Friday, 30 April 2010

Strong World Episode 0

latest news from the One Piece LJ community is that the Episode 0 OVA, the prelude to Strong World, has been released!!!

a LQ video has been released but it is without subs. but the screencaps looks great!

looking forward to watching the subbed version soon.

ohohohohohohoho.

and check out what i discovered at the local Singpost store just now.
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MU-KYAA!!!

i'm not sure of its authenticity, but OMG! it's so cute!!!!

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Hetalia World Series Ep 04

Episode 04: Lithuania the worrywart

and at the end of the episode, Chibitalia being used as a meat shield by France.

kawaii!

Monday, 26 April 2010

Nodame Finale Special

the Finale Special that was bundled with the first DVD was finally subbed and released last week.

titled "Mine to Kiyora no Saikai" ("Mine and Kiyora's Reunion"), i'm very happy that it followed the manga as it is, with Kiyora's competition and Ryuu visiting her in Paris.

though the focus on them had always been very short, i love this coupling. and the Special showed how even Kiyora is not immune to separation from Ryuu.

hopefully the 2nd movie would play that out well too. cos the live-action Kiyora, Mizukawa Asami, has always given off a very aloof vibe when she is actually quite passionate.

here's a few screencaps of the couple.

nodame finale special 01
Ryuu crying at Kiyora's recital.

nodame finale special 02
empassionate Kiyora.

nodame finale special 03
Kiyora surprising Ryuu from behind.

nodame finale special 04
Ryuu doing a Chiaki moment.

nodame finale special 05
Kiyora asking Ryuu about going back to Japan.

nodame finale special 06
my favorite scene.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Sanji character essay by hsiuism

a wonderfully written character essay written by hsiuism on the one and only Sanji.

this even tops the one i read 5 years ago by Sabo-chan.

while you can read the whole essay here, below are a few of my favorite parts,

Intelligent, Rational, Curious, Introverted by nature, Theatrical
Sanji demonstrates from a young age that he wants to know about his environment and the world around him. His dream is to find All Blue, the ocean where all the fish from the four known oceans come together in one place. It's not hard to read the symbolism of this dream: unity, origin, all-encompassing knowledge. Sanji likes things to make sense. He'll stick around to hear someone's background story, try to make peace during an argument before it escalates, and call for a moment to figure out a puzzle. Despite how he normally interacts with women, when Nami and Robin - the two most rational, logical members of the crew - are making some serious point, Sanji listens and contributes with equal sincerity, a point that's been played up in the anime (Sanji's interaction with Robin in Movie 7 are especially interesting).

Basically compassionate, Sympathetic, Nurturing, Enjoys feeling part of a team
If the guilt complex makes Sanji critical, it also makes him protective. He looks out for weaker teammates, male and female. Putting aside personal shipping preferences, I like that, in the anime at least, Sanji will shield Nami from heavy winds/waves with his own body, and I liked in the episode when the crew met Brooke, that Nami was hiding behind Sanji's back. I choose to read these scenes not that Nami needs protection, but that even though she finds Sanji to be insincere and a pain, she trusts him as a safe presence during times of danger. One doesn't cling to Luffy because Luffy doesn't feel fear like normal people, and as for Zoro, he sees fear as a weakness. But Sanji will let you have space to be afraid.

He extends this kind of protection, slightly modified, to Usopp and Chopper too. He doesn't coddle them the way Nami tends to coddle Chopper, but he doesn't try to force them into a single ideology of manhood either, the way Zoro does. Sanji lets people have their space, and I think he recognizes you can be a "man" and still have insecurities, and that there are more than one type of valid masculinities.

Sanji expects people to perform according to their abilities, and recognizes that people have different skills. He encourages people to be better, but he doesn't ask them to be what they're not. In Alabasta, he basically threw Chopper to the wolves (pretending to be Mr. Prince), but it was the first time really that Chopper really asserted himself. Sanji supports Nami when none of the other boys will - while Luffy grumbles about the Waver, Sanji cheers Nami on, and it's a nice moment because Nami truly is in her element. Sanji has faith in Robin and follows her onto the Puffing Tom without even knowing the backstory. And he explicitly says to Usopp, "There are things that I can do that you can't, and things that you can do that I can't." That is basically one of the great morals of this series: we need other people because there are some things we can't do on our own. It's ok to not be able to do everything.

I think one reason why it's Sanji who imparts this to Usopp, and not the other way around, is because Sanji comes into the series already knowing and understanding weakness, in a way that Luffy and Zoro do not. He knows how it feels to confine oneself to a location and to get into a habit of staying, like Chopper. He knows how it feels to have a silly dream and have everyone laugh at it, like Usopp. He knows how it feels to hold back, and how it feels to be helpless. Sanji has the physique and athletic ability to compensate for psychological insecurity, but he doesn't scorn or underestimate those who don't.


thank you hsiuism for this great essay!! ^_^.``

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Sanji look-a-like

dunno why it took me 3 episodes to notice this.

the other guy is Satou from Working!!.

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uncanny similarities? or total rip-off?

there's also some rumors and speculations that Sanji might be the first Strawhat crew to be located!!

YAY!!!!

i really hope that's true.

more screentime of Sanji!!!!!

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

4-chord song by Axis of Awesome


brilliant!!

RC still running

22/03/2010,
or rather, Omni is retiring from blogging.
i'm very sad to see it end, but not everyone can be a full-time blogger.
bills still need to be paid. unless you're filthy rich and can afford to nuah live off your parents.
check out full post here.


updated 20/04/2010,

i should have put this up earlier.

in any case, Divine has taken over Random Curiosity from Omni and continues to blog on the newly revamped site, much to the delight of most anime fans. myself included.

and the even better news is, there's a new blogger on RC that has started to do One Piece coverage!!

YES!!!

welcome aboard Kiirage!

Monday, 19 April 2010

Spring 2010

as per Winter season, i will be blogging each new Spring series as i watch them. all biased opinions ahead, so please don't flame me for what i feel.

all biased opinions are up!


posted 19 Apr,

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru
a guy (CV Hoshi Souichirou)with an ability to sense people's emotions gets involved in battles against demons. he is followed by his very own bodyguard (CV Sakurai Takahiro), whom he seemed to have a past life with. only he was a female during his past life and they definitely had a sort of romance thing going on before.

most would know i actually do need a BL fix once in a while. so while this borders on shonen-ai, i was willing to watch it for the fix. but frankly, i was really bored with ep1. and Hoshi-san is starting to put me to sleep with his voice, with him using his Kira Yamato voice. ugghh.

really really hope the story would pick up and start going into the interesting stuff. and i'm waiting for Koyasu-sama to come out as the adoptive brother of Hoshi-san cos i'm so not willing to drop anything that has Koyasu-sama in it. like how i dropped that boring Hanasakeru Seishounen.

Sarai-ya Goyou
a down-and-out, not to mention timid, ronin (CV Namikawa Daisuke) finally gets work as a bodyguard, only to find out the his employer (CV Sakurai Takahiro) kidnaps people for a living. while he is initially reluctant to join them, he found out they only target bad people and use it as a means to get back at them. aside from the money of course.

from the creator of Ristorante Paradiso, another samurai fix for me!! it's so unusual to find so many good samurai series in one season recently. the character designs are a definite acquired taste, as not many would like the droopy-eyes and slight disproportionate body lengths. thankfully, i've already been sensitized from the previous series.

posted 09 Apr,

WORKING!!
slice-of-life comedy about a guy (CV Fukuyama Jun) who is recruited on the streets by a girl (CV Asumi Kana) to work in a family restaurant. he decides to help her out, being unable to resist helping small and helpless things. the other employees says he is a "lolicon", but he claims that he is instead a "mini-con".

i love watching slice-of-life series. something that you don't have to use much brains with, but still let you feel contented with a WAFF (warm and fuzzy feeling) after each episode. i'm definitely going to continue with this.

Senkou no Night Raid
a special unit of the Japanese force is sent to recover a kidnapped politician from Shanghai. and that is basically the whole of Ep1. of course, there's the usual politics and conspiracies, not to mention ESP powers weld by each of the special unit member.

it sounds pretty much like another Darker than Black series, but i'm really quite excited about it. then again, i'm always fascinated by ESP series since there's so much you can put it without thinking it's too over-the-top.

they even went to the extend of getting good mandarin voice-overs for all the Chinese people, instead of using the japanese language throughout (like Canaan). i can't say much about the main CVs speaking chinese though, since i pretty much had to go back a few times to actually understand what they meant. but good effort nontheless.

posted 08 Apr,

K-ON!!
a series that definitely don't need much introduction. the light music club is back in a second series to give us more music, more comedy and more tea time happenings. to think i thought of chucking it out during Spring 2009.

as much as everyone raves about Mio, personally i'm more of a Yui fan. she's so cute you can't help but smile along with her antics. the OP and ED songs aren't as catchy as Season 1's, but i'm hoping all the other insert songs will make up for it.

the return of K-ON!! also made me had a sudden rush to want their nendoroids! DAMN! no wonder everyone else is going gaga over them!

Arakawa Under the Bridge
weird show about a rich heir (CV Kamiya Hiroshi) who was saved by a girl (CV Sakamoto Maaya) living under a bridge. to repay her, as his family motto is "not to be in debt to anyone", he promised to fall in love with her. hence start his life of weird encounters with other people like her lives in the world of make-believe.

this reminds me strangely of Zetsubou-sensei, of which Kamiya-san is famous for. just that he's the more sane one of all the characters here. lots of scenes where i was just waiting for him to start screaming, "Zetsubou shita!". hahaha.

and, i'm waiting for Koyasu-sama's character to appear soon. MU-KYAA!

posted 07 Apr,

Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan
based on a popular otome dating game, female lead Chizuru (CV Houko-san) disguises herself as a guy to look for her missing doctor dad. the Shinsengumi saved her when she was attacked by a couple of their demon-like people. turns out, they are also looking for him and that he might be the only one with a possible cure/antidote.

male harem, Miki Shinichiro, Kuwashima Houko, Shinsengumi. all the reasons i would definitely watch this series. but seriously, the plot is intriguing too. ep1 was just the usual intro round, so i'm quite excited to see how it develops.

but yummy yummy boys. i'm still trying to match the faces to the names. off the top of my head, the top 3 are Hijikata Toshizou (CV Miki-san), Okita Souji (CV Morikubo Showtaro) and Saitou Hajime (CV Toriumi Kousuke).

Hijikata looks especially yummy in the OP and ED.
Hakuoki 02 Hakuoki 01
*swoons*

this really should be a 26-episode story.

i'm greedy, i know.

posted 03 Apr,

Kaichou wa Maid-sama
romance comedy about a rich guy who finds out that his tsundere female student council president is working part-time at a maid cafe because of money difficulties.

while it didn't immediately pull me in like how Ouran (my GOLD standard in shoujo anime) did, it's still interesting enough to continue watching. maybe because i'm still not convinced with the 2 main CVs, Okamoto Nobuhiko and Fujimura Ayumi. let's see how it pans out in the latter episodes.

Sunday, 18 April 2010

Okita VS Okita VS Okita

disclaimer: this is purely based on looks. not sword techniques.

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in Peacemaker Kurogane.

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in Rurouni Kenshin, TV and OVA versions.

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in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.

this is definitely NOT difficult.

while Hijikata-san serves as the main eye-candy in Hakuouki, it is Okita Souji-san that is my favorite character as of now.

yes, i know i've changed since my review of episode 1, where i was swooning over Hijikata-san. i think it's his laid-back, yet deadly character.

seriously, can you blame me?

here's another more drool-worthy picture.
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*SWOONS*

Friday, 16 April 2010

Hijikata VS Hijikata VS Hijikata

disclaimer: this is purely based on looks. not sword techniques.

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in Peacemaker Kurogane.

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in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.

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in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.

ok, this is a little more difficult to decide.

in the end, even though i've never seen the anime before, i'm going for Peacemaker's Hijikata Toshizou-san.

because while i still like my pretty boys, i can't resist a sexy manly man.

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

and finally, Okita Souji in the next post.

OP Shichibukai Collection

finally, now that all the Shichibukai are revealed, a set dedicated to them. well, there's also 3 other characters, but at least they're part of the Marineford arc.

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1st row (L->R), Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard), Juracule Mihawk, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, Bartholomew Kuma
2nd row (L->R), Boa Hancock, Edward Newgate (Whitebeard), Luffy, Ace, Jinbei

while i'm still happy nonetheless, this is the second set without Sanji.

haiz~

how long is this going to continue on...

Thursday, 15 April 2010

Strong World camera rip

this has been making the rounds in the One Piece Community.

apparently, somebody did a camera rip of the movie, and posted it on youku.com.

NOW, it has made its rounds to animecrazy.net.

if you're really desperate, you can probably go watch this super low quality rip, provided you can actually read chinese subs.

i may be desperate.

but even then, i wouldn't want to watch this rip.

I WANT A HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO!!!

OR THE DVD!!!!

Saitou VS Saitou

disclaimer: this is purely based on looks. not sword techniques.

RK - saitou
in Rurouni Kenshin.

Hakuoki - saitou
in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.

no prizes as to which one i prefer.

Hakuouki's Hajime Saitou-san wins hands down!

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

next up, Hijikata Toshizou.

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Hetalia World Series Ep 03

Episode 3: Sparta

ok, this is getting boring.
where's Italy and Germany??

Thursday, 8 April 2010

Hetalia World Series Ep 02

Episode 02: Neko Matsuri (Cat Festival)

another 30sec worth of HRE and Chibitalia in the beginning.
she he is seriously very cute with her his "nyan-nyan" noises.

Tuesday, 6 April 2010

Strong World in Hawaii

the One Piece Film Strong World will be screened during the Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu on April 18 and 20.

dammit!!

Hetalia World Series Ep 01

i was wrong. Season 2 ended with the 52th episode.

the production staff decided to rename Season 3 as Hetalia World Series to acknowledge the growing cast members.

Episode 01: Brother-Complex

the last 1-minute also aired the trailer for the Hetalia Movie: Paint it, White! that will be released in June.

Sunday, 4 April 2010

Familia by D-51


you know, this might just become a habit. especially if Reborn keeps coming up with these nice EDs.

forgot to mention that i also love how sweet Bianchi looks with I-Pin in 0:31.

if the previous gr8 story ED was to show the awesomeness of the Decimo Familia, then this latest ED definitely showed the fun and loving side of them.

Saturday, 3 April 2010

Primo Familia

after last week's recap episode, i sorta expected that they were going into filler-mode much like the Arcobaleno trial arc.

true enough, this week's ep178 is the start of the Primo Familia arc.

not that i'm complaining.

if you've been following the reborn manga, you would know that the future arc ended 2 weeks ago and the most unresolved thing was that Amano-sensei DID NOT show the future form of Tsuna. and i'm fairly sure i'm not the only one who's badly disappointed.

with the new Primo Familia arc, we get to see Vongola Primo, AKA "what-Tsuna-would-probably-look-like-TYL". not forgetting the Primo Guardians, who all bear similarities to their Decimo counter-parts.

this week also marks the start of the new OP and ED. once again, the ED shined through as the better song, and also the better sequence.

here's a group photo of the Primo Familia from the ED.
Reborn ED 15-02

but my favorite scene is actually a continuation from the previous ED.

from the previous gr8 story ED, the Decimo Familia group photo.
Reborn ED 14

from the current Familia ED, Varia barging into the photo session.
Reborn ED 15

haha.

Italian 101:
Primo - First; Decimo - Tenth; Familia - Family

Friday, 2 April 2010

Marineford Arc FINISHED!

in case you haven't already known, the Marineford arc has finally come to an end at Chapter 580!!

man, Odacchi better be getting back to the rest of the crew soon.

yes i know.

i'm already said this before.

yes i know.

i'm ranting.

GIVE ME SANJI BACK!!!