Sanji look-a-like

dunno why it took me 3 episodes to notice this.

the other guy is Satou from Working!!.





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!!!!!

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!

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.

*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.

Okita VS Okita VS Okita

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


in Peacemaker Kurogane.


in Rurouni Kenshin, TV and OVA versions.


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.


*SWOONS*

Hijikata VS Hijikata VS Hijikata

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


in Peacemaker Kurogane.


in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.


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.


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...

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.


in Rurouni Kenshin.


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.

Hetalia World Series Ep 03

Episode 3: Sparta

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

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.

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.

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.

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.


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

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


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


haha.

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

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!!!

Nodame Finale

as i've been expecting all along, Chiaki's dad didn't appear at all in the Finale.

it did irked me as i've previously blogged about, but the last episode sort-of made up for not extending it to a 24-episodes series.

i thought it was very fitting that they ended with Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, which Chiaki and Nodame performed in the very first episode in Season 1. thankfully, they did a totally different arrangement and not use the same one from before.

and yes, i'm still hoping for another season or at least an OVA. like i said, there is the Opera-hen side story that is currently under-going in KISS magazine, so not that they would have a lack of materials to work on.

for now, we can just wait for the second movie and the unaired episode that will be bundled with the first DVD that will be shipping out on Apr 7.

it's titled "Mine to Kiyora no Saikai" ("Mine and Kiyora's Reunion"). not sure whether it will follow the manga story, but at least it redeems pulling Kiyora out from the Finale series.

Winter wrap-up

so these two weeks would be all the wrap-ups of most Winter series, and some others from last Fall.

shows that i am hoping for a Season 2,
1) Kimi ni Todoke!! (come on! everyone wants to see them really together!)
2) Kobato (an OVA perhaps? since it's already an anime-original ending)
3) Nodame Cantabile!! (hey! they definitely should continue the Opera-hen side story)

i'm kinda excited for the upcoming Spring season, even though the number of shows that have sparked my interest have decreased significantly over the years.

either i'm becoming more picky, or the number of shows being released every season have decreased.

*shrugs*

oh well, all the more reason for me to watching more dorama.

ohohohohohoho.

show stealer

from Reborn Episode 176.


OMG KAKKOI!!!


Mukuro's CV, Iida Toshinobu, sounds so so sexy.


confrontation with Byakuran!

OP Impel Down Submarine Prison

this thing is tall.

the Impel Down Submarine Prison.

front and back view

Hetalia Ep 52

Episode 52: Canada makes a new friend?

and...
MU-KYAA!!! Holy Roman Empire and Chibitalia!!!!

updated on 05/04/2010: last episode of Season 2. now that i think of it, it is befitting to have HRE and Chibitalia appear.

a test of patience

that's what the Nodame movie is about.

because there's at least a 3-month wait before anyone in SG will get to watch the grand finale in the 2nd movie!

well, at least the 2nd movie is going to include the Kiyora violin competition. that'll make up for not seeing it in the anime finale. HA!

and, i could recognize at least one voice seiyuu, Fujita Yoshinori, that dubbed for one of the french oboe player in Marlet orchestra. incidentally, he is also the seiyuu for Masumi-chan in the Nodame anime.

Tamaki Hiroshi has also improved his "conducting" skills. it actually looks like he's really conducting a proper orchestra now instead of just flapping his hands around. mwahahaaha!

but me and lydia concluded that he lost a bit of weight since the last time he was in the special. he really needs to put it back on.

*sighs*

3 months.

Hetalia Ep 51

finally! the veoh video is loading!

here's to a fun-filled season 3!
updated on 05/04/2010: this is the second last episode of Season 2.

Episode 51: Italy is sick

the bulk of the video is focused on America and Japan though.
America-kun is really terrified of horror.

One Piece re-reads

i love re-reading manga.

as i'm quite a fast reader, i tend to not notice much details during the first read-through of any given manga.

so now that there's nothing much to catch up on, since most of the books are being published at near snail-rate, i finally have the time to do a proper re-read of the One Piece manga.

nevermind that i should be concentrating on reading my Sunday School MBA (Make Bible Alive, NOT Master of Business Administration) course literature instead.

i know. i'm a procrastinator and in self-denial.

i promise i'll try to start reading by at least next week. *cross fingers*

anyway, back to One Piece.

currently at vol 6, i'm fully enjoying the intro of Sanji and the Baratie history. and of course after that, comes the first real arc where Mr Arlong will come in.

hmm. maybe i need to supplement with watching the anime at the same time. shall have to think about that.

AND, i've only discovered this from reading the SBS in vol 6.

in terms of drawing, Odaachi is almost always 3 chapters ahead of the current chapter in Shonen JUMP!

that's damn fast!

is that a usual thing or is it the same with the other shonen mangakas?

in any case, i'm very impressed!

go Odacchi!! get the Epic arc over already!

we want back the Strawhats crew!

more importantly,

give me back SANJI!!

----------------------------------

*coughs*

*change of tone*

on another note, i'm going to watch the Nodame film with the Hong sisters tomorrow night. that's provided Miss Ruth don't PS at the last minute.

she better not. i will most definitely scream at her if she does.

OP Anime Heroes ~Skypiea Arc~

as i've mentioned before, this is my favorite arc in the One Piece storyline.

presenting the Anime Heroes ~Skypiea Arc~


1st row (L->R), Gan Fall, Conis, Wiper, Karugara, Norla (snake), Montblanc Norland, Montblanc Cricket, Bellamy
2nd row (L->R), Pierre, Nami, Usoppu, Luffy, Sanji, Robin, Zoro, Chopper
3rd row (L->R), Shura, Gedatsu, Eneru, Ohm, Satori, Maxim


Strawhat Pirates.

Going Merry-go in a park

news from ANN:

"the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly in southwestern Japan discussed a plan to erect a pirate ship from the One Piece anime series at a city park. A citizens' group has been pushing a plan to erect a replica of the manga's Going Merry (Merry Go in English) ship at Karashima Park in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto City — the birthplace of One Piece's creator, Eiichiro Oda."

unbelievable.

but how cool that's gonna be!!!

pity it probably wouldn't be erected before our trip in Oct.

i'm still hoping for Laguna Theme Park to extend the One Piece Attraction to end of the year.

CLAMP combi

in case you haven't already known from the obvious change in the blog picture, and the even more obvious mentions throughout the blog,

i'm a huge CLAMP fan.

the ones who caught my eyes this time was Sumomo and Kotoko from Chobits.

so, it was time to get my less-than-desired photoshop skills to work again.

and no, i haven't gotten any better since the last time.

thankfully, this didn't need much editing except for some simple cropping.

kawaii!!

OP Obahan Time

another omake under the Mugiwara Theatre, the Obahan Time.


(L->R), Chopamori, Robino, Sanjida, Zoroyama, Usokawa, Luffyzaki

aerial shot, to see the dishes on the table.


Zoroyama & Sanjida

as what ah gu said, the most okama-looking obahans.

Chopamori & Robino

Robino's head is super heavy and always falls off the tatami.

Usokawa & Luffyzaki

the best looking obahans of the lot. at least you know they look good in make-up. mwahahahaha.

Skypiea Anime Heroes up next~

One Piece Manga #57

and another record first week sales for Odacchi and Shueisha.

1.69 million copies.



as much as i'm happy about it, the current arc is getting a little out of hand that. so much so that i'm starting to dread it.

and i can't remember if there ever was a time when i wanted an OP arc to be over.

Odacchi need to wrap this up soon.

MOVE ON!

OP Mugiwara Theatre Time

been so busy over the weekend that i haven't had chance to unwrap all the gashapons i've picked up on friday. so instead of an all-in-one post, here's each of them separately.

Mugiwara Theatre Time

Sanji-kun


kawaii!


i didn't get the whole set, which includes Luffy, Nami, Zoro and Robin, but i couldn't resist this.

USOPP!


better view of his nose. haha.


another angle.


i hate to be unfaithful.

but i gotta say, Usopp looks cuter here!

i'm sorry Sanji!!

to make up for it, i promise to take lots of photos when this comes in July.

KYAA!! Sanji Strong World POP!!!
this looks even better than the NEO Sanji.

*drools*

Obahan Time coming up next~

it's a good thing...

... that i'm not that into nendoroids as most other otakus.

it's also a good thing that Good Smile Company doesn't produce any One Piece or Bleach or Reborn nendoroids. i would definitely be unable to resist it.

just like how i was unable to resist this.

the Junjou Romantica Petit Nendoroids!


KYAA!! KAWAII!!

these will be mine to behold in Aug.

i should seriously consider getting some nendoroids when i go japan in Oct.

hmm...

Nodame Cantabile The Final Score Part 1 Trailer

in anticipation of the movie opening next week.

NEXT THURSDAY!!!

WOHOO!!!

think i'll go re-watch the special just to recap.

MU-KYAA!!!!

Yamanade Episode 7

Kame-chan definitely looks better in short hair.



he looks almost like Takuya in his Good Luck! drama. he just needs the pilot uniform.

allow me to swoon one more time.

OMG!! KAME-CHAN!!



ep7 is by far the best for now. lots of character developments has happened, and the most important is definitely Kyohei's feelings towards Sunako in this particular episode.

one of the cute scenes in ep7.


he looks good even in specs!


and for the record, i am totally convinced by Omasa Aya now. she's really brilliant in bringing Sunako to life.

apologies for my lousy pictures. i'm terrible at getting screencaps.

Roar Roar's Top 10 Bishojos (2010)

the ladies are out~~

Roar Roar's Top 10 Bishojos (2010)

01) Noda Megumi (Nodame Cantabile)

affectionately known as Nodame, i’ve been hooked since the very first episode. almost always associated with her trademark “MU-KYAAs!” and “GYA-BOs!”, you will love her for all her funny antics, just like Chiaki did.

selling at LiveJournal

not much there yet, but i'm using my LiveJournal page as a gateway to sell stuff.

besides extra gashapon items, both mine and ah gu's, i might occasionally put up some of the freebies from random JUMP magazines like Hana to Yume, LALA or Asuka.

and it's just easier to cross-post to the LJ communities where i lurk.
mwahahahahaha.

feel free to take a look around once in a while.

Roar Roar's Top 10 Bishonens (2010)

many of the bishonens from the first list may not be here anymore, but that doesn’t mean i like them any lesser. it just meant they’ve taken a backseat to the newer bishonens that have emerged in the past 5 years.

Top 10 Bishonens (2010)

01) Sanji (One Piece)

HA! as if anyone thought for any moment that Sanji was gonna move down from his top place. nope, he’s still my man. i’m getting withdrawals though. he and the other Strawhat crew have been missing for the longest time. *sighs* Odacchi needs to get back to them soon.

Roar Roar's Top 10 Chibis & Mascots (2010)

it's been too long, 5 years, since the first Top 10 list.

i had all along wanted to do an update, with my last saved MSword document being dated in 2007, so you can pretty much guess how it was forgotten for the last 3 years. until now.

anyway, the first of the Top 10 lists i'll be updating in the next few posts. starting with the easiest of them.

Top 10 Chibis & Mascots (2010)

01) Potemayo (Potemayo)

it was a tough fight between Chibitalia and her, but Potemayo won with her cute dance routines.
"ho-ni, ho-ni!"

i hate it...

... when they remove manga parts i like in the anime version.

they are totally skipped Kiyora's violin competition part (Chp111-114) in the Nodame Finale.

this is why it should have been a 24-episode series! they're gonna be blazing through the manga at this rate!

now the chance of seeing Chiaki's dad in the series is getting even more bleak.

*sighs*

they do realize why Chiaki is how he is now because of him right? they should give him more backstory!

Russell

got this from birdy.

a real-life Russell!!

OMG! i don't know who or where he is, but this boy is so cute!!

another record print

One Piece manga is just gonna get record prints volume after volume.

the latest volume (#57), to be released on Mar 4, is getting the newest record for first printing at 3 million copies.

3 million copies.

gotta hand it to Shueisha for having so much faith in Odacchi's welding power.

We Are The World 25 For Haiti

previous post on the original song found here.

same recording studio. totally different group of people. and yet, the message is still the same.

have you been doing your bit for those in need recently?

there's still so much we can do for Haiti.
all links at sidebar.

"new" blog

hello and welcome to the "new" blog.

all posts have been imported from the previous blog. so if you're looking for photos, don't worry, all have been safely brought over.

^_^.``

One Piece Manga #573-574

OMG.

i'm in shock.

please tell me this didn't really happening.

i'm in mourning.

*pasted by Moo Moo who kana niamed from RR*
Spoiler! click here for photo.
Courtesy of One Piece Singapore

Deformation Katekyoushi Hitman REBORN

my very first REBORN gashapon set.

i had resisted an earlier set before, but this set i couldn't ignore.

introducing,

the Deformation Katekyoushi Hitman REBORN! ~Special Edition~


1 Yamamoto, 2 Tsuna's, 2 Gokudera's, 3 Hibari's, 3 Mukuro's and 1 Chrome.

OP Strong World ~World Collection~

much overdue.

mainly because my parents went to harbin in the first week of Jan and so brought out the only camera in my house.

after that, i just got pre-occupied with other things.

anyway, here's my most expensive collection to date, the Strong World ~World Collection~, Luffy team.

Strawhat Pirates decked out in their mafia suits.


difference between this and the previous set? it's 7cm high and workmanship is definitely better.

UP in Best Picture running

there's 10 movies nominated for Best Picture this year, with a good mix of drama, action, comedy and suspense.

that also includes UP.

it isn't gonna win Best Picture. not with the rest of the power-packed movies that are in the running. but i'm glad it got the recognition. cos it really is one of the best movies released last year.

and it obviously has the highest chance of winning the Best Animated Film, which it is also nominated for.

anyone wanna guess how many awards Avatar is gonna sweep up??

mark your Oscars night on 7 March. (SG live telecast on 8 Mar @ 9am)