The Visual Medium

Elsie de Lute Irma (Nendoroid)

2012-02-18T20:00:00.001+08:00

It's been nearly 1 year since my last proper figurine photoshoot post, but now it's back better than ever! A light box and 3 lamps can do wonders... Be sure to click on them for larger version.

The fire-truck-loving demon in her cutest ever incarnation! Her numerous SD/chibi appearances in the manga and anime makes her a perfect candidate for the Nendoroid form. Don't believe it? I'll prove it!

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Ano Natsu de Matteru 6

2012-02-15T23:38:00.002+08:00

Beach episode! Kanna silently yelling "YES!" probably reflected my feelings quite well.

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Nisemonogatari 6

2012-02-12T13:46:00.000+08:00

Nisemonogatari continues to be one of the best-looking shows I've ever seen. Bakemonogatari set that bar really high, and Nisemonogatari managed to match it.

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Ano Natsu de Matteru 5

2012-02-08T22:21:00.001+08:00

This show continues to surprise me with unexpectedly straight forward characters and revelations. And I'm suspecting that they are doing this on purpose... but more on that at the end of this post.

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Winter 2012 Impressions (part 1)

2012-01-09T21:00:00.000+08:00

Impressions for New Prince of Tennis, Recorder and Randsell, Kill Me Baby. More to come tomorrow!

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Nisemonogatari Impressions

2012-01-08T20:00:00.000+08:00

The first episode of Nisemonogatari doesn't disappoint, but its wasn't exactly a runaway success either. Somehow it seems to have lost some of that bite in the storytelling. Nothing really happens this episode and they might be spending the next 2 episodes re-introducing characters. The star of this arc, Karen Bee, hasn't even appeared yet! With that said...

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Upcoming Monogatari Series

2012-01-07T22:14:00.003+08:00

There are quite a few books in the Monogatari/Bakemonogatari series and Shaft has only done Bakemonogatari back in 2009. Fast forward 3 years and we're getting not just one, but TWO new entries to the Monogatari series. Firstly, starting on 8 Jan 2012, midnight Japan time (that's Saturday night/Sunday morning), Nisemonogatari will air for 12 episodes. Later on in the year, Kizumonogatari will be released in theatres. Needless to say, I'm damn excited for these 2 releases. At this point of writing, the first episode of Nisemonogatari will be airing in less than an hour. Anyway, I've embedded trailers for the new series and the upcoming movie after the jump.

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Shaft OP/ED

2012-01-07T20:00:00.000+08:00

Shaft knows a thing or two about doing OPs and EDs. Here are some of my favourite OPs and EDs from them.

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Shaft Style

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000+08:00

Shaft's style is most evident in Bakemonogatari, arguably the trademark of a Akiyuki Shinbo-produced title. Here's a simple guide on what to look out for in any Shaft anime production.

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Anime of 2011: The Best

2012-01-02T00:47:00.004+08:00

These are the best of the best for the year 2011. I'm gonna shake things up a bit and do this in a slightly different format. More of a summary than a list.

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Anime of 2011: People in Anime

2011-12-31T20:00:00.000+08:00

These awards were created to celebrate the people behind some of the best anime we've seen this year. Hanazawa Kana's appearance at AFA last year wowed me and made me an instant fan, solidifying her position as best seiyuu of 2010.

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Anime of 2011: Best Of...

2011-12-30T14:09:00.000+08:00

Last year I had the "Story and Genre Awards". This time round, I've decided to name it "Best Of..." to make it more flexible so I can highlight some shows that would have otherwise been hidden in these kind of Year End Awards. For example, last year we had The Legend of Koizumi winning Best Comedy and Cross Game winning Best Plot Twist. The best overall series, OVA/Movies, etc will be in the final post, which should be up on Sunday.

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Anime of 2011: Music

2011-12-30T00:31:00.001+08:00

Last year, Shaft dominated most of the OP and ED nominations, with an award for Arakawa Under the Bridge (Best OP). Tatami Galaxy's ED got top honours for being unique. Other notable OP/ED nominations include K-ON! and Hanamaru Youchien. Best Overall Soundtrack went to Angel Beats! for having quite a few nice songs, my personal favourite being "My Song" which Yui sang before she disappears. The Best Overall Song went to Asian Kung Fu Generation's Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat. Read on for this year's winners!

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Anime of 2011: Characters

2011-12-27T21:07:00.005+08:00

Kobato was the surprising winner of "Best Overall Character of 2010". This year, I'm scraping all those different categories and just concentrate on Best Female and Best Male Character.

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Anime of 2011: THE LIST

2011-12-26T20:00:00.000+08:00

Just a quick list of shows I've watched this year, with some links to my reviews. Awards should start tomorrow, and perhaps a few more reviews. Stay tuned!

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Uncharted 3 (PS3) Review

2011-12-18T20:00:00.000+08:00

Game: Uncharted 3
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action Adventure
Overall Score: 8.5
Comment: Not as fresh as the previous game in the series, but Uncharted 3 still reigns as King of the Action/Adventure genre. The game is filled with enough visually impressive heart-thumping set pieces to make even Indiana Jones blush.

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VocaFarre!!-Act 0-

2011-12-16T20:50:00.002+08:00

The VocaFarre!!-Act 0- event was streamed live on Nico Nico from the NicoFarre live hall in Roppongi, Tokyo this afternoon. It served as a press event to introduce some new Yamaha-created characters to the Vocaloid v3 software suite, as well as a demonstration of the already-released core Vocaloid v3 software (they did a quick demonstration of Cutie Honey's OP). Note that the most famous vocaloid v1 (Meiko, Kaito) and v2 (Miku, Rin, Len, Luka) characters were all Crypton Media's creations, not Yamaha's. While IA isn't exactly one of those new characters introduced today, I think it was the best voice pack among all the v3 voices so far.

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AFA11: Cosplay

2011-12-13T20:00:00.000+08:00

After Victor's coverage on AFAXI and damages done (My damage is $77), I present to all some of the cosplayers at this year event!

Shiki (Anime) Review

2011-12-08T20:00:00.000+08:00

Shiki (2010)
Format: TV Series, 22 X 24 minutes
Studio: Daume
Broadcaster: Noitamina
Score: 4 stars
Summary: Expected a real mystery series, but ended up as a fantasy thriller. Great build-up and intense conclusion to a well-produced (relatively) long series.

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Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (Anime) Review

2011-12-07T20:00:00.000+08:00

Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (2011)
Format: Movie/OVA, Approximately 1 hour
Studio: GoHands
Score: 2 stars
Summary: Loses sight of what made the first one fun to watch in the first place.

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DIY Light Box

2011-12-02T19:00:00.000+08:00

A light box isn't exactly the most expensive photography equipment, but if you can save a few bucks with a little bit of effort, why not? This little DIY light box project should cost you about $10, depending on the quality of the materials you get.

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AFA11 Loot

2011-11-16T20:00:00.000+08:00

Shouldn't have spent so much but couldn't resist the temptations...

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AFA11 Videos

2011-11-15T20:00:00.000+08:00

Here's a bunch of videos I took during AFA Day 2. Sorry about the shakiness. The image stabilizer had some problems (random jumping flicker). Need to get it fixed!

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AFA11 Day 2

2011-11-13T23:23:00.001+08:00

AFA11 Day 2 (officially called "Day 3", with Miku concert being Day 1) was pretty damn cool as well. This time round I stayed at the stage area from 9.30am till 4.30pm, never leaving my first-row-seat. Sadly, the only segment that allowed photography was the cosplay finals. Check out the photos after the jump. (Sorry for some blurry photos! Had some problems with the image stabilization and should have shot at ISO 1600 instead or 800...)

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AFA11 Day 1

2011-11-13T00:44:00.000+08:00

And that's me with Vividblaze! First things first: For those who can't make it to AFA, be sure to check out NicoVideo's Live Streaming of the various events here. In particular, check out Day 2 of the main floor area here. Many cosplayers will be interviewed on the live stream while reading all the comments the audience are posting (about 4 second lag though).

Busy charging equipment and preparing for tomorrow, so hit the jump for photos of the event. Enjoy!

Hatsune Miku Live Party @ AFA11

2011-11-11T23:45:00.001+08:00

Arrived at 5.15pm and the redemption queue was already damn long... in the end I did not make it to the redemption counter, but was assured by Shawn Chin (Festival Director of AFA) that I would be able to do the redemption after the concert and suggested that I get in quickly. So I did. (video of the event at the end of the post)

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Happy Birthday Azu-nyan!

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000+08:00

誕生日おめでとう!

AFA11 Guide

2011-11-05T21:00:00.000+08:00

The wristbands are here! It's that time of the year again! The PR people organising Anime Festival Asia really know how to ramp up the excitement as they have been throwing hints since June this year, and then unveiling new information on their Facebook page almost every day for the past few weeks! I'll probably be covering AFA 11 here for the next week or so. Meanwhile, here's a quick run down of how to get the most out of your AFA experience.

Update 5/11: AKB mini-event! Canon Cosplay Stage!
Update 6/11: Floor plan! Madoka Ichiban Kuji!
Update 7/11: Vividblaze! Nitro+ Booth, AFA Exclusives, and ToyCoin update!

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Mawaru Penguindrum - 16

2011-10-28T18:38:00.001+08:00

It's becoming impossible to decipher Peguindrum's multiple plot lines and the large amount of hints and red herrings thrown at us every single episode. Of course, they do try to explain some stuff, showing some of the characters' background and motivation, but so much of it is still shrouded in mystery. If someone asked me "What DON'T you understand about Penguindrum?", I would reply "I don't understand ANYTHING."

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Guilty Crown 1, 2

2011-10-27T21:00:00.000+08:00

The visuals are just gorgeous! With character designs by redjuice, music by ryo/supercell, and animation by Production I.G., this looks to be the most anticipated, and hyped, series for this season. Add to that the awesome director of Death Note and a whole load of talented Production I.G. staff, it's hard to see where this series might fail.
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UN-GO 1

2011-10-25T21:00:00.000+08:00

Ahhh BONES! And Noitamina! Y U SO DISAPPOINTING! This is GoSick all over again. Episodic detectiveneering at its worst. The first episode moves really fast and is kinda interesting, but had really bad build up for the mystery. I don't watch a lot of detective shows so perhaps I'm just unable to appreciate the subtle hints and "ingenious" solutions. Also, the character designs feel dated and boring. Click the jump for bonus image and zero insight.

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Mirai Nikki 1, 2

2011-10-23T21:00:00.000+08:00

Honestly, the promo art did not interest for me. It was only after reading some season previews that I started taking notice of this series due to its premise.

Basically, a boy is suddenly thrown into a deadly game where the participants have diaries on their mobile phones that can predict the future (in some way). They have to use this power to eliminate the other participants and become the last one standing to be granted some god-like powers.

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Manga Review: Kaichou Wa Maid-sama

2011-10-07T23:30:00.001+08:00

Before I begin the review, please note that I will be doing Manga Review on individual title basis from now on due school commitment. Sorry!

Kaichou Wa Maid-sama

Author: Fujiwara Hiro

Status: Ongoing

As implied from the title, our main protagonist, a 16 years old girl who works at a maid cafe, is also the school council president. With this "split personality", Usui fell in love with her. The storyline is not fantastic but it is not too shabby either, with humour injected occasionally.

Steins;Gate (Anime) Review

2011-10-05T20:00:00.000+08:00

Steins;Gate (2011)

Format: TV Series, 24 X 24 minutes

Studio: WHITE FOX

Director: Hamasaki Hiroshi and Sato Takuya

Score: 4 stars

Summary: Despite some slow moments the plot manages to hook you in week after week.

Fate/Zero 1

2011-10-03T21:00:00.000+08:00

That was one AMAZING 40-minute movie-like opening episode! ufotable really outdid themselves with the detailed backgrounds and incredible CG work. The bits of dust floating around in the library scene, epic pan around the detailed castle/church, and the smooth yet mechanical movements of the church's magical "fax machine". ufotable effective used CG to add detail and atmosphere instead of just filling up tedious animation cycles like what many other studios do. Their mastery of CG blending into hand drawn animation is probably on par with Shinkai Makoto.

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K-ON!! Live ~Come With Me~

2011-09-28T20:00:00.000+08:00

In February 2011, the K-ON! seiyuus put on their 2nd concert at the Saitama Super Arena to an audience of 37,000 fans.

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Fall 2011 Anime List

2011-09-24T20:00:00.000+08:00

Last Exile - Ginyoku no Fam
(image taken from hashihime's blog)

A nice write-up over at hashihime's blog.

My personal list:
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Usagi Drop (Anime) Review

2011-09-18T21:00:00.000+08:00

Usagi Drop (2011)

Format: TV Series, 11 X 24 minutes

Studio: Production I.G.

Director: Kamei Kanta

Score: 3 stars

Summary: A nice slice-of-life series that gets a little preachy at times.

Steins;Gate 19

2011-08-11T20:00:00.003+08:00

Steins;Gate was really dark this week. Like, literally. Most of the episode pushed the limits of my laptop's crappy LCD panel to reproduce subtle gradients of black. As for whether or not this was a good episode, I can't decide. There were some intense moments where Okabe struggled to get Shining Finger's phone, but the voice work felt a little off to me. We also learn a bit about FB and the IBN5100, which added to the already confusing plot.

On a related note:

Bought the Sep 2011 issue (vol. 136) of Megami for the above poster!

Nichijou - 19

2011-08-08T20:30:00.000+08:00

Nichijou is always chocked full of weirdness. Whether or not that weirdness translates to good humour is another matter. This episode, it did things right, and damn was it funny! Right off the bat a Helvetica Standard segment done in a somewhat American comic style. The joke here plays on a scene in episode 17 when Mai was trolling Yuuko. Not bad, good for a chuckle, and doesn't overstay its welcome.

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Mawaru Penguindrum - 05

2011-08-05T20:00:00.001+08:00

Before I even finish writing the last (and-one-month-late) Summer 2011 Impressions, I HAVE to talk about Mawaru Penguindrum.

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Summer 2011 Impression (part 2)

2011-07-19T20:30:00.000+08:00

~~I'm more or less done checking out shows that seemed interesting to me, so I'll probably just stopped my impressions of this season here.~~ Splitting this post into 2 since there are quite a few shows to cover.

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Cosfest X.1

2011-07-18T22:23:00.000+08:00

The Soul Eater Full House

It has been 10 days since cosfest had celebrated her 10th anniversary. And this is my very first time attending Cosfest. The atmosphere is great, and with lots of hidden spoilers lingering around (Especially when i still catching Modoka). Lets keep the introduction short and skip to the photos captured straight away!

Summer 2011 Impression (part 1)

2011-07-08T19:30:00.002+08:00

The Summer season is here! Seeing the high ratings on Star Crossed Anime blog got me really excited to check them out myself. Part 1 will cover Ro-Kyu-Bu!, Kami-sama no Memo-chou, Ikoku Meiro no Croise, Sacred Seven, and Blade.

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Summer 2011 Preview

2011-07-03T20:30:00.004+08:00

Anohana has ended, Hanasaku Iroha had its mid-season climax, and Denpa Onna just had a double-episode finale this weekend, which means the Summer anime season is here! A lot of new show this season, since many studios have cautiously scaled back to 1-season runs recently. But I'm not complaining! Shorter series just means more variety for the jaded anime fan. This season we have some really interesting stuff, as well as some potentially surprising disappointments. Some big names are back in the limelight (Production I.G., Gainax, Madhouse, JC Staff, A-1 Pictures) and... well... not a lot of wildcards actually. This is my first season preview, and honestly, I don't have the time or expertise to source out all the information first-hand, so I'm relying on Random Curiosity's season preview to write my own thoughts about it. No pictures in this post, since I make it a point to only upload my own screencaps now.

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Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Anime) Review

2011-06-21T00:41:00.000+08:00

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011)

Format: TV Series, 12 X 24 minutes

Studio: Shaft

Director: Akiyuki Shinbo/Yukihiro Miyamoto

Score: 5 stars

Summary: A genre-defining (or redefining) hit.

E3 2011: Nintendo Press Conference

2011-06-07T22:52:00.026+08:00

Nintendo is the last among the big 3 to have their presser. Last, but definitely highly anticipated. Cafe? Wii 2? Beem? Or perhaps just 'Nintendo'? Keep refreshing to find out! Live-blogging starts at 12mn (GMT+8).

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E3 2011: Sony Press Conference

2011-06-07T22:46:00.000+08:00

Didn't watch this live as I was at work, so I'll just have to read (and watch) whatever I can find from my usual sources. Impressions below, in point form because I am lazy and want to take a nap before Nintendo's press conference.

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E3 2011: Microsoft Press Conference

2011-06-07T00:38:00.022+08:00

E3 2011 officially kicks off with its first major press conference! Microsoft is up first (followed by Sony a few hours later). Hit the jump to read my "LIVE" impressions.

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E3 2011: Konami

2011-06-03T22:11:00.000+08:00

Konami's E3 press conference was streamed today and here are some bits of news:

No MGS: Rising at E3 this year. Still on schedule for 2012 launch.
MSG and ZoE HD collections coming to PS3 and Xbox360. The MGS pack consists of MGS2, MGS3 and MGS Peace Walker. Will come with a code for you to download MGS1 from PSN store. All HD collections will have reworked graphics.
Transfarring. Basically, you will be able to transfer your save file from your PS3 to your PSP and continue to game on the go. First game to feature this will be MSG Peace Walker.
Kojima is working on a new game engine called Fox Engine. It looks freaking good (comparable, and might outdo, Uncharted's and Crysis' engine) and he's already developing a game for it. The engine will allow them to do multi-platform games easily.

Manga Concoction

2011-05-25T21:00:00.001+08:00

I'm not sure if this will end up being a weekly post, but my friend, Darren, has a nice write up for some manga he has been reading recently. Currently the rating system is different from what I usually use here on this blog, but I'll let him keep it till we figure something out. (Darren: Thanks vic for giving me air time and hope you guys like the manga concoction! )

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Anime Weekly 11

2011-05-22T22:43:00.001+08:00

Another week, another crazy episode of Nichojou. Didn't have time to watch any anime until the weekend, so this post will be a bit later than usual. Pleasantly surprised to see that this week was better than the last few weeks for most of these shows. Or perhaps it's just that I'm just hungry for some entertainment after a long, stressful week.

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Anime Weekly 10

2011-05-15T23:24:00.000+08:00

I've decided to stop blogging Ao no Exorcist, and perhaps even stop watching it if I don't have the time. C and Deadman Wonderland might be continued next week. Seems like I'm going through Anime burnout and just can't get myself to watch most of them. The only ones I was excited to watch this week was Hanasaku Iroha, Nichijou, Steins;Gate, AnoHana, and Denpa Onna. 5 series is a decent amount to blog so... onward!

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Anime Weekly 9

2011-05-09T22:01:00.000+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

This week's Anime Weekly comes in late because of Mother's Day, Portal 2 and work.

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Anime Weekly 8

2011-05-01T21:00:00.338+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

Madoka's final 2 episodes were shown last week, and what an EPIC ending that was. I almost mistook it for a Gainax series, except less crazy. Also, a lot of the Spring shows have been quite good, so I'll have a hard time reducing them to a bloggable amount (3 to 5?)... but I'll try anyway!

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Spring 2011 Impressions (Part 2)

2011-04-17T20:00:00.000+08:00

This season is turning out to be pretty good! Well, I say that with almost every season, but this time round it's because of the number of good slice-of-life shows, and a replacement for Madoka's weekly mindfuck. This will probably be the end of my Spring 2011 Impressions as I have exams coming up soon. I've tried to cover as many shows as possible, but some are just not interesting enough to justify watching them instead of studying. Yes, I'd rather study than watch some of these shows.

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Spring 2011 Impressions (Part 1)

2011-04-10T22:11:00.001+08:00

(Impressions for: Hanasaku Iroha, TIGER & BUNNY, Gintama, Nichijou, Dog Days, X-Men, Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai)

Finished Star Driver, so I might do some reviews in the coming weeks (in between studying for exams). Anyway, the new season is here, bringing a few interesting new series. The Noitamina timeslot has not broadcast anything yet (should be coming next week), but there are already a few shows that have surprisingly caught my attention. Madoka's last 2 episodes are not out yet, but Shaft is aiming to finish it by the end of this month. Meanwhile, there are still lots of shows to watch (and tons to study!).

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Anime Weekly 7

2011-04-03T21:00:00.006+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

This week there was no Madoka either. Wandering Son's schedule was not affected by the earthquake, and Star Driver came back after a 1 week break, so this week I'll cover Star Driver 23, 24 and the rest of Wandering Son. Some minor spoilers inside for Star Driver which I don't think would really affect your enjoyment of the series anyway.

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Anisong Compliation 2005-2008

2011-03-30T20:00:00.001+08:00

Found a video of anisongs from 2005 to 2008 on Sankaku Complex (site is NSFW). I think I only recognised 43 of them, and even then I can't remember most of the song titles. That makes me... not even closed to being an aniota (Anime Otaku). lol. Go to the link and see how many songs you can recognise. My guesses, some of which were inaccurate, are after the jump. Full answers in the video itself and in the comments on Sankaku Complex.

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/01/25/300-anime-songs-true-otaku-can-identify-at-least-270/

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Danboard Revoltech

2011-03-20T21:00:00.003+08:00

(No Anime Weekly this week due to delays for Madoka and Star Driver broadcasts)
Got him for $38 when Hobby Search finally restocked. This is the regular revoltech edition. There are about 101 different versions of Danboard out there with various corporate logos, the most sought after being the Amazon.jp version (same as the one in the Yotsuba! manga). The prices for that version is skyrocketing due to its small run and is unlikely to be re-released.

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Anime Weekly 6

2011-03-13T21:00:00.160+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

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Anime Weekly 5

2011-03-06T21:00:00.001+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

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Anime Weekly 4

2011-02-27T21:00:00.110+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

Spoiler policy: From this point on, I will not post spoilerific images. As for plot, I will try to keep spoilers at a minimum, briefly mentioning certain moments in the episode without fully describing it in detail.

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Anime Weekly 3

2011-02-22T21:00:00.153+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

This post will be going up on Tuesday instead of Sunday. Seems like I can't keep up with this every week, so some changes will be made to the format.

Anime Weekly 2

2011-01-30T21:00:00.002+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

I did not watch a lot this week (busy!), so hopefully I will do some catching up during the Chinese New Year weekend. Along the way, I would most likely decide to drop a few series (currently following about 14, at worst I will drop that to 7).

PSP2 (or NGP) announced

2011-01-27T21:00:00.002+08:00

Earlier this afternoon, Sony held a "Playstation Meeting" in Tokyo for the gaming press. To summarize, they announced a new, unnamed, portable gaming device (code-named Next Generation Portable, or NGP for short). This thing is one heck of a technological showpiece.

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Anime Weekly 1

2011-01-23T21:00:00.121+08:00

A short post every Sunday, 9pm (I hope!) summarizing what I've watched in the past 7 days. Notable episodes this week have a (*) beside the episode number.

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Nintendo 3DS US Press Conference

2011-01-20T21:26:00.000+08:00

Nintendo held 2 3DS press conferences yesterday: One in New York, and another in Amsterdam.

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Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier Event

2011-01-19T10:57:00.000+08:00

Last night, Square Enix held an event in Tokyo, Japan. Game reveals, name changes and exclusive new footage abound!

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Winter 2011 Anime Impressions

2011-01-12T00:18:00.220+08:00

Will be updating this list as I watch more. Hopefully can cover most of the major titles.

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Anime of 2010 (Staff and Overall Awards)

2011-01-09T21:00:00.007+08:00

The people behind the animation and best of the best of 2010.

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Anime of 2010 (Music Awards)

2011-01-07T21:00:00.001+08:00

The best OP, ED, soundtrack and anisong of 2010! For these awards, I'll also be listing a winner and a few runners up.

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Anime of 2010 (Story and Genre Awards)

2011-01-05T21:00:00.001+08:00

Some of the best writing in anime. Needless to say, skip these if you don't want any story spoilers.

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Anime of 2010 (Character Awards)

2011-01-03T21:00:00.009+08:00

2010 Anime Awards! Took a long time to come up with these lists, but it provided a moment for me to reflect on the trends and my likes and dislikes.

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Anime of 2010 (Watch List)

2011-01-01T20:20:00.005+08:00

Happy 2011! It's been a good year for anime for me. AFA X, CosFest 2010, figurines and a couple of really good shows. Here's the year in anime!

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Arakawa under the Bridge × Bridge (Anime) Review

2010-12-31T18:13:00.000+08:00

Arakawa under the Bridge × Bridge (2010)
Format: TV Series, 13 X 24 minutes
Studio: Shaft
Director: Akiyuki Shinbo
Score: 2 stars
Summary: Always hinting at a more mature storyline, this series ends up not delivering at all. The humour (and culture behind this type of comedy) does not translate well into other languages. For fans of Manzai perhaps?

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Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (Anime) Review

2010-12-30T01:15:00.000+08:00

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes (2010)
Format: TV Series, 12 X 24 minutes
Studio: J.C. Staff
Score: 2 stars
Summary: Weirdly enough, I laughed the most for this series due to its over-the-top comedy. But it is very cliche and does not have a satisfying plot/conclusion.

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Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (Anime) Review

2010-12-29T00:22:00.002+08:00

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (2010)
Format: TV Series, 13 X 24 minutes
Studio: Gainax
Director: Imaishi Hiroyuki
Episode 5b Director: Kobayashi Osamu
Score: 4 stars
Summary: Totally crass, over-the-top, extremely vulgar and explicit. Gainax redefines "epic" in the story episodes, but stumbles along with many bad episodes too.

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Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (Anime) Review

2010-12-28T00:24:00.001+08:00

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (2010)
Format: TV Series, 12 X 24 minutes
Studio: Shaft
Score: 3 stars
Summary: Make no mistake, this is no Bakemonogatari or even Arakawa. But this is still a pretty damn good attempt at slice-of-life for Shaft.

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Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Anime) Review

2010-12-26T21:00:00.000+08:00

Shinryaku! Ika Musume (2010)
Format: TV Series, 12 X 24 minutes
Studio: Diomedea
Score: 3 stars
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable and funny series by a relatively unknown studio. The jokes are fresh and the characters are lovable (especially Ika-chan!), but the plot is a little on the shallow side.

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The World God Only Knows (Anime) Review

2010-12-25T21:00:00.002+08:00

The World God Only Knows (2010)
Format: TV Series, 12 X 24 minutes
Studio: Manglobe
Score: 2 stars
Summary: Had so much potential, with a strong start and unique direction, art and animation, but ultimately failed on almost all fronts.

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Oreimo (Anime) Review

2010-12-24T23:49:00.000+08:00

Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (aka Oreimo) (2010)
Format: TV Series, 12 X 22 minutes
Studio: AIC
Score: 3 stars
Summary: Despite its many controversies, this series cuts down on the fan service to deliver an enjoyable look into the life of an underage otaku.

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Installing a new PS3 hard drive

2010-12-12T23:53:00.000+08:00

Followed some guides online on how to replace a PS3 hard drive, but they turn out to be incomplete. Here's a more complete guide.

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Toy Carnival: Gurren Lagann!

2010-12-10T21:00:00.001+08:00

Went down to Toy Carnival @ Singapore Arts Museum last Sunday (5th Dec). Was a last minute decision to go there because I was bored ^.^;

Anyway, saw a "cheap" Revoltech Gurren Lagann on sale there. Only $30! And the joints seem really well concealed. So I bought it.

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State of Gaming: Indie Revolution?

2010-12-08T21:00:00.001+08:00

Gaming has weird ups and downs. It started with a bunch of computer scientists tinkering around with their new hardware to make fun little diversions. After a while, people start making games for kids, with computers and game consoles becoming the new toy. The industry saw a huge surge in interest and suddenly it became huge business. Publishers stepped in to help promote, package and distribute games for various studios, trying to differentiate their product from the hundreds flooding the market.

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Castle Crashers (PS3) Review

2010-12-05T21:22:00.001+08:00

Game: Castle Crashers
Platform: PS3
Genre: Side-scrolling beat 'em up
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Comment: Fun, solid game with a few irritating bugs and lack of "moves list" for you to refer to.

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VVVVVV (PC) Review

2010-12-02T21:00:00.001+08:00

Game: VVVVVV
Platform: PC
Genre: Platformer
Overall Score: 7/10
Comment: Short, simple and sweet. VVVVVV can be brutally hard at times, but the frequent save points and quick loads makes it addictively fun to die over and over again. That same addictiveness, and relative shortness of the entire game, might cause you to finish it in one sitting.

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Blog Status Update: Going Indie

2010-12-01T22:38:00.002+08:00

I have not posted any gaming related articles for quite a long time, so I decided to concentrate on that topic for the next week or so.

I bought a bunch of indie gaming packs on Steam a few days ago during their Black Friday sales and thought it would be interesting to blog a bit about indie games. Not many of my friends (even the gamers) know much about Jonathan Blow, Jenova Chen or Ian Bogost. It's these people that drive the industry forward, bringing new ideas to the table and challenging our perception of games as more than just hobbies or past times. Some might laugh at the idea of games as art, but some indie developers are dedicated to finding that link between games and art. A lofty goal indeed.

Nakano Azusa (figma)

2010-12-01T02:20:00.000+08:00

I have the whole K-ON band (all 5!), Black Rock Shooter, Nagato Yuki (movie version) and Saber (super movable edition) all waiting to be opened, but I decided to do Azu-nyan first! ^_^

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FLCL AMV

2010-11-25T15:31:00.001+08:00

Made a short compilation of scenes from episodes 1 and 2 of FLCL. See the review here.

FLCL AMV (epi 1 & 2) from The Visual Medium on Vimeo.

The Seiyuu of AFA X

2010-11-19T21:00:00.013+08:00

Last year's AFA had the entire cast of K-ON! at the live dubbing session. This year we had Kana Hanazawa. Both are awesome in their own right, but what can we expect at future AFAs?

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Blog status update

2010-11-16T22:30:00.000+08:00

I'm sort of back to blogging, due to the AFA fever. Decided to switch back to blogger default templates as the javascript in the previous one wasn't working. Will work on a better-looking blog after exams are over. For now, expect some AFA coverage either over the weekend or Monday/Tuesday night.

Update: AFA X coverage and related articles will continue till 20th November. Thereafter, The Disappearance of TVM Bloggers will be screened.

AFA X Day 2 Report

2010-11-16T22:29:00.000+08:00

Day 2! No seiyuus, but this time we have lots of cosplay, including the appearance of Kaname and Aira!

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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Anime) Review

2010-11-15T22:00:00.001+08:00

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)
Format: Movie, 163 minutes
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Score: 4 stars
Summary: Filled to the brim with various Haruhi references, Disappearance will definitely be a fan favourite. Well-written (as most of the Haruhi series is), convincingly voiced, and nicely animated, the only downside would be its long screen time which dragged out certain scenes in the second half.

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AFA X Day 1 Report

2010-11-14T00:43:00.003+08:00

How was your day? My day was awesome. It'll be remembered as the day Kana Hanazawa silenced the entire audience with her performance.

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Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (Anime) Review

2010-11-13T21:31:00.003+08:00

Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (2010)
Format: Movie, 60 minutes
Studio: GoHands
Score: 3 stars
Summary: Great designs and busy visuals leave you awestruck by the production values of this relatively new studio. However, the pacing does a lot of harm to the overall feel of the show, not letting the fantastic plot breathe and just generally causing disassociation with the characters.

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Manga & Anime! Japan @ Japan Creative Centre

2010-11-11T22:30:00.001+08:00

Went down to Japan Creative Centre today to check out the Manga & Anime! Japan exhibition. It really gives you insight into the manga industry, it's birth, boom, and current struggles. Sounds a bit like Bakuman. right? If you've read that series, you'll understand some of the issues mangakas of today face and how the industry is quite a risky one.

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Enslaved (PS3) Review

2010-11-10T23:30:00.011+08:00

Game: Enslaved
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action Adventure
Overall Score: 7/10
Comment: Enslaved is a game loosely based on the Journey to the West novel, where the protagonists Monkey and Trip travel together to bring her home. Circumstances force our musclehead hero Monkey to have to obey our damsel in distress. The premises redefined, it was a very different take to the original source material, but it came together rather nicely to tell its own game.
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4koma Random: 02

2010-09-27T22:35:00.000+08:00

New professor layton game, same irritating puzzles.

Santouka: Best Ramen in Singapore?

2010-09-24T23:27:00.002+08:00

Went to Santouka for dinner today, with Azu-nyan in tow. (Probably my last post on this blog for a while. Busy with school projects, assignments, mid terms, and exam preparation.)