Chikorita157's Anime Blog

Anime blog that focuses on Yuri and School Girl Slice of Life Anime and Editorials

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Spring 2010 Preview

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But it’s Winter! Why the hell you be posting a Spring 2010 Preview?! Well, because everyone else is. I will be covering two new spring shows and perhaps another old one after the Spring Semester ends… The picks are:

Thoughts: It’s been a year since a Key anime have aired (the last being Clannad After Story) and they are really good at story telling, although some may not agree. The surprise that KyoAni isn’t doing this. PA Works, which have done some rather good adaptations of True Tears and CANAAN… Heck, why not? From the looks from the trailer, the show looks very promising.

However, compared to earlier works, the characters are already dead. 😮

Thoughts: More of this stuff? Well, suck it haters… I will do it anyways because I have enjoyed the first season. Sure there is a lot of moe compared to other series, but it’s something just to enjoy. Besides, I liked the first season since brainless entertainment makes me relieve stress from my college work and who doesn’t like girls eating cake all day and play music?

Although, Sora no Woto so far is alot better at story telling than K-ON!… But then again, the main advantage of K-ON! is MOE!

Not to mention, they had to take the naming conventions from Hayate no Gotoku Second Season… They just added another explanation point at the end of K-ON! Makes sense, but they could of be more creative.

Older Series

I won’t start these series until May 2010 and by then, I will have the DVDs to start covering them.

Thoughts: I was looking at this anime for quite awhile… but when someone actually made a blog post on it, well… I’m convinced because Kampfer disappointed me and I felt like watching more trap animes… they are quite funny if you ask me, but I won’t start this until I obtain the DVDs for this series.

Compared to Bakatest’s Hideyoshi, it’s obvious that the main character obviously wasn’t forced into girls clothing…

Thoughts: I haven’t seen a mahou shoujo series for awhile since what have hit me. Somehow, this interested me since it had moe magical girls fighting whatever… Well, I find out when I actually start it in May/June.

Well, there you have it… Like with the Fall 2009 Season, this list is subject to change since one day, something can interest me and I decide to watch it. Up to date info can be seen at “Upcoming Anime” on the top of the blog.

All the info are pulled from Melative and WP plugin, melative-link.

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Sora no Woto – Midseason Review

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Sora no Woto was tainted by preview and people thinking that it’s a rehash of K-ON!, but in the military. However, when it first aired, the series proved to be more than just a moeblob series… Perhaps there is hardly any moe at all?

Well, they do alot… Rather than drinking tea and eating crumpets all day long, they go on field trips and checking safety device, checking for ghosts, finding lenses for the tank and the questionable dealing of bootlegged wine for goods or some dramatic moments like Kanata getting sick. Sora no Woto is a slice of life show more in the style of ARIA or perhaps Haibane Renmei instead of K-ON! where we have girls doing cutesy things like tripping over cords or acting childish.

The strongest point with Sora no Woto is that it doesn’t have any moe and more on serious plot like Misho’s story or Kanata getting sick. Although the story have some happy moments, it has alot of serious moments, which one can appreciate.

Another strong point is the art and music. The music perfectly fits in, especially with Hikari no Senritsu by Kalafina because of the theme of the song that sets the setting of the story. Also, it features other important music such as Amazing Grace (we know…) and others. The art is rather good, dispite the K-ON or Kannagi like art style. It’s background is appealing to the eye.. as they say.

However, “Hater’s gonna hate” no matter what (complete with animated GIF)… Just ignore them and watch it without comparing it to obviously moe shows like K-ON! You might just enjoy it.

Verdict

Rating so far: 8.88/10, B+

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Just an update…

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OWLS! OWLS! OWLS!!!!

The last week as a very busy week since the Spring Semester is now in full force and I need to work my butt off this time around. Well, not so many hard courses, but I still need to do better than last semester… On top of it, I have been working on some coding projects, closely related to Anime/Japanese media related services such as that dreaded MyAnimeList and Melative. This is a main reason I wasn’t blogging as much plus I had homework to do, and with a test coming up, time will be strained a bit, but I won’t stop blogging for a whole month… I can promise that.

First off, the Unofficial MAL API is now fixed and I thank gcassonnet for fixing it and chuyeow for making this program possible. Now, I have spent two to three hours future proofing the program to prevent a program like this happening and what came out of it is 1.0.0 Final. This means that you will notice that the update and add dialogs loading faster than before since it’s not retrieving information from the internet for the status. Other improves include the password being saved on the Keychain, which is a more secure way to storing the password instead of having it saved in the preference files.

However, even though I fixed the client so it works fully, but I cannot promise that it will stop the delayed updating and other stuff… That is the website problem, and if you don’t like it… I suggest switching to a different service. For the time being, I won’t actively develop this since there is nothing to add at the moment and wait for manga support to be added either on Unofficial MAL API or the official one. Now… enjoy my fruits from my labor and have a client that doesn’t suck that much (yes, I’m looking at you iMAL):
Download 1.0.0 Final

Also, I have released Melative Library 0.9.0 Beta, on the same day yesterday. Melative Library have evolved just in about 1 month and now I have implemented 90% of the features. Unlike Melative Micro which is a microblogging client with basic library functions, Melative Library can manage the whole library without needing to the website (compared to MAL, where you need to use the website to use some/most of the functions). Now the program is at beta and is stable for everyday use and at this cycle, I won’t be adding that many features in this cycle. If you considering to switch to Melative or have an account, try this out. (and it’s crossplatform)
Download 0.9 Beta

So, that is out of the way, I can finally have some time to blog about more anime. Also, don’t forget to vote Shiori for the International Saimoe League!

Read moreJust an update…
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Editorial: Is Crunchyroll the cancer that’s killing licensed DVDs and Fansubs?

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Although my fellow friend on Melative/IRC, kimaguresan is planning to write a article on this, I decided that I should share my own thoughts on why Crunchyroll is not only killing fansubs, but killing licensed DVDs and disadvantages.

Everyone can say that Crunchyroll is the best thing ever since you have to pay 6.99 a month to watch the latest episodes. I feel that Crunchyroll is a worse version of Hulu, which they are deciding on a paid model for some of it’s shows and older episodes. With Crunchyroll, you are stuck with low resolution video that you have to watch commercials and you can’t see the new stuff for a whole week… bummer right? How about people who are locked out of Crunchyroll and fansubs groups not subbing the show because it’s on CR? What is their only option? Crunchyroll rips?

I despise Crunchyroll not only because of their disservice to the anime community, but it’s killing licensed DVD releases. Between their poor quality translations and video quality (unless you subscribe), Crunchyroll is the worst choice compared to Licensed DVDs or even fansubs.

Let’s put aside that issue for now because their are other problems CR is doing… Once a anime gets onto CR, I feel that there will be no incentive for licensing companies to even license the series and put it on DVD or how about metered internet? Why the hell you want to stream if the ISP is going to give a 5 GB cap and charging $5 per 1 GB for overages? What if your area have no fast broadband internet and you are stuck with slow satellite or dialup internet? No one will be able to watch it since you can ‘t even get it on DVD since Licensing companies have no incentive of releasing it. This will be later discussed in the editorial, but let’s focus on how CR will make Licensors to not even bother licensing the series. This is evident because I haven’t seen any CR show get licensed and released on DVD “yet.”
Is Crunchyroll killing Licensed DVDs?
So far, yes because Anime usually have low replay value, unless the show is really good. Crunchyroll translate the anime and adds the subs within 24 hours and viewers watch it. Viewers will most likely watch it once and not watch the episode again, but why I am saying that Crunchyroll is killing DVDs? Since the viewers are going to watch it on CR anyways, why the hell licensors like Bandai Entertainment, Funimation, Section 23 (former ADV) and others would want to release the show onto DVD when they know that the viewers aren’t going to buy it? This means that noone will be able to own these titles that are on Crunchyroll ever…

Some people may ask, why you need physical media when you have streaming and videos you can get at the iTunes store? The answer is this, you don’t actually own anything and they are most likely infested with DRM, Digital Rights Management. This means you can’t put the anime on any device such as portable media players, Playstation 3, Zune HD, Smartphones like the iPhone, etc. With streaming, you don’t actually own the file at all and that uses bandwidth. Streaming video compared to audio is bandwidth intensive and with some ISPs like Time Warner Cable and AT&T trying to push for metered internet, why do you even want to stream from Crunchyroll anymore?

Another case against Crunchyroll, Metered or Capped Internet and Broadband Availability

Last year, some users have noticed that Time Warner wants to test metered internet in some markets, which caused so much outrage that someone wanted to pass a Anti-Metered Internet Bill. AT&T doing the same and Verizon pushing for metered internet. Metered Internet may be a stupid idea, but if it’s actually implemented, sites like Crunchyroll will get hurt the most. Then, most viewers are left without options since CR streaming takes too much bandwidth compared to just downloading the episode to a single file or buying a DVD. What if you want to show it again to someone else or you want to re-watch it? You have to use double the amount of bandwidth and it will eat up your cap even more. Video streaming is bandwidth intensive and can easily eat up your cap and cause expensive overages. Also, college dorms usually limits their internet with small caps, so it’s pointless to stream there either since you will lose internet access for a whole week.

This is the reason why streaming video is stupid. You can’t store the file for later viewing and you need a internet connection just to watch it. What if you on a airplane and want to watch some anime… well you can’t since there is no internet connection nor CR provides a file where you can play it locally. While you at it, streaming CR using a mobile broadband connection like AT&T’s Data Connect will probably rack up those overages rather quickly.

Another thing is broadband penetration. Not all areas have broadband, especially most places in the south and rural areas. DSL is not even suitable for any video streaming of any kind, unless you want to wait alot. These people who live in areas with lack of broadband options are often stuck with dialup, cellular or satellite internet, which is unsuitable for streaming. Like mentioned earlier, licensors are reluctant to license and release something on CR, so the users who lack fast broadband is left in the dark, unable to watch the series they want to watch. I think this is unfair because there is no other viable options for people to watch their anime with any method and CR is pretty much your only choice.

Not to mention, the average US Broadband Speed is 3.9 Mbps, which is not as fast compared to other countries…

So what should CR do to solve this?

Well, providing downloadable, non-DRM video files for subscribers of the episodes can be a start and also giving an incentive for licensors to license the anime and release onto DVD. This way, it allows more options and users don’t have to use their bandwidth just to play the episode over again and have something to own. In addition, they should try to negotiate so they can provide the service to everyone. Until they open up and stop making the same mistakes, I will be against Crunchyroll forever… (and I highly doubt any of this will happen.)

And if capped/metered internet becomes a reality… Crunchyroll is pretty much screwed.

Edit: Maybe I am a bit wrong… since Section23 announced a license for Gintama, which is on CR… So I know one thing, CR doesn’t kill licensed DVD releases, or perhaps just makes them less attractive for a DVD release, with some possible evidence from this video from Funnimation. However, there is still a lot I hate about Crunchyroll.

Read moreEditorial: Is Crunchyroll the cancer that’s killing licensed DVDs and Fansubs?
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K-ON! – Episode 14 (OVA) Thoughts and Impressions

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Seriously, does this patch go on the case or what? Nope... 😮

This is a rather refreshing episode to get back on the K-ON! mood since after all, there is another season… Wait? Another season of K-ON! So, more cake eating and tea drinking, cosplaying and beach scenes than actual practicing?

Hold up… We are not there yet. They decide to do a live performance at a Live House, although Azusa and Mio doesn’t want to, but they give in. With their first time, Yui is so excited for it that yeah… her usual personality. Sticking the backstage sticker all over the place, asking for help with the performance sheet and other things that causes the viewer to have a moe~ nosebleed. They got too excited and nervous, that they messed up the first rehearsal, but with the help of the other bands, they got it just right for the live performance. Ui, her friend, Nodoka and also Sawako…

After their performance, they partied all night until midnight, where they slept.. They go see the sunset without Sawako and Yui notices that Azusa’s tiger ears were still on… Moe~~~~~

What? Azusa is still wearing the tiger ears?

Overall, besides the moe, this was a very enjoyable and fun episode… a thing that relieves stress from college work. If you contrast with Sora no Woto, I can see the difference clearly… K-ON! is moe~, Sora no Woto is not… and difference in character designs… So yeah… this should make most people excited for another season… yet it feels so nostalgic. Can I survive another season after watching this? YES I CAN!

Verdict

8.7/10

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A reason I’m finally ditching MyAnimeList for Melative

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With the recent outroar with the MyAnimeList switching to a new layout and breaking the Unofficial MyAnimeList API, what is there left for me? With the new layout being harder to use, no complete official API and my wasted 3 months in making my own MAL Client and being broken after that I have been felt betrayed, the feeling that MAL doesn’t care about the users and want to force changes on users and not have developers make their own clients.

I have also lost hope with the Official API which have been untouched for several months and still lacking in functionality. When I start using Melative more and more and after the change, I thought to myself… do we really need MyAnimeList anymore? MyAnimeList is simply what AnimePlanet and AniDB is… and they still can’t track other Japanese media such as J-drama, light novels and visual novels.

Melative is the key for the future… It supports a wide variety of media, will be federated in the future and also it’s more open, as it’s using open source technologies.  This reminds me of one quote that a commenter, kimaguresan wrote:

I really think that not being open in this day and age will doom you at some point or another.

Everything is about open services and if services don’t provide a open and workable api, they are going to fail. I am feeling that this is true with MyAnimeList with the incomplete API and clients having to resort to HTML scraping because of the lack of a full API. No developer should ever have to scrap HTML just to make a client for a service. It’s just like Twitter not providing a API and developers having to scrap HTML to make their own clients. HTML scraping is time consuming work and it’s not for the faint of heart.

So why Melative succeed and MyAnimeList fails? Simply because of the reasons of not being open enough and forcing unnecessary changes like the layout design over fixing what is broken and a lack of a fully functional API. This is why MyAnimeList is not going to have a future as they are continuing to frustrate users over a change of something that it’s not even broken and making it worse than before. Just read the whole thread of users complaining about the new layout and wanting the old layout back and the new layout not working on mobile devices. I feel that MyAnimeList is just hoarding it’s users, keeping the users hooked to the service and force changes despite the user complaints, but keep them from abandoning it.

It’s not all about Melative, but the new open source project Kronblr which will remove the barrier of the walled garden and allowing users to have a federated microblog without needing to sign up for a new account and also follow users on different domains.

If you have the desire to ditch MAL for Melative, just read my previous post on how to use Melative…It’s all there with a MAL Anime List to Melative Importer (a Importer for MAL Anime/Manga list functionality is included with Melative Library, a new project I’m working on.)

Will I be abandoning MAL Client OS X? No, but once the API ever gets done and/or the Unofficial MAL API gets fixed, I will do some work on it.

Read moreA reason I’m finally ditching MyAnimeList for Melative
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Hayate no Gotoku – Episode 10 Thoughts and Impressions

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Are you ready to play some s***y games? But they already are!

Remember as a child when you play video games, all in 8-bit or 16-bit graphics on our (Super) Nintendo or Sega game consoles? Some of us have encountered games that are Nintendo Hard, which made the game suck so badly because of bad controls, unfair gameplay or other things Well, Nagi decides to take out what looks like a Nintendo Famicom (or the original Nintendo) and go retro complete with the games and accessories including the RAGE. However, Nagi angered it and now the demon in the game wants revenge.

It’s also uncanny how they have the Power Glove in the background… It’s sooooo bad!

…

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Sora no Woto – Episode 2 Thoughts and Impressions

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So this Owl was the... Ghost? O RLY?

YA RLY

Not seeing much moe here, but now we are finally introduced to more characters. Kureha, the hot headed, twin tailed Tsundere which yelled “You SUCK!” at Kanata and forced to give a tour to her by Rio. Felicia, the second lieutenant where she ends up cleaning the bathroom and not seemingly flashing her high position. Lastly, you have Noel and she seems to work herself a bit too much…

…

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New MyAnimeList Style… Hell no!

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wpid-My-Panel-MyAnimeList.net_-300x230-2010-01-12-22-41.png
Does this new style remind you of something? Yeah, the new Facebook.

This is annoying. The guy adds new stuff instead of fixing broken stuff. Makes me want to write my own MAL…
– FSX

This is something I didn’t realized when I woke up and after watching some anime, my MyAnimeList client broke for some reason… Well of course!

Earlier today, MyAnimeList, one of the popular Anime/Manga cataloging website looked different. I thought that this was a dream, but it wasn’t. I don’t care much about the new design, but I perfer the old design. This is bringing back memories of Facebook forcing it’s users to use the new layout, but the difference is that Facebook is more open to the developers… MAL on the other hand… well, it broke every MAL client out there since people are using it instead of the website, meaning less revenue from ads.

What the hell they are smoking? This is the main reason I actually HATE MAL… because they are not freaking open to the developers! WHY THE HELL UPDATE THE FREAKING LAYOUT WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A FULLY IMPLEMENTED API FOR GOD SAKE! This is making developers life’s like myself even harder. Not to mention, the freaking API is so hard to use that it’s not even funny.

Suggestion, stop using MyAnimeList and go for the alternatives like AniDB or even Melative, which does Manga, Anime and even other media such as light/visual novels, dramas, etc. While I’m at it, I’m making a desktop client for it to make it even easier, so when I’m finished, there is no need to ever use MyAnimeList. Until whoever makes MyAnimeList cleans up their act and actually make a USABLE API for developers to use, they owe me 8 strawberry sundaes.

And yes, it’s an extension to the other rant I made about MAL and it’s APIs.

Read moreNew MyAnimeList Style… Hell no!
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