Even though the content in this episode looks fillerish, it was actually in the manga too.
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Kaichou wa Maid-sama – Episode 9 – Usui’s Folk Tale
K-ON!! Second Season – Episode 8 – Yui’s “Undecided” Future
Unfortunately, Yui and Ritsu didn't submit their career plans…
Senior year… Time to think about what college you are going to… But Yui have not decided what she is going to do.
Talking about colleges and admission exams….
It's blinding me!
In my senior year, I knew what I wanted to be… an Accountant, but I haven’t applied to any schools since I haven’t finish taking those SATs and ACTs… I didn’t get in the school I wanted at first, so I had to transfer in after sophomore year. Not only that, taking these tests are pain in the ass.
Yui quickly faces her decision on colleges and her future, but she doesn’t know what to be… A NEET? Good idea, but do she really want to be supported by her sister and parents for rest of her life? Most people wouldn’t like to live with their parents for rest of their life… it gets pretty embarrassing.
How about “undecided”? You cannot be undecided on colleges because she has to go somewhere. Most of the time, students in college have a “undecided” major simply because they don’t know what they are going to do. Once they become “decided,” some of their courses won’t count and they have to take even more courses.
Ritsu and Yui gets called down to the facility office and of course, rejected and they try to ask about Sawako’s past. If she looks perfect, why she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet? Maybe because of her outrageous past? I don’t know…
The story on how Yui met Nodoka is pretty funny.
Crayons aren't food… Don't do this or you end up having a mark on your face.
They are usually in the same class… Some more troubles:
I don't think this is the right way to cook it.
She forgot the octopus for the recipe…
Don’t depend on Yui with anything… she manages to forget the octopus and…
Tako-less takyaki! You can laugh all you want because its so funny.
but people manages to forgive her because of her innocent looks. Don’t worry, she improved a little bit…
There is another funny moment in her life when Yui wanted to be a Kindergarden Teacher in this writing assignment assignment:
My dream is to become a kindergarten teacher. I want to become a kindergarten teacher and play with kids forever.
And the whole class laughed at her… even though she didn’t notice and yes, that is so like her… Even the other jobs are unsuitable for her including an office job.
Mio was more shyer than she is now in her childhood:
More like a bookworm at best…
Ritsu picking on Mio as a child… like she always done…
My sister was pretty shy when she was young, but it took awhile to break away from it. Ritsu have teach her well to overcome the fear of speaking to an audience for her piece of writing she got a reward on. Pretty amazing, although not everything that Ritsu teaches is useful.
Yui tries to write Musician down and hand it in and the paper got rejected because notice that she put it in the wrong area… It was supposed to be in the bottom section silly.
And yes, that make her laugh… and the first time too!
This episode is pretty enjoyable not because of some character development. It relates to my time when I decided on my future plans. I’m sure other high school seniors, college students and graduates have the same feeling. The question remains… What will Yui eventually decide on her future for real next time? I guess we will never know…
Verdict
8.75/10
AniBlog Tourney – Round 2 Part 5 (Day 14-17) and Round 2 Followup
Sorry for the delay… I was playing Half-Life 2 (which is a good game like with Portal) and totally forgot about the last few matches… so I guess I have to write them up…
Like the last digest, blogs will be judged on content and design with content weighing more. Second Page contains the Round 2 Followup. Note that I won’t be doing any digests next round since I have already reviewed all the blogs in the tournament.
Note: Fanart used in this post is made by 竹家ﾕｰｷ@待機.
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Kaichou wa Maid-Sama – Episode 8
It’s more like Misa-chan playing right into Miyabigaoka Academy’s Student Council President’s trap…
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Aniblog Tourney Round 2 Part 4 – Day 10-13 Digest
When I really need to do these digests, I forget now since I have no classes at the moment. It was a week and a half since Spring Semester ended, so I will try to roll these posts a bit more quickly than what I am doing right now.
Like the last digest, blogs will be judged on content and design with content weighing more.
Note: Fanart used in this post is made by 悠夜
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Review: My Soul, Your Beats / Brave Song Single
General Information
Album Title: My Soul, Your Beats! / Brave Song
Artist: Lia, Toda Aoi, Maeda Jun
Catalog Number: KSLA-0054
Release Date: May 26, 2010
General Thoughts
When something gets animated, the theme song will get referred to as the national anthem.
– Ken from Seitokai no Ichizon
Typically, all the Key Anime Adaptations always had great opening and Eeding Themes (Tori no Uta, Last regrets, Megumeru, Toki wo Kizamu Uta, Light colors and others). Angel Beats is no exception to this, except the insert album songs from Girls Dead Monster since the vocals sound like they were amateurs. From hearing the songs over and over again, I think this is a pretty solid album overall with some tiny flaws (some minor screeches in a few areas in My Soul, Your Beats! and vocals being soft in Brave Song), but nothing that serious. Both songs have strong instrumentals and sound really beautiful, especially with Brave Song.
My Soul, Your Beats!
The intro of My Soul, Your Beats! has a simular feel to Toki wo Kizamu Uta (A Song Engraved in Time) from Clannad After Story… Heck, the vocals sound similar. From the song, I like how the piano and the guitar is played in the background as it gives this feeling of being blown away because of how powerful it is. Since it’s Lia, the vocals are solid. Nothing else to say about My Soul, Your Beats! as its a very good song. No need to recommend as most people will like this off the bat.
It’s worth noting that while I was listening to My Soul, Your Beats, I was comparing this song with Lia’s past opening themes with Key (Tori no Uta, Light colors, Toki wo Kizamu Uta). While My Soul, Your Beats is a good song, it lacks the emotional feel from these three songs. However, Brave Song conveys that feeling, which is the next song in the review.
Brave Song
Honestly, it took several listens for Brave Song to click in, but it has the feel of Chiisana Tenohira. It pretty much fits in with the whole premise of the show. The vocals from Toda Aoi seem to be a bit soft at first. After listening it a few times, it fits in well with the song although not as good as Lia. The strength of this song is the lyrics that can compare to Toki wo Kizamu Uta as it has emotions that’s not present in My Soul, Your Beats. Although most won’t get Brave Song from listening it to the first time, but after a few listens, it will click in. Maybe not like Go Go Maniac since I still can’t get over the screechy vocals from Toyosaki Aki.
By the way, Brave Song is the song that is played when the rocket goes off, which I found really strange.
Conclusion
From listening to both of these tracks, Jun Maeda should be proud that his Opening and Ending Themes are not ruined by mediocre vocals from marina and LiSA, but with more established singers. Lia delivered just like she alway do from all of her tracks I had listen to. Toda Aoi on the other hand isn’t as refined as Lia, but her performance of Brave Song turned out pretty good. Nevertheless, this is a solid single and is a recommended listen if you are watching Angel Beats or like Jun Maeda’s compositions.
Verdict
8.9/10, A-/B+, Outstanding
K-ON!! Second Season – Episode 7 – The Mio Fanclub Legacy
Beware, this episode has a lot of MugiVision…
I bet all those Mio fanboys are raving this after they had a tea party commemorating Mio.
Fangirls are fascinating creatures…
Fanboys and Fangirls are facinating creatures that seems to love and be so passionate what they like way too much. In real life however, these Fanboys and Fangirls can get so annoying to fan haters that the fan haters and the fanboys/fangirls go out on an all out war. In K-ON!!, they seem to not show that negative aspect. No matter how much those Mio fanboys want to be at the tea party, they can’t go since it’s an all-girls school.
Considering how popular Mio is after that pantsu Nice Bowl incident doesn’t help the fact that she is shy. Not only that, she generated a lot of fans that she thought they were stalkers…
Caught Red Handed!
In a past incident, the former student council president, Sokabe Megumi is actually behind the Mio Fanclub! No wonder she knows how to make tea! Also, Ritsu tried to add some Mugivision while Mio was telling about what happened with the Mio Fanclub which I found rather funny. Not only that, the whole club plays for Megumi before she graduates… and the club gets handed down to Nodoka although she doesn’t want to…
Megumi is the biggest Mio fangirl out there that she could surpass all those Mio Fanboys in real life. Not only that, she wants an autograph from Mio signed as Mio-tan… I laughed.
Now onward to the party:
Holy crap! Mio themed items!
The speech isn’t much of a speech with Mio biting her tongue, lips and also with someone saying Shish kabob that makes Mio laugh. Fangirls love it when they see her quirkiness.
Azu-nyan and Mio cutting the cake with embarrassment.
Fangirls are still squealing…. Not only that, the cake looks nice.
Ritsu and Yui is having a field day with this…
Although Mio doesn’t like Ritsu and Yui asking about scary stories…
The fangirls are… They will be satisfied with anything…
Not only, they take advantage of this by asking Mio embarrassing questions. Also, do I smell some Mugivision going around here
They look so cute… Also, why Ritsu is in every picture? It's her pictures, obviously…
When the fangirls look at the sideshow…
They are liking it.
Mio afterwards share a very strange poem that sounds like a love poem… ouch… Next, they play “Pure Pure Heart” which sounds really good, on the same level as Fuwa Fuwa Time from the last season. At least its better than the mediocre music I had listen from Girls Dead Monster…. Ugh… Not only that, the insert single is releasing in another week, so I will probably get a chance to review the full song. Will it be better than Fuwa Fuwa Time? We will find out soon.
When they take group pictures with Mio and the fangirls, Azusa sends a group picture to Megumi who can’t come to the party. Look at how much she grew in the last scene:
Oh look how much she changed after she graduated…
Girls grow more mature and beautiful once they graduate and enter their adult/college life. Also, the last scene as pretty heartwarming indeed… especially when she is the #1 fan of Mio… Take that Fanboys~
Even though I am not a Mio fanboy, I found this episode rather enjoyable… This episode pretty much done it for me along with Episode 4 and others. It makes me wonder… What will happen to the Mio Fanclub once Mio graduates? That will leave us speculating about it until the end of the season.
Verdict
8.9/10
Game Review: CLANNAD SPELUNKER
Just don't ask why the hell I'm playing this…
On Wednesday during the week of finals, someone on Twitter was playing this game called CLANNAD spelunker, which is essentially a Clannad themed version of the original Spelunker on the Atari. If it has Clannad characters, it must not be that bad… you will be mistaken when I show how hard this game really is.
Warning: There is a lot of swearing when I made the post.
It is pretty odd to have a game such as spelunker and slap Clannad characters in it… Well, yes… it’s so out of place… Now to the gameplay:
Character Selection Screen
Although I can’t read Japanese, it doesn’t really matter since its pretty obvious. In Clannad Spelunker, you can play as Nagisa, Kotomi, Tomoyo and Yukine. I’n guessing that each character has different abilities… I don’t know… but whatever.
The Gameplay
The goal of this game is to explore caves, collect treasures and defeat enemies… Sound easy, right? You will find out sooner…
What? I just died from that jump? WHAT????!!!!!
That is fucking bullshit! I died from that fall? Yep, I did and it wasn’t that high… Note that when you lose a life, you go back to a place in the level… Note that when you hit a checkpoint, you will get sent back there when you lose a life
The game fools you in thinking the game is easy. Compared to the original spelunker which is one hit and game over, Clannad Spelunker gives you 4 tries and you can replenish them by collecting the hearts. Not only that, its pretty hard to get on the damn ropes that you will end up falling when I realized that I need to use the double jump. You are going to use the double jump a lot to get to these places. However, the controls feels like shit that you will end up doing a single jump and lose a life because of the fall. That is fucking horseshit!
In Super Mario Bros, you can jump further without dying even if you fall from a high platform, but in Clannad Spelunker you die from a high jump. The developers made the game feel so hard that nobody can beat it in one sitting or without saving. Believe me, you are going to die a lot in this game. And yeah, if you lose all your lives, there are NO continues…
Forgot to mention, there is a save function, but I have no idea how to use it.
Seriously, this enemy looks stock…
It seems that the makers of Clannad Spelunker are not creative. We get stock characters like ghosts, bats, blobs and witches. Can’t the developers be a bit more creative? They should have added dangos or starfish… but whatever… Not only that, they have insane amount of hit points. It takes 6 hits just to defeat that ghost. Not only that, if you don’t hit them fast enough, they get you and you die… and you know thats bullshit!
Fuck! That is not fair! I just respawned there and I died just like that… Thats bullshit!
An enemy right near the checkpoint. When you respawn, you get hit again and lose a life. That is just fucked up.
What is a wedding head dress doing in a cave? Also, it looks cropped out of somewhere.
After dying so many times in getting to that treasure chest, I finally get to it and what I found? A head dress? What the hell is a wedding head dress doing in a treasure chest? I would have thought there would be something like gold, but no. I think they had done this since it’s Clannad themed. This wedding head dress from what I recalled is from Kouko Ibuki from Fuuko’s Arc. I grabbed the key and bullshit…
Fuuuuuuck! I fell and now its game over… I was so close, but now I have to do that over again? F that!
I died… I gave up afterwards since I couldn’t even beat the first level!
What is this game intended for? Certainly not Clannad fans or fan of Key…. It disappoints everyone just because the game is too fucking difficult! Even with the four lives compared to the original, it’s still too fucking hard. It even compare to the difficulty to Transformers: Convoy no Nazo, which is known to be the most difficult Transformers game out there. Clannad Spelunker is on the same level difficulty as the latter. Clannad Spelunker just redefines the definition of Nintendo Hard, a game that is very difficult and gives no mercy.
What would be my suggestion? Stay the hell away from this game, unless you like dying every time you fall or hit an enemy… This game is basically trial and error. Every time you play, you will get better until you get stuck again… and believe me… you will die a lot and I mean it!
Overall Picture
Pros: It’s a Clannad themed Spelunker game!
Cons: Intense difficulty, poor controls, stock enemies, unfair respawning, no continues (without saving).
Verdict
6.2/10, D-, Below Average
Dropped Anime Flashback: Kampfer or Add Moar Fanservice and Dumb Down the Characters
Ah, Kampfer… The Genderbending Anime that hasn’t been. Kampfer was a big disappointment across the board not only because of the excessive fanservice, but they dumb down the main character to intolerable levels so he would be hated just like Sakura… They did just that… They made Natsuru into a big idiot and a sucker for Sakura, who is obviously taking advantage of his female form. Also, he didn’t gave a sh** about the other girls who want the male Natsuru. Hell, probably the only sane character in this story might just be Shizuku… As I remembered, I only watched Episodes 1 and 6 before dropping this piece of crap… but I will go more in detail on why this show is a piece of crap.
Nogizaka Haruka Purezza’s fanservice may be bad, but it cannot compare to Kampfer. Kampfer is fanservice laden to beyond belief. The typical stuff from most harem anime plus clothing being ripped, more censor steam, boobs and then some. Not only that I heard they put references in completely random places. What kind of Anime does that? Oh wait…
From what I have seen from the two episodes I seen, It was a disaster. Girls randomly battling each other with more fanservice shots, Natsuru obsessing over Sakura, and girls obsessing over Natsuru and wants to dress him (or her) in outrageous outfits for example… That what I got from it and it definitely didn’t play well for me. What Purezza and Kampfer have in common is the weak male lead. Yuuto’s apparent flaw is that he let everyone else step over him and not being aggressive enough. However, Natsuru got to be the lamest, even Yuuto’s niceness can’t beat Natsuru’s pathetic life. Natsuru knows damn well that other girls in his harem (Akane, Mikoto and Shizuku) wants him, but he completely ignores them and go for the manipulative bitch called Sakura Kaede. Natsuru likes her because she is obviously the prettiest girl in the school, but you have to know that appearance isn’t everything. This can apply in real life. The prettiest girl ever can be the most manipulative bitch out there and wants you to do things for her all the time.
Not only that, the ending from reading it on various anime blogs shown to be a big disaster. What Ode to Joy have to do with anything? Funny thing is that Purezza took the same cue from Kampfer and did its Ode to Joy thing, but not nearly as lame as Kampfer. Want to power up, let’s take more clothing off… Bullshit! After that final scene, absolutely nothing is resolved… That is just bullshit. Not only that, people ask, what the hell we watched after looking at Episode 11. I wonder too, what did I watch/read about? A pile of shit!
I can go on with Kampfer, but there isn’t really much more to say. Kampfer disappointed everyone across the board. Not only that, they ruined the story by making the male lead even more of an idiot than in the Manga. It’s worth noting that not only the story is horrible, but the music too as what zzeroparticle said in his Kampfer Soundtrack Review:
Katou’s messing around with musical genres is a double-edged sword and while Kanno and Iwasaki are able to draw forth memorable music by doing so, Katou displays no such skill and ends up cutting himself badly because he’s simply not good enough to deliver wide-ranging music that consistently engages the listener.
And it shows when you listen to Kämpfer’s music. The task of composing a diverse musical portfolio taxes him to the limit and he doesn’t have a whole lot to give. In the early part of the track, there’s a glimmer of promise; the melody is solid, catchy even, and just when you enter the bridge, you come back face to face with the opening melody. Development? What development?
By reading this, you know that Kampfer is a pile of shit since it suffers from not so good storytelling, uninspiring and completely random music, an incompetent male lead and a horrible ending. From this, what do I expect out of Kampfer? Absolutely nothing, except watching it with other people for amusement on how shitty this Anime is. Nomad could have done a better job on Kampfer, but they bombed it like on the same level of Action 52… Maybe not as horrible as Action 52, but it’s still bad. So yea, Kampfer is probably the most horrible Anime I watched so far excluding the Endless Eight fiasco with Suzumiya Haruhi S2.
Notes: My plan was to originally rewatch up to Episode 6, but the problem is that most of the torrents by then were pretty much dead, so I have to use what I already know.
Working!! – Episode 7 – The Clumsy Newcommer
What? Now she is living at the restaurant?
Believe me, this anime gets stranger by every episode. Nevertheless, this episode was pretty good and better than the first 6 episodes
Needless to say, they introduced a new character called Yamada Aoi, who has a hair style like Mio from K-ON!. The funny thing is that she causes havoc… It’s like bringing a dog you bought from the pet store. When you leave it home, it makes a mess of the house, trying to take stuff out and pooping on your furniture. Yamada is just like that breaking dishes and cups, taking all the spices, taking shelf space for herself and causing trouble with her peers. Don’t worry though… she will be tamed soon enough.
Yamada can’t help it since she doesn’t have a family. She tried to make Yachiyo her mother, but as you know… she is obligated to Kyoko… It’s just like a boy trying to take away someone’s girlfriend… you just don’t do that (and we know that because Kyoko wants her parfaits). She also causes some drama between Satou and Yachiyo… Believe me, she is a very troublesome girl.
Not much to say about this episode, except that it is a vast improvement than the earlier episodes. The problem that was present on the first half of the season such as the over-redundant punching of men from Inami is pretty much gone that it made the show more enjoyable. I know it had potential, but under the pile of meh, it didn’t deliver. Episode 7 pretty much change that view a little bit and it is redeeming itself. However, I need to watch the last 6 episodes to be sure it doesn’t go down the same path as the first half of the season. It may have a lot of flaws, but it’s not bad overall… if the material remains consistent.
Verdict
8.5/10
Aniblog Tourney Round 2 Part 3 – Day 7-9 Digest
Summer fever sets in and I totally forgot yet again… Oh well!
Not summer yet, but close to it… Like the last digest, blogs will be judged on content and design with content weighing more.
Note: Fanart used in this post is made by ミサコズ.
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Midseason Impressions: Angel Beats!
Been really slow on Angel Beats! since it first aired because I want to watch it with the best subs, but now I am caught up with the 7 episodes, it’s time for my midseason impressions on it.
Angel Beats! is the Sora no Woto of this season. Sora no Woto was unpredictable because it was an Anime Original that led people to do a lot of speculation on what will happen next. We get the same with Angel Beats! since it is also an Anime Original. I can’t say if this is a good thing or not, but it makes things pretty fresh.
Angel Beats features drama and comedy stuffed into random places. Unlike previous Key Anime adaptations like Kanon, Air and Clannad, they were pretty consistent with comedy in some episodes and then drama placed in a few episodes. The pacing was consistent since they focus on each character’s arc separately. We don’t get that in Angel Beats because the comedy is jumbled up with the serious sections. This could be the small flaw of the show as a whole as it makes things feel slightly out of place, especially with Episodes 2, 3, 4, and 7. For some people, it can make people feel that they can’t take the serious scenes seriously. If only Angel Beats had 24 episodes, I would think this pacing issue would ease a bit.
The animation for the whole show is pretty good, but there are some instances that the animation looks a bit quirky as shown in the following:
Just don't ask what the animators were smoking when they made such an ugly scene like this…
Not nearly as bad, but still… mehhhh….
Well, I don’t know what the Animators were thinking when they made these scenes…
The story is pretty much up in the air. In some episodes, they focus on a character’s memory that I found pretty melodramatic and tragic, but not nearly the level seen in Clannad After Story. Since the story is unpredictable, I can’t really comment on it as a whole until the end of the season, but it remains interesting.
As for the music, they have done a very good job with the instrumentals and the opening and closing songs. The only problems I have are the singers of the insert songs as I mentioned in my reviews of the Crow Song and Thousand Enemies single reviews. The singing from marina and LiSA felt amateurish and doesn’t sound professional as they go out of tune in some instances, ruining the whole premise of the song. What they should have done is let the voice actor do the singing… but meh…
Overall, Angel Beats is pretty good, but not a masterpiece. There are flaws like pacing issues, animation quirkiness, and amateur singers for insert songs that prevents it from being perfect. If PA Works pulls through with Angel Beats, they may become a viable candidate against Kyoto Animation if Key plans to do an Anime adaptation of Little Busters!
Attribution Information
Fanart used in this post is made by 逢鍵ゆう
Midseason Impressions: Kaichou wa Maid-sama
Reverse Traps? NO WAI!
Kaichou wa Maid-sama at first looks like a shoujo anime, but it is pretty different not because it had a maid cafe, but it didn’t contain one of those clichéd female leads in Shoujo Anime such as Fruit Baskets, which I gave up watching after one episode. Some view this as a satire of moe and maid cafes in general, but its pretty deep.
Misaki Ayuzawa isn’t like the clichéd, “mary-sue” like character found in the typical Shoujo anime. She is a strong character that has a lot of energy, which some may view her as not taking the traditional gender role as a female. This is reinforced in several episodes. First instance is with Aoi complaining that Misaki isn’t dressing like a female would and see her smack down some purse-snatchers. Another instance is when Misaki was held hostage by two stalkers and Usui have to end up saving her by distracting them. In the latest episode during “Ladies Days” when the workers at the maid cafe dress up like men, Usui reinforces the idea that Misaki is still a woman.
The issue is that she hasn’t gotten over the dislike of men because of what happened when her father left the family and left her family with all that debt. She gradually gets over the dislike of men, but it will take some time. At first, she had a strong dislike for men, but after driving the whole class boy’s away from their festival activities and bringing them back, she became less harsh. Even though she is less harsh, she still punishes them if they break the rules.
Usui is essential to Misaki’s character development. He could be viewed as the “Gary Stu” of the show since he seems to be perfect at everything such as cooking, grades, beating people at chess, jumping off buildings with a few bruises, etc. However, that is not the point. He pops out of nowhere and get Misaki annoyed, when though he loves and care about her. Misaki finds him annoying because her general dislike of men, but I know damn well that she likes him secretly with all that blushing. Would that make her a tsundere then? Perhaps. By caring about her, he tries to protect her from trouble and try to break dislike of men.
The overall premise of the story so far is Misaki getting over her dislike of men while protecting her reputation as Class President when she is secretly working at a maid café. Obviously, Kaichou wa Maid-sama is a satire of all the “moe” factors out there. I wouldn’t be surprised that maid cafes in real life were like this. However, people who work at maid cafes can be viewed negatively since it has some negative connections to Otakus. This is why Misaki wants to keep it a secret, although those three guys at a high-class school already found out in Episode 7. However, I wonder how that will pan out next episode.
Overall, Kaichou wa Maid-sama is unlike what I have seen in Fruit Baskets… It is an enjoyable shoujo romance comedy anime that has a deeper meaning on gender roles. Not flawless, though, but if you still on the fence on this… just do it, not just because it has maids, but for the story.
Review: iPad and Anime Blogging
I have finally decided to get myself an iPad, which some people say it’s a big iPod Touch or iPhone and seem to hate it so much. I played around with my 16 GB Wifi iPad, loading some Anime Blogs from Anime Nano and the functions on the iPad. I even Jailbroken the device. So far, my experiences with it is great and its better than any Netbook out there. It won’t replace my Macbook Pro anytime soon, but it will definitely kill netbooks or make them evolve into multitouch tablets without keyboards and trackpads.
Design/Connectivity
The iPad is really light and weighing only 1.5 pounds and almost just as thin as the iPod Touch. Here is a comparison between a iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 2G, Nintendo DS, the Macbook Pro and the iPad:
iPad features a 9.7 inch LED display with IPS Technology. Most netbooks come with TN LCD panels and most of these netbooks uses CCFL backlighting, which makes them thicker and use a bit more power. There are some people that say the backlit display will hurt someone’s eyes and e-ink is better for long use! From using it for hours, it did not strain my eyes considering that it uses a IPS LCD panel. It also depends on the brightness, which the screen is set at.
Although the iPad only comes with a dock connector, there is a connectivity kit that is sold separately. It provides a USB connector that allows users to hook not only digital cameras, but USB Keyboards and headsets. Jailbroken iPads can use USB storage devices with some hacking. It also comes with an SD adapter to load pictures, but cannot play back video from it.
iPad also comes with Bluetooth. If you don’t like the touchscreen keyboard, you can pair a Bluetooth keyboard to the device. I own an Apple Wireless Keyboard which I paired with the iPad. It makes input a lot easier than the touchscreen keyboard.
The iPad is pretty minimalistic. The only controls is the volume, orientation lock and power/sleep button. This doesn’t matter much since the iPad is controlled mainly by the touchscreen.
Experience
iPad runs on iPhone OS 3.2, which is also used on iPhone and iPod Touch. However, iPad can now use iPad applications that feature more functionality than the iPhone/iPod Touch apps. I loaded Twitterriffic, a Twitter Client and some weather apps. They look amazing.
Youtube is also upgraded on the iPad too because of its big screen. Not only you can view videos in full screen, you can change the view to show other information while the video is playing. You can also play embedded Youtube videos within Safari without leaving the application like on the iPhone/iPod Touch.
MobileSafari is like the one on the iPhone, but upgraded. You can now add bookmarks to the toolbar for easy access. Since MobileSafari is based on Webkit, websites will load just as they would on the Web Browsers on your desktop/laptop. When I first unboxed the iPad, I loaded up Melative and the library updating works perfectly.
Some may be disappointed that there is a lack of Adobe Flash. This is because Flash is known to be a resource hog and the primary cause of browser crashes. Instead, HTML5 is implemented for video and stuff. Some sites are already adopting the service, but not all sites have it fully implemented.
How about WordPress on iPad? WordPress loads fine on the iPad. You can make new posts with the WordPress iPad application or the web interface. However, the visual editor does not work on the iPad nor uploading new content. This can be a problem if you want to upload pictures. The good thing is that you can write up new content and then add the pictures before publishing.
WordPress on iPad with Wireless KeyboardThe other functions on the iPad such as the iPod is just the same as seen on the iPhone/iPod Touch, but expanded. There isn’t much needed to be said about them.
The iPad comes with a full size keyboard on the touch screen, which is better than the netbook keyboard. I found that the landscape keyboard a lot easier to use, but I still need the time to get used to it. I won’t use it for prolonged use.
iPad also contains iBooks, which is a ebook reader. It allows buying of books from the device. It also allows users to import e-pub ebooks. So, if you want to import a translated light novel that wasn’t licensed yet, you can do so by converting it. I haven’t tried iBooks extensively, but it looks nice.
iPad at the moment does not have multitasking, although iPhone OS 4 will provide multitasking. Jailbreaking at the time being can give users the ability to multitask (with ProSwitcher or Backgrounder). I done this on my iPhone 3GS and I didn’t notice an impact on performance.
However, there is some things that the iPad cannot do. Viewing Fansubs is one of those things as they require a special player like mplayer to play them and iPad does not support MKV files. They need to be converted to be played on the iPad, which can be time consuming. If you want to watch Anime on Crunchyroll, it will work on the iPad, since they already have an iPad app.
Another thing the iPad won’t do is run desktop applications. Sure, iPad has an office suite and can do pretty much anything the App Store provides, but if you want to use a desktop application such as Photoshop, you still need a computer. Want to play computer games like Audiosurf, Half-Life 2, Portal or visual novels? You still need a computer for that.
Lastly, you are pretty much stuck what the AppStore provides. Unless you jailbreak your iPad, you are stuck with what you have. With a jailbreak, you can do pretty much what you want to do with it. I do this with all my devices so I can customize and add functionality that Apple won’t allow.
Battery Life so far is pretty good. For use at 50% brightness with volume set on high, the percentage didn’t drop so much… but still not sure it last 10 hours, although there are reports that it lasted more than 10 hours.
Conclusion
While the iPad can do most of the basic tasks such as surfing, music playing, viewing photos, email, Instant Messaging and Twitter, it still not a complete replacement for a Laptop/Desktop. iPad is the role model of what Netbooks should be. Traditionally, I found Netbooks completely stupid because they use a bloated OS like Windows and come with small keyboards and trackpads. The iPad will push competitors to change their model and start making netbooks that uses only a touchscreen, some form of Linux and using mobile processors like ARM. Several competitors are already doing this such as HP’s WebOS Slate and others.
While iPad won’t replace the computer since you can’t watch fansubs or run Photoshop on it. However, it will allow the full web experience without flash and allow you to make posts on your WordPress blog. So if you out often, you can take your iPad and make you blog post on your Anime Blog and then edit it later when you get back on the computer.
Would I recommend it? Probably, but before making fun of it irrationally and saying it is just a big iPod Touch, play around with it to see if it fits your needs.
Aniblog Tourney – Round 2 Part 2 – Day 4-6 Digest
I got a bit sidetracked yet again with the iPad. I decided to get one and it works great so far… and I got distracted and yeah… forgot about the AniBlog Tourney…
Since I have a real iPad now, I will review blogs on my iPad instead. Like the last digest, blogs will be judged on content and design with content weighing more.
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Midseason Thoughts: K-ON!! Second Season and Working
Yes, this is a trap….
It’s about that time again where we are midway through the Spring 2010 Anime Season. Working!! and K-ON!! is closely compared as they are both slice of life comedy anime. However, which one I think is better so far? You will find out soon enough.
Working!! is supposed to be a fresh new experience with the setting mainly taking place at the restaurant. So far, Working!! is not delivering because of the content. The problem I see is overused jokes or using them way too fast that they get old pretty quickly. Most of the comedy I see is slap stick or the running gag such as Inami’s over exaggerated Arrhenphobia to the point where it gets completely annoying. Because of this, Inami is the weakest character in the whole Anime and the most unliked. The only characters I like is Popura, Kyouko and Yachiyo, and there is not enough of Popura, even though Shouta seems to like her the most…. What happened? Did she became unPopura or something?
Unlike Working!!, K-ON! does not suffer this problem. Yes, the beach scenes were a bit redundant last season, but from the second season, it remains fresh to me and I still enjoy it a whole a lot more than Working!!. K-ON! is simply more polished because Kyoto Animation had experience with comedy anime in the past. The problem I can see is that A-1 Pictures doesn’t seem to have any previous experience with comedy anime. They will hopefully gain more experience once they pick up a few more comedy Anime adaptations in the future.
Now to K-ON!!. Besides from the not so good opening, I quite enjoyed it. It is slightly better than the first season and I continue to enjoy every bit of it. I have nothing else to say…
If someone saying that K-ON!! is outdated sh** and Working!! is better… That is simply bullsh**. Working!! needs to solve its flaws to be better than what it is right now. I know it has potential, but I am simply not seeing it. This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. It’s just that I am not enjoying it as much as K-ON!!. It’s simply an average comedy slice of life that is stagnating, not improving on its content…
Angel Beats – Episode 6 – Naoi’s Family Affair
It only took Otonashi grabbing him to convince him.
The SSS finally know that Naoi is behind the massacre, but how about Otonashi convincing him to stop this madness?
The highlight of the story is Naoi’s past. The first half of the episode didn’t matter as much compared to the second half.
Being locked up alone really sucks.
Naoi being locked up to play while his other brother does the more important stuff is very typical. This seems to happen frequently to younger siblings. Usually, the older brother/sister gets more attention than the youngest sibling. I never had that problem in my life, but I’m sure others had trying to get more attention from their parents.
This is a very important quote that will pretty much change Naoi’s life and holds some significance towards the end of his story:
You’re the one who died.
A lot of work ahead of you now…
Parents always want their children to succeed in life. Probably, the only way for a younger sibling to do gain more attention is from hard work and succeeding. However, some people aren’t cut out at some things even they put their full efforts. In this instance, Naoi swaps places with his brother so he can have an important meaning to his life, but sacrificing his previous life. Naoi faced a lot of difficulties because he was simply not good at pottery like his father and his brother. Eventually he got it with an award, but he did not do nearly as well.
Tragedy strikes and…
It makes you wonder… What Naoi achieved in his life since his father can no longer train him? Nothing. He considers himself as a failure because he does not have the skills and he have to take care of his father for rest of his life. He failed because he was trying to be more like his brother instead of being himself, which is why the quote “you’re the one who died” holds true. Being yourself and hard work is the only path to success.
Besides from Naoi’s story, the episode is a rather a good one. The joke seems to be somewhat out of place. It kind of reminded me of the previous Key Anime adaptations that had a period of comedy and then turning into a melodrama. With the pacing in Angel Beats being slightly fast, it gets out of place. Now with Tenshi on their side, will Naoi join in as well after Otonashi bringing back to his senses? We will find out next episode.
Verdict
8.8/10
Aniblog Tourney – Round 2 Part 1 – Day 1-3 Digest
Sorry for the long delay… I was caught up with final exams that happened on the first two days. On Wednesday, Steam for Mac was released and it came with free Portal, so I spent my time playing Portal and moaning about sacrificing my Weighted Companion Cube. I just beated the game when I totally forgot about the second round… so yeah.
In this round, I will do things a little differently. Instead of reviewing them individually, I will review them basing on content and layout/design. Content weighing a lot more than the layout/design. This will make things run a bit more smoothly.
Note: The fanart used above is made by えらんと
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K-ON!! Second Season – Episode 6 – Rain Worries and Naming Instruments
I think I got a nosebleed here…
Yes, it’s rainy season and it sucks badly… April seems to be the month where it rains so much that you need to wear a raincoat or use an umbrella. Not only that, outdoor after school activities get canceled or put indoors because it is so wet out. There was a few occasions in my life where I stood out in the heavy rain for an hour. After going inside, I was all soaking wet, even when I have an umbrella and jacket on. Yui is the same way, trying to protect her Gitah. Getting wet by cars splashing water, puddles, a dog and falling down to the ground. This is a reason why Yui is wearing this maid outfit. I wished she kept it on since it looked so cute, but oh well…
Is this some kind of ritual?
This is a funny thing since hardly anyone would dry their clothes in the dark music room. Well, you have to put it somewhere so it could dry. However, Ui never broke the news that it was Yui’s and it left hilarious reactions on Azusa’s and Jun’s part.
You wonder where Azusa got this?
Azusa discovers online shopping where she bought various things for cheap such as a guitar raincoat that comes with a guitar desiccant, a wall mounting guitar hangar, finger trainer and a training CD. Azusa really loves to buy random things online. Buying online is usually beneficial as it costs less and you can buy items that is normally not sold in stores in the comfort of your home, but some might get too overboard and then have their place filled with unnecessary things lying around the house or apartment.
When Yui starts replacing the strings in her Guitar, the funniest scene happen when Azusa said that Yui shouldn’t talk so dearly to her Gitah every time. This makes everyone else think that Azusa is jealous of Yui and saying it is a love triangle. I laughed.
How she is going to take this off when inside?
Musical Instruments are very delicate and very sensitive to temperature and moisture. I know this because my Clarinet is made out of wood. However, I won’t go so far and wrap it with plastic and tape. It is pretty foolish because it’s hard to take off. This is why all the members decided to leave the instruments at school, but…
Yui misses Gitah.
There are some people that are emotionally attached to their musical instruments like with Yui. This is because Yui brings it home every day so that she can practice on it and even sleep with it! Normal people won’t do that with their instruments, unless they are like Yui…
Oh my! Mio is also naming her instrument.
There is some things in life that some people give names to… Computers, cell phones, instruments, Weighted Companion Cubes (no, I’m just kidding about the cube part)… you name it! I even name my computers and my iPhones after my favorite anime characters such as Fujibayashi Kyou on my Unibody Macbook Pro. Laugh of me if you want, but I am proud of it.
Yui suggests naming her bass “Elizabeth” which Mio refuses to call it by. However, Mio calls it “Elizabeth” by the end of the episode, with the others peeking at her and giggling. Azusa also calls her guitar “Muttan.”
In the end, this was a pretty fun episode with the girls doing some funny stuff… To my surprise, what will Ritsu and Mugi name their instruments?
Verdict
8.7/10
Kaichou wa Maid-Sama – Episode 6 – The Epic Confession
You know what happens next…
Having 5 guys obsessing over Misa-chan is one thing, but them wanting reveal her job is a bad thing. Misaki is so concerned about her image that if she reveals her job at a maid cafe, it would tarnish her image and reputation as a whole. Then again, who wants to reveal something as embarrassing as working at a maid café, wearing a maid outfit and serving 30 year old otakus for instance? Misaki has a image problem since she holds a position that is highly reguarded, revealing that she works at a maid café would make her a laughing stock.
Usui, on the other hand is simply amazing when he retrieves the photo of that has himself and Misa-chan as a maid. Just some minor injuries from that fall, but he will survive… Also, the picture in question…
Looks good on her.
I like girls with twin tails because they possibly mean they are a tsundere. Later in the episode, I also found her cute with rabbit ears in her maid outfit, although she doesn’t give out the good spirit.
Creepy….
I find these guys creepy not only because they look the same, but they also keep following Misa-chan. They are more obsessed with her than those three guys that are fans of her after finding out that she works at a maid cafe. They want to know everything about her: Cooking, Student Council Meetings, her fighting skills and even her part time job… I won’t blame them… They are nice, but they are a bit too nosy. If I were in Misa’s position, would I want a group of guys wanting to know about my whole life? I don’t think so, but then again… I can’t be mean to them since they aren’t bad guys to begin with.
Leading up to this moment, it was quite obvious that Usui loves Misa-chan, no matter what… Since Usui officially confessed to her, I wonder what will happen to their relationship and further development of Misa-chan and her loosening dislike of men as a whole.
Verdict
8.7/10
Review – Girls Dead Monster – Thousand Enemies
General Information
Album Title: Thousand Enemies
Artist: Girls Dead Monster (Singer: LiSA)
Catalog Number: KSLA-0052
Release Date: May 12, 2010
General Thoughts
The Crow Song Album and marina’s singing has proven to be mediocre because something was missing from the vocals… expression! As a result, the vocals sounded so dull and flat that it lessened the playing of these songs. If I were Jun Maeda, I would be crying in my sleep because the vocals ruined my music composition. With the new singer for Yui-nyan, do you expect a fangirl of Girls Dead Monster to sound better than the predecessor? I have to say that the vocals in this album sounds marginally better than the previous, but it is not perfect.
Thousand Enemies
If we compare the instrumentals from Crow Song and Thousand Enemies, there are some obvious differences. Crow Song had more energy, but not so good vocals. In Thousand Enemies, we have better vocals, but lacks that energy shown in Crow Song. So, there is a tradeoff here: more energy but not so good vocals or good vocals but lack of energy. Pick your poison! Also, I found something wacky with the vocals midway of the song (around 3 minutes in) in the following:
Mayotta toki ni ha kokoro no chizu wo atashi ni misete hoshii
Sore nara yukisaki sugu wakaru kara
Jibun ja wakaranai dake
Something doesn’t sound right with these lines. It seems that LiSA’s vocals for those phases went out of tune or something… Overall, it is a good sounding song, but not nearly as rememberable as Crow Song, despite the not so good vocals.
Rain Song
Rain Song sounds like a JPop Rock song. Comparison to Alchemy, this song seems to be more polished since we don’t have stuff like vocals going out of range. Like with Listen!!, they seem to play it safe after the big disaster they have with the vocals on the first single. Not perfect, but a good listen.
Highest Life
I can’t say that the albums aren’t consistent as it follows the pattern from the last single. Highest Life is a ballad but unlike My Song, this song is not an acrostic. Highest Life is a good song, but has flaws. In some instances, LiSA seems to go out of range for a few seconds, but not like marina, which seems to get the worse of the out of range vocals.
Overall, LiSA’s vocals seem to be a big improvement over marina’s mediocre vocals, but that is saying too much about the album. Comparing the instrumentals to Crow Song, the former had a lot more energy and excitement, but if we had better vocals, it would have given a better result. That excitement was simply not present in Thousand Enemies, but in return, we had better sounding vocals for the most part.
Lastly, I don’t get this… Why assign dedicated singers to these insert songs instead of using the voice actors? I’m guessing they want a professional to do it, but come on… you have to give them a chance!
Verdict
7.7/10, Good
One Year Later, I still enjoy K-ON!
It has been nearly one year ago since the first season K-ON!. When I first watched it, I actually enjoyed it and more so since in 2009, I was already in college and graduated from High School. I still enjoy the second season of K-ON! as much I did with the first season. So, how come I still enjoy this moeblob, music slice-of-life anime? For several reasons.
First, It brought back past memories on how my high school life wasn’t great compared the girls in K-ON and how they are enjoying school. I have attended a public high school where some or most of the students are from higher class families. The school I used to attend didn’t have a good environment because there were some students who do drugs, going out drinking, and obsessed about relationships for example. I was one of those teenagers that don’t do these activities. I had friends, but gradually I stopped talking them when college started. I was a minority in the school and the school was not a multiracial school. As a result, I was picked on and bullied in high school. These were the reasons I didn’t like my high school years compared to college years. Now looking back at K-ON!, they don’t suffer the problems and it seem that the girls actually enjoyed going to school and having fun after school and eating cake and drinking tea. I wished my high school years was like this… less teenage rage and more on enjoying school and having fun with after school activities.
Second thing I can relate to K-ON! is the music aspect. Yes, half the time spent on the whole season is watching them drink tea, eat cake, socialize, and etc, but they actually play. In middle school, I enrolled into concert band since 7th grade up to the last year of high school. I played Clarinet back then and gradually, I started to get better with the lack of practice since I spend time on the computer. Although I never got first chair in my high school years, I did enjoyed playing music. The same happened with Piano. Ever since I started when I’m young, I hardly ever practiced. However, I managed to play those pieces with some minor mistakes. I am talented like the girls in K-ON! who manages to play the songs perfectly without any practice. It was quite amazing. Since college however, I haven’t really touched the Clarinet and the Piano, but I should start playing again with Anime Music of some sort.
Lastly, K-ON! is not all about the moe factor or moeblobs. There is always going to be moe-haters, mecha-haters, action-haters, romance-haters, you name it! Deep down from the shallow perception of moe, K-ON! has what all the qualities slice of life anime have. Slice of life stories relates back to your or anyone’s life and past experiences. Although K-ON! may not a masterpiece, it is still a pretty good and well balanced slice of life Anime that most who can enjoy that enjoys the genre. Then again, isn’t a slice of life story supposed to be a mere image of everyday life? We may not see a person like Yui in real life, the character personalities can be a possibility.
Life experiences and the music is what makes me watch K-ON! like I do with the slice of life genre. While some people may not like this genre because of the lack of plot, I think most people would enjoy it as there is other elements in slice of life such as comedy, drama, romance, etc.
Attribution Information
Fanart used in this post is made by 眼鏡虫
Conclusion of Match 32 and Contest as the Whole
With the clear winner, Anime Princess with 6 votes unless it changes in the next several hours, it was a very close match… but a very ironic one at best since my blog from my assumptions would have won mainly on the strength of content. It simply proves that the Aniblog Tournament is a popularity contest and the voters aren’t voting based on content, but on popularity as described on a recent post: Although with Anime Princess winning being very close with content strength, I think with some matches, the following applied:
As you may have noticed, there has often been a difference in the number of votes in the two different polls in the one post. The main reason this happens is when people link to the tourney asking them to vote for someone (usually themselves), their followers/readers/minions blindly obey and vote in just that poll, never looking at anything else on the tourney whatsoever. So while its great that people are at least writing about the tourney, we would like to ask that you perhaps write something more substantial than just ‘VOTE FOR ME!’.
Sometimes it is all politics, but not in this case. I know my flaw is the banner, but that shouldn’t be a real weakness since I found a lot of flaws on Anime Princess, but my blog I have to admit is also flawed because I’m not exactly the best writer out there. I’m surprised that I have even gotten that far considering most people stop blogging after one year. My writing may not be the greatest, but certainty not the worst.
I think there is some things I can improve on with the following:
- Making people more aware of the blog: I think this is one of the problems. If you look at my blogroll, it is hopelessly small. I need other Anime Bloggers to help out and give the blog more exposure. Next time when there is another contest, I can probably have a better chance of winning since there will probably be more readers and such and with myself updating the blog regularly, it wouldn’t be a problem. Considering I have half the followers compared to Lossty on Twitter… it is pretty sad.
- More original title: I’m guessing that a very generic title like ‘s Anime Blog is getting tiring. I probably need to think up another name for the blog so that it would stand out more.
- Guest Editorials/Reviews: Perhaps I should allow other bloggers in the blogosphere share their thoughts on issues like Anime and the Industry and other stuff to get readers more interested.
- What you think I should improve on in the future besides the banner and the theme? I know I have some troubles with grammar, but I think I am pretty good in the content department since I no longer do those summary episodic posts and more of an editorial/thoughts type now and that I post editorials time after time again.
As the results stand, I wish Lossty luck and I will help her by sending a list of stuff that she should fix on her blog so she will have a chance to win against the next match. Also, I apologize for any rude remarks I have made and I never meant to attack the blog since Lossty deserves it after the tight competition.
Second Anime Audiosurf Competition – Spring 2010
With a good response to the last Audiosurf contest, I decided to hold another Audiosurf Competition since Spring Semester will be complete in a few days and now leaving time for more activities with the blogosphere.
Audiosurf, if you don’t know what it is, Audiosurf as the name describes is a music adapting puzzle game where you match blocks according to what music you are playing. There are different modes you can play with such as Mono where you collect only the colored blocks and avoid greys and Eraser where you match blocks, erase a certain color block and restore them later. This competition where we pick a few songs that all participants play on separate leader boards to see who have the highest score. With the last competition, we decide on what songs we should play in the competition. Now, I will up that to 4 songs. You don’t have to play all 4 songs, but it is best to play all 4 songs to have a better chance of winning. This time, I will allow the playing of the Elite level, but only with the puzzle characters. If you don’t own the game, Audiosurf is very affordable and can be get off Steam for $10… Sometimes it is on sale, so yeah.
In the Casual Tier, Mono only with Ironmode on because most casual players won’t know how to play the puzzle characters. Pro and Elite levels are Puzzle only, but I’m sure you will get the hang of them easily with Eraser being the easiest character.
In this competition, we will choose 4 songs either from Winter and Spring 2010 seasons. They can be insert or open/ending songs. No other songs outside from these seasons may be used. The voting process will end on May 20th and the competition will start on May 21st and last two weeks from that date. To avoid confusion on artists, make a copy of the song and rename the Artist to Spring 2010 Anime Audiosurf Competition so that we won’t have any conflicts with different artist names and such.