
Hunting Evil Spirits and Such. The art is really good, so I'll check it out.

Ride Back
Perfect for Venting your anti-government sentiments!


Will NOT TOUCH EVEN IF ITS THE ANIME OF THE YEAR SOMEHOW;

Mach Girl
Ganguro Speed Racer. Oh My God.

Kemeko Deluxe!
I have learned to stay away from anime with the words "deluxe/DX" in the title.

Live on CARDLIVER Kakeru (A.K.A. The next pokemon-clone...)
*snort*...Card-Liver *reads like the internal Organ*

Bihada Ichizoku - Women compete to have the prettiest skin. LIEK OMG U GAIZ. I really hope this is supposed to be an over-the-top comedy.


Interesting, but probably won't watch...

Zettai Yareru Girisha Shinwa - Because, who hasn't thought this a billion times in their freshman year of High School?

Kannagi - The art on the Japanese Site looked good, and the summary was funny. But not my genre.


LINKS-

Fall 2008 Anime Lineup - link
For Summaries/complete info on Seiyuu and Studios - link
Fall Line-up Preview with Trailers - link

Oh My...NinDS...i?

I was reading through different posts about the new model of the DS, many debating whether or not the rumours about it's new Camera capability and larger screen/resolution, etc, really justify a new model release. Most comments laughed at the idea of the DS including a music-playing function.
But then, though Yuuenchi's site(its on my blogroll), I found this site in the comments.

Nintendo DS...i?

So I found the Japanese Site.
I know most people can't readily read Japanese(who am I kidding, I can barely read Kanji...), so here's a basic list of the new features, as far as I can tell;

• It is called the DSi, for now. [we all remember the Nintendo Revolution, don't wii?]
• The screen size has gone from 3.0 to 3.25.
• It has an "SD Memory Slot" on the right side, next to the ABXY controls.
• There's an "Inside"(self-facing) and "Outside"(view-facing) Camera, called the "DSiCAMERA" [This is where it already pwns the PSP.]
• You can "make" music, and there IS a music player; "DSiSOUND." [Sucks to the PSP. Which I just bought. Damn.]
• Much like the Wii, the DSi will have a "DSiSHOP" and a "DSiBROWSER," on which you can download "DSiWARE." [the PSP officially fails now.]
• The "colour variation" for now is slated as "White" and "Black."
• As far as I can scrounge out of the Kanji, it will come with the System itself[dur...], an AC adapter, 2 touch-pens, an "easy start guide," some kind of book[gth, kanji], and a "support book."

Other(don't give a sheise);

• You can "make" music, and there IS a music player; "DSiSOUND." [Sucks to the PSP. Which I just bought. Damn.]
• The Touch Pen is like, a few mm's longer.
• The DS itself will be a little bit bigger(width and length) and thinner(height from back to front).
• The power button is inside again, but at the bottom left of the screen. The SD card slot replaces the old power button.
• Instead of the DS's double-screen design on the front cover, it will be blank with a little camera lense on the outside.
• It weighs 4 grams less. Wow. >.>
• It takes 2and a half hours to charge, instead of 3. 30 mins, nowai...
• The running time is like 2/3 of what is once was, but that makes sense, with all this new stuff. (9-14 hours compared to 15-19...which it never reached anyway, lol...)
• The camera, btw, is 3 megapixels. Meh, not good, not bad.
  

One thing that SUCKS; No more GBA slot. But thats why we have our old DS's, right? *refuses to sell even if anyone would buy it*


Also, the menu design is new (I think it says its more like the Wii...can't tell...). It looks like you can set an image as a desktop on the upper screen's home/menu. It still hase pictochat and stuff, and here's the thing I really hope I read correctly; I think it said you can SAVE YOUR PICTOCHAT TO MEMORY. YES. I CAN ONLY HOPE. No more deleting...interesting convos...and my picto-arts. Yey!


The Camera itself has an editing feature, just like the Wii, that allows you to draw on/add clipart to/mangle the person's face in an image. And I'm pretty sure the SD slot capability comes into this camera part. SUCKS FOR YOU PSP WITH YOUR NON-SEXY SPECIALIZED MEMORY STICK!!!


The sound player is, of course, way cooler than just a sound player. It has "visualizations," two of which are shown to be a bike-racing and baby-chickens-hatching move-with-the-music applications(ill link the site, since I really don't know how the explain this...). Also, the Sound's menu shows buttons with the words "KARAOKE," "RADIO" "8BIT(with a pic of the ancient nintendo controller)" "3PEOPLEHARMONY(with 3 faces on it...hmmm...)" "TRUMPET" and some other stuff I don't understand. Also, the Microphone will play a big part (finally), and I THINK allow you to do the KARAOKE and voice recording etc. Sweet.


In the SHOP area, it shows an art-like program that says you can make "paraparamanga" which I assume means an Animation(sweeeeeet), and an Internet LAN capability, which it says in pink, "You can download these at the DSiShop!"


The last page on the site shows a comparison of the new DSi (on the left) and the "old" DSLite(I'm still living with my retro, TYVM). They seriously had me at the SD card capability....It's not good to be this excited while I'm still sick...Damn you Nintendo, you've done it again!!!



So here's the link again, now that I've fished out what I could from my somewhat useful Japanese Skills;

"NintendoDSi. She'll pretty much have to."

It will supposedly be released Nov. 1st (Hah. Hahah. HAH.) and go for 18,900 En. (less than 189$).

Code Geass; Something I Didn't Realize Until Now

So I did finish Geass last night (with a 101F fever even), but somehow it doesn't have that feeling of finality that most good (sad) Anime have. Maybe it was the not-sお-depressing-as-it-seemed ending, or maybe it's because...

MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER DIDN'T DIE!!!!1!11!!!..1!

I couldn't believe it; this NEVER happens. Somehow, in my days of watching anime and movies and reading books and manga, I have picked up a rather depressing habit of choosing the character fated to die as the center of my attention. I could make a very long list, but I'll include my favouritest-favourites;



Movies, books(Harry Potter books>Movies x sideways-eight), anime, light novels...I've come to terms with this. But I was sure プリン伯爵 (Pudding Earl) was going to die! But he's alive! ahhh now I don't know what to expect any more! The sky is falling, help!

As you can probably tell, when the characters in a series are done very well, they come alive for me like they do for the author. They become real; just like the author intended. That's why I don't feel like a crazy-OCD-otaku when I say;

LONG LIVE THE PURIN HAKUSHAKU!



I think I'll watch this a few more times before officially moving out of Geass-Mode...

"...お帰りなさ～いっ！”

Code Geass; ”。。。な、ルルーシュ。”

So, I just finished the last episode of Code Geass, and after taking about the episode's length to calm down(and using half the tissues)I searched an anime blog I knew could provide closure. So this is why this post exists.



I thought it clever that Orenji-kun ended up picking Oranges in the epilogue, and I was glad he ended up with someone after loosing "Chigusa" to Ougi. The picturebook from season 1 made them look like such an angsty pair.




Then I realized the man driving the cart. And that Lelouch is so NOT not-alive. (and now I'm crying again...F_CK.)

So, here's why I think I wasted those tissues; So far in this anime, the direction and style has been flawless. There have been no purposeless camera angles and such, which makes it obvious that the slight focus of the "camera" on the wagon-driver and the prolonged frames on the paper crane(when did C.C. learn how to make that...) are very important.
To me, I can't understand Lelouch NOT being alive. I mean, when C.C. says, "the Power of Kings, called Geass, will make people lonely," and then nods her head upwards and declares,

"I suppose that wasn't quite true...na, Lelouch?"

Isn't that proof enough? I know, I know, she could be talking to him in an aside and hes really dead blah blah, but the fact that C.C. denounces the loneliness of the 'king" and her own at the same time must mean that she has been set free of her geass-imposed immortality. But that doesn't mean Lelouch is driving the cart! Well, who else would C.C. have given her code to?

Really. I'm not an optimist, and far from it. But this "open-ending" is really not so open-ended, when you stop hyperventillating/screaming at the monitor(or loosing all the water you drank today out your tear ducts...this is why I watch GOOD anime alone...).

The one thing that really struck a chord with me, is that Lelouch's final actions up to becoming a hated dictator were all done in order to erase himself from the hearts of the people who loved him - and it didn't work. As Suzaku thrust the sword of Zero into the hated Lelouch, all the people who once loved and respected Zero (and knew he betrayed them) then turned their heads or called out in an expression of regret.

No matter what he had done or who he had become, they had once given them hope; had once been a shining beacon of the future. Even in giving all he had, he could not make everyone hate him. I think that's the saving grace of humanity; that no matter how terrible it is, we will never forget what was once good. And I think that was the "thesis" of Code Geass; no matter what we forget, we will always remember that there is good and that hope lies in Tomorrow.