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Just an update…

February 7, 2010 by Chikorita157 2 Comments

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!

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: melative, MyAnimeList, update

Melative and Why you should use it?

January 14, 2010 by Chikorita157 2 Comments

As I recalled, a certain blogger have written an article on Melative, but so much have changed in the last 5 months that there needs to be a updated guide for this.

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Category: UncategorizedTag: guide, melative

MAL Client OS X is now Release Candidate

January 6, 2010 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

MAL Client OS X is almost at it’s final release after all those beta builds. Well, it took me a few days to improve on the program after New Years and I have made significant progress. Here they are:

Interface Improvements

MAL Client OS X now complies to the Apple Human Interface Guidelines, so there should really be no complaints that it doesn’t feel like a Mac OS X Application. With this, the interface got some refinements, but nothing major have changed. For example, the Preferences window now gives a sliding effect when you click on a different preference page, normal on every Mac application. Error messages now are shown as sheets opposed to separate modal message boxes. Export List dialog now shows a progress window.

Also, there are changes to the Melative updating window, becoming a separate window and allowing you to microblog more without needing to open the window again. When you are finished, just close the window.

Alot of Bug Fixes

I know, the program isn’t perfect, but the program is mostly stable.

With some changes of the Unofficial MAL API, it does not report any total episode number whatsoever, it caused the program to throw errors. This has been addressed in this Release Candidate build and the last along with some other bugs that were in the program like incorrect information showing when there is no internet connection, Manga list lookup crashing when incorrect username is loaded, etc. With the Unofficial MAL API changing, one should always check for updates to be sure they get those bug fixes.

Give Feedback

Without your feedback, I won’t know what should be improved. Feedback and bug reports give developers the suggestions they need to improve their programs. If you are using the program and like it, you should join the MAL Client OS X club and voice your feedback and submit your bug reports there.

Download MAL Client OS X 1.0.0b2 Release Candidate 2

Note: If you already have the program, don’t waste your time downloading the disk image. You can install this update by going to the MAL Client OS X window and click “Check for Updates…” This will initiate Sparkle to check for the latest update and install it for you. For Windows/Linux users, you can download MAL Lite here.

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: MyAnimeList, update

Merry Christmas and Nagisa’s Birthday

December 24, 2009 by Chikorita157 3 Comments

wpid-df91b5dd04145ac4f24b066eb49aafe1-240x300-2009-12-24-16-31.jpg — Nagisa's My Girl!

Today is December 24th, which means it’s Furukawa Nagisa’s birthday… Happy Birthday Nagisa!

If you don’t know who is Nagisa, she is the main heroine in Clannad

While we on the topic of Christmas, I feel like reviewing some Anime’s with a Christmas Episodes…

wpid-nogizaka-haruka-ep4-christmas-300x168-2009-12-24-16-31.png — Haruka and Mka in a Santa outfit?

Well, Nogizaka Haruka had one, but filled with fanservice… Well, all Christmas Episodes always have fanservice… but this is over the top with Haruka dressed in a skimpy Santa outfit… which causes a moe nosebleed on Yuuto’s part and Gentou getting annoyed. Not to mention, they sang some Christmas karaoke.

Well, Clannad ~After Story~ had two christmas scenes… the one above and another one where…

Nagisa becomes drunk and she acts like a clingy girl.

and of course… there is K-ON with…

and also in preparation of the Christmas party, while Ui does all the cooking, Yui, the airhead starts making paper chains that wrapped around herself… wow…

Anyways… I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas where ever you are! I will resume blogging on December 26th… Have fun!
Attribution Information

Fanart used in this post is made by satou kuroon

Category: UncategorizedTag: christmas, editorial, moe, updates

First Anime Audiosurf Competition is now Live

December 11, 2009 by Chikorita157 12 Comments

Now with the song selection done, here is the songs that people who are participating needs to play in Audiosurf:

1. Honda Mariko & Saito Yuka & Togashi Misuzu & Horinaka Yuki – Treasure

2.fripSide – only my railgun

3. Maaya Sakamoto – Magic Number

Before playing, you must add the [AAS-Holiday09] at the end of the title.The title should look like this:

“Treasure [AAS-Holiday09]”

To edit the tag, make a copy of the file first and right click > Properties. Click on the Details page and double click on the song title. Then do the change I have reflected in this example. You have until December 30th at 11:59 PM EST to complete your runs and you may redo them as many times you want since I won’t be recording any scores until then.

For more details, click Read More

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Category: UncategorizedTag: fandom, just for fun, updates

How about an Audiosurf Contest with Anime Music?

December 6, 2009 by Chikorita157

Maybe the Karaoke contest isn’t a good idea since no one sent anything… so what else can anyone participate in… Well how about a Audiosurf competition since the game is cheap (only costs $10 off Steam) and can play on any computer. Perhaps some Anime Bloggers already have Audiosurf on their machines already. Readers can also participate as long they hade a valid email address and a Melative and/or MAL account.

More details below…
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Category: UncategorizedTag: audiosurf, contest, update

Some things before Thanksgiving

November 25, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so I won’t likely make any updates on this blog, but before I leave for a day, I will make the following updates reguarding the Karaoke Contest and also MAL Client OS X and MAL Lite:

Karaoke Contest

I have made a change earlier that no effects or any alterations of the recording may be used. You may only use effects to reduce any grainy/background noise, but anything but that may not be used. I will be posting further details after I come back from Thanksgiving and hopefully start it on Monday.

MAL Client OS X and MAL Lite

I have made several changes to the MAL updating program for Mac OS X and also the lightweight, minimalist solution on Windows and Linux. MAL Client OS X 0.3.6 now features a new interface similar to the one on Finder. If used on Tiger and Panther, the interface will default to a sheet metal feel. Manga list lookup is added, but when you double click on a item, you can view the information about it on the browser. No manga updating is added yet since there isn’t enough API to implement it yet. Lastly, Melative updating can be done without updating your MAL status. You can make a update by going to the anime information window and clicking “Post Melative Update” on the toolbar.

I apologize that I can’t get the help updated and the Sparkle appcast updated since the FTP is down. Once it comes up, I will post the Sparkle update. For now, you need to download the disk image.

Download MAL Client OS X 0.3.6

For MAL Lite 1.1.2, I restored the full list featured on MAL Client OS X and added a tray icon. Download 1.1.2

I hope you a nice and joyful Thanksgiving… I will resume blogging on Friday after shopping on Black Friday and hopefully cover Kobato Episode 7 and Seitokai no Ichizon Episode 8.

Category: MAL Client OS X, UncategorizedTag: updates

MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 and MAL Updater OS X 1.2b GUI Released

November 14, 2009 by Chikorita157 2 Comments

MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 is now released with new features allowing you to search for information on AniDB and Tokyotosho and sharing of a title to a email with the URL to the MAL Page… just add a message and send. Minor changes made to melative updating to reflect the changes made to the APIs.

Major change is that MAL Updater OS X GUI is now included with the MAL Client OS X distribution. This is a simple frontend to TakakoShimizu’s MAL Updater OS X, which is a command line script programmed in Ruby that allows Mac users to scrobble their Anime from MPlayer, Quicktime and VLC. The drawback is that the setup script does not always work and you cannot turn it off unless you get rid of the launchd file which will disable the automatic scrobbling. There is a better way to this issue.

MAL Updater OS X GUI is just a frontend to this mess and allows you to save your login info securely which will be used for automatically generating the script needed for MAL Updater OS X when scrobbling is turned on. When you close or stop scrobbling, the script is deleted so people won’t easily find your MAL password. The GUI is a lightweight program and only uses around 10 MB of RAM. Note that you still need Growl installed to find out what is scrobbled or you have to resort to the log files to find out.

The only drawback is that MAL Updater OS X script is outdated by .1 (since 1.3 isn’t available for download), so I can only include 1.2 for the time being. Once 1.3 is posted again or if he decides to update it, I will add it to the package and also make some improvements to the GUI.

The source code for the MAL Updater OS X GUI is located in the malclientosx SVN at Google Code.

In addition, a Linux version of MAL Lite is now available for download here (1.7 MB). GTK+ 2 is required to run the program and will work with any Linux distro. To run it, unzip and double click on “MALLite”

Download MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 with MAL Updater OS X GUI (9 MB, Universal Binary)

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: MyAnimeList, updates

Kampfer – Episode 1 Impressions

November 2, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

After looking at some blogs about it and being quite curious about it, I have watched the first episode and it was not so good at all. As you expect, Kampfer is filled with fanservice, especially with the recent episode that aired that topped off Nogizaka Haruka Purity, and you think that Purity had the most fanservice besides Queen’s Blade, think again.

Genderbending is quite an interesting idea since who doesn’t like seeing yourself as the opposite gender. No wonder genderbending of Haruhi is so popular… Who doesn’t want to see a Kyonko? Kampfer does this with a guy named Natsuru becoming a Kampfer, but needs to transform into a girl which is done with his bracelet. Well, okay… you think the fighting part in the beginning was okay, but it gets alot worse…. We are thrown fanservice, which you know the type 2 is the fanservice that I least desired, unless executed properly and not overdone… They gone overboard with this, especially when Natsuru, as a girl needed to go to the bathroom… that scene was pretty dumb in my opinion. From looking at the screenshots of the next 4 episodes, it’s pretty clear that the fanservice goes even higher, but never reaching the amount in Queen’s Blade, since Queen’s Blade is the king of fanservice animes.

I think one episode is enough and honestly, a waste of 24 minutes of watching it… Better off reading the Kampfer manga or the light novel than watching this because the execution of this is not good… Maybe someone else will appreciate it more than myself, don’t you think? =p

Verdict

6.4/10, Dropped

Category: UncategorizedTag: comedy, first impressions, gender bender, rant

Blog Updates – Blog Hits 4,000 Visitors

October 31, 2009 by Chikorita157 1 Comment

As I thought, the whole month of October went by so fast and I hope you had a enjoyable Halloween, although I don’t take part in it since it’s childish in my opinion. However, it have been nearly a month since we ditched Google Analytics since it’s so inaccurate since there are some extensions like Noscript which blocks all Javascript, which means Google does not keep track of those visitors who have javascript disabled… and also iPhones and iPod touches and I have decided to switch over to StatPress Reloaded which is 10x better than Google Analytics… Google Analytics can die in a grave…

This month alone, this blog generated 22181 pageviews and 4013 visitors.. which isn’t bad at all… and hope that it will grow as time goes on when I keep updating the blog.

Another update I want to mention is that MAL Client OS X 0.3.2 Beta is now out. This features better melative updating support, melative updating when adding new titles, some improvements over catching invalid updates (like having a status of completed when the title is still airing) and more secure password storing, meaning the password is encrypted. If you haven’t already and have a Mac, Download the Client or if you have it already, just use the “Check for Updates” function to get the update automatically.

I know there is another MAL Client called iMAL, but it’s very buggy and have alot of memory leaks. Also, the interface is a bit messy and most wouldn’t care about automatic scrobbling anyways, unless you are lazy. MAL Client OS X is already making life easier since you don’t need to go to MyAnimeList and update it from there. In addition, MAL Client OS X makes it easier to update both MAL and melative, so I don’t see the point of iMAL really. If you don’t already have a melative account, go get one… NOW!

Next month is coming around the corner, so mid-season reports will be coming soon for Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purity and Kobato… so far so good. Also, one last thing… Make sure you turn back the clocks one hour at 2 AM tomorrow since time changes to standard time.

Update: For Windows users, I have released a trimmed down version called MAL Lite. This release will not be supported and contains updating feature and melative updating. I won’t be supporting this release since I do not use Windows that much anymore besides from games. If you are interested, download a copy (2 MB, includes source code).

Category: MAL Client OS X, UncategorizedTag: updates

MAL Client OS X 0.3 Goes Beta

October 28, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

It have been nearly 2 weeks since I started this project and made alot of progress. Now after I cleaned up the source code after adding some new features, I felt that now MAL Client OS X is ready for Beta since I haven’t experienced any severe bugs with it.

MAL Client OS X now contains a killer feature, Melative updating. If you don’t know what is Melative, it’s Entertainment combined with Twitter, allowing you to microblog your thoughts while you are watching something.

MAL Client OS X have basic Melative updating support, which will automatically post your status on the stream and library on that particular series. There are some titles that are on MAL and not on Melative, but they are pretty quick in adding new information on that title.

After updating, you will see this on your stream, for example:

The update will be from MAL Client OS X, indicating that the program made that update automatically. To enable this feature, type your Melative Username and Password under Preferences > Misc and it will create a token (Melative Usernames and Passwords are not saved, but stored in the token which is encrypted). Check Enable Melative Updates and the program will post the updates when you update MyAnimeList status. Note that this feature isn’t perfected yet since the Melative API documentation is incomplete at the moment, but I hope that I will make it so that comments can also be posted with the status update on Melative pretty soon.

Now MAL Client OS X truly pwns iMAL and MALUpdater now!

Other fixes includes:
– Login now uses HTTP code (200 will be success) instead of a total hackjob I did. Now it should spit out the error message if somethings wrong with the connection.
– Fixed the Remove Series Button on the Anime Lookup window. It should only show up when the series is on your list
– List is now sorted depending on your status on your Anime Series
– Source Code cleanup

Now this being at Beta stage, I highly suggest that you give your feedback so I can improve the program and also report bugs you may see in the program along with your configuration at the MAL Client OS X Club. Now with MAL Client OS X, you can take control of your MAL List and not let it take control of you!

Download MAL Client OS X 0.3 (6.3 MB, DMG)
If you have it installed, use the “Check for Updates” on the MAL Client OSX Menu to install the new update automatically.

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: MyAnimeList, updates

MAL Client OS X – 0.2 Released

October 21, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

I have been working on this MAL client for Mac OS X with my free time after college and I was able to add basic update features and also along with it, the ability to add and delete titles from your list. Note that the buttons for some reason disable itself after adding/deleting series… I’m currently looking into that and there will be a fix in a bugfix release.

How does this work?

At this very moment, you need to double click on a title on your list to access the add/delete/update functions. I’m planning to add a feature that you don’t have to load the information without having to do this in 0.3 of MAL Client

This is what it will look like if the title is on your list.

You will see three new options, Add, Update and Delete. Add function is only available when a title is not on your list. Update and delete features are available when the title is on your list. In addition to that, your status will appear under the Anime information.

If you decide you want to update your status, you can press the Update Information on the toolbar. This will popup

From there, you can update your status, watched episodes and rating of the title. Press Update and the information will be updated.

If you decide you don’t want a title on your list, you can remove it. Just press the “Remove Series” button and you will see this prompt.

After confirming, it will notify you that the series you decide to remove is removed from your list.

I released this build so people can test and give their feedback on the new features. I know it’s buggy, but I will be ironing out the bugs soon and a bugfix release build will be released hopefully this weekend.

Anyways, Here is the release notes on MAL Client OS X 0.2

Version 0.2

– Added Add/Update/Delete Series function. Now you can update your status using this program
– Login screen dialog now changed to modal, Progress shown while trying to log in
– Search now shows the correct search count
– Rearranged to Anime Information Window

Known Issues

– “Your List” may not refresh with the updated information after adding/updating/removing a series. This is fixed already in the last minute bugfix build. Redownload to get fix.
– Pictures in Anime Information may not load properly
– Performing a Sparkle update under Snow Leopard causes the program to crash (remember not to enable automatic updates and perform them manually.)
– Buttons do not enable after a Add or Remove function have been done. – Fixed in a last-minute bugfix… Redownload to get fix

If you have already download 0.2, please redownload it so you will be able to use Sparkle Updates. Forgot to add the DSA Signature required for Sparkle to update.
Download MAL Client OS X 0.2 (6.17 MB, Universal Binary)

Update: MAL Client OS X is now on Google Code

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: macs, MyAnimeList, updates

MAL Client OS X – First Native Client for MyAnimeList on Mac OS X Released

October 18, 2009 by Chikorita157 1 Comment

After I complained about not being a graphical client for MyAnimeList on Mac OS X, I took the time to get my hands dirty and make one myself… Of course my Visual Basic programing skills are a bit rusty for not programing for 3-4 years since I switched to a Mac, but I sorta got the grasp of it.

MAL Client OS X at this state can only load your Anime List, search titles (Anime only since the API does not work with Manga yet.) and lookup information from your list and search results. Having these basic features took nearly 3 days to complete since I need to code the login procedure with the API, obtaining the data from the API and popularize the listboxes for Search and Your List and get the program to read the Anime Information from the XML and obtain the title picture. Since most of the basic features are put in place already, it won’t take me as long to add the updating features (meaning edit a series status or add a new series) and separate “your list” to watching, completed, on hold, dropped, and plan sections instead of having it in one list box.

Remember, MAL Client OS X is open source and licensed under the GNU Public License v3… all you need is the RealBasic IDE, which costs money ($69 Academic Personal Version is the bare minimum to open the project) … but if you have it already, feel free to make improvements. The only problem that there is no SVN at the moment, but that will change later.

If you want to test the first version out, download a copy (Size: 5.9 MB). This will work on Mac OS X 10.3 or higher (I haven’t tested 10.3, but 10.4 or higher to be safe.).

Update: I fixed the search problem when the results don’t clear out after a new search is done. Also, this fix also adds the ability to refresh your list from the menu and the shortcut key, cmd+R.

Category: MAL Client OS XTag: macs, MyAnimeList, update

Running Visual Novels on a Mac?

September 21, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

Got a copy of a visual novel and you got a Mac? The problem with many visual novel or the so called popular Bishoujo/Otome games is that they only work on Windows, so you are mostly out of luck if you want to play games like Kanon, Air, Higurashi, Clannad, Da Capo, etc since they only work on Windows. You aren’t out of luck since there is a way to install them and play on a Mac. The following will be discussed is Crossover Office, VMWare Fusion/Parallels/Virtual PC 7 (for PowerPC users) and Bootcamp.

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Category: UncategorizedTag: howto, macs, visual novels

Hosting troubles and Internet Provider Switching – Updated!

September 18, 2009 by Chikorita157 3 Comments

The last past days, the Wordpress Blog have been loading slowly lately and I have been receiving Slow Mysql Queries spam messages in my mailbox and unable to fix it since the blog have become pretty popular according to Google Analytics with hits ranging from 1500 to over 3000 a month (peaking in July). With the popularity of my blog and my desire to update it frequently, it have taken a toll on the hosting since this is a free hosting provider and doesn’t quite work as well since there are several other websites.

The total amount of vistors we have this month and counting the other months is 10,000 and close to 20,000 pageviews. When the blog gets even more popular, I highly doubt that free hosting will help and I cannot afford paid hosting nor I’m willing to downgrade my blog to WordPress.net since it’s too limited for my needs since I’m using various plugins and a advanced, custom theme that is used in this blog which WP.net does not allow. Hosting the anime blog on my own server isn’t a option too since the server is too slow to handle the site load I’m currently getting. I’m asking anime blog hosting providers to help me so I can keep contributing to the Anime Blogosphere.

Another thing is in my concern is that I will be switching to a new ISP, Optimum Online from Verizon DSL since the phone line is getting too expensive since my family never uses it and gets hit with high bill since we don’t have long distance. This is because the whole family and myself have cell phones. Not being able to keep the DSL if I cancel the phone line, we have to switch to a alternative since there is no FIOS in my area (town have FIOS, but not coming to my neighborhood) and DSL is becoming slow in general since it takes forever to load a Youtube video or download anything big, which is why we are switching to Cable. For my experience of having used Optimum Online before, they don’t do any traffic shaping of any kind. Once I get cable internet, I will get 15/2 speeds and I can blog faster.

Update: The website is finally moved… and took nearly 2-3 hours to reimport the database and reupload the images, plugins and the theme. If there any problems, please use the contact form and tell me the problem ASAP so it can be fixed. Note that it will take a week until this new address shows up on Google.

Update #2: URLs listed on Google and Anime Nano will redirect to this website with the same page you are trying to load. Have updated some of the Wordpress plugins which wasn’t possible with the old host since of FTP file quota limit (6000 files). These include WP-touch and the blog is now using StatPress Reloaded instead of Google Analytics so I don’t need to log into Google just to get the site stats.

Update #3: Disabled the Captcha since there are problems with it which is causing the Captcha code not to show up, but updated the anti-spam plugin. Once Captcha gets fixed, it will be reenabled. Also, Twitconnect does not work at the moment.

Update #4: SI Captcha is replaced with re-captcha. Twitconnect is temporarily disabled.

Update #5: Everything works again… The problem was that the whole WP-Content folder was chmodded 777 instead of 755, causing the scripts to malfunction.

Category: UncategorizedTag: update

College and Fall Season Anime Coverage

August 21, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

Time flies when you are having fun, but eventually you have to go back to the learning practice once September starts again. With Labor day starting the week after, I start school a week earlier with no more breaks except the day I got off for Labor Day. This time, I go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (Saturday classes suck, but there are no more openings for the class I need to take.) This leaves me Sunday, Wednesday (although there is one class in the afternoon) and Friday to do homework/study and also write on this blog… but I’ll do my best to atleast make 2 posts per week during the 16 week semester.

Also, pretty much the Fall Season anime schedule is finalized… It sucks that there won’t be no Key adaptation this fall, but maybe next winter… but I hope for the announcement for Angel Beats! pretty soon… but that won’t be until later… Here is what I got to cover for the fall season (and yes, Fall 2009 Season is VERY LACKLUSTER after next week:
– 2 more episodes of Haruhi S2 (mainly Sighs…)
– 4 episodes of Air and 1 Air in Summer Special Episode
– 2 episodes of Kannagi until Vol2 comes in
– 13 episodes of sola and
– 12 episodes of ef – Tales of memories

That should pretty much keep me busy until a interesting show start airing… but lets hope Winter/Spring 2010 season have a better selection of anime than the ones in this upcoming season.

Attribution Infomation

Fanart used in this post is made by やんよ. Orig Source

Category: UncategorizedTag: fall schedule, update

New Twitter Comment System and Tutorial.

August 10, 2009 by Chikorita157 4 Comments

With the overall popularity of Twitter growing and use by many Anime Bloggers in the blogging community and I have wrote a editorial on Twitter and Anime Blogging in the past, but I have decided to take it a step further. Now, any reader who wish to comment on the posts may now use their Twitter identity instead of manually typing in the name, email, and also homepage every time you want to make a post.

This is simple. If you have already signed into your Twitter account, when you go down to the comments page, there will be a new button called “Sign in using Twitter.” A popup window will appear prompting you to authorize the blog to use your Twitter credentials (if you are not signed into Twitter, Twitter will prompt you for your Username and Password). All you need to do is to approve and it will automatically authorize you to use your identity and will take you back to the same page you were before so you can start making your comments. The sign in process is secure, so you don’t have to worry about your passwords being shared and your account being hijacked by a spammer.

After posting, your comment is still will go to for moderation if you use the Twitter account the first time. After that, you may post comments freely. Also, comments that were made by your Twitter account will use your Twitter picture opposed to the Gravitars for Non-Twitter users. If you don’t have a Twitter account, go get yourself one… and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at Chikorita157 and also Chikorita157a (blog Twitter account).

Attribution Information

Fanart used on this post is made by 芭桜 (Orig Source)

Category: UncategorizedTag: update

Happy Birthday!

August 9, 2009 by Chikorita157 2 Comments

Today on August 9, 2009, I turn 20… Yes, time flies while you are young, but it reminds me that summer break is almost coming to a end and starting September, I will be starting my fall semester at Rutgers University since I transfered in which means alot less time for watching anime and more onto college work although I will still update this blog frequently…

Last week was pretty much a good week since I finally got my drivers license and the dreaded Endless Eight comes to a end with a bang… Well, hopefully my birthday won’t turn out bad today… except my presents are still being shipped, so I won’t be able to show or unbox anything until they arrive. If you want to know what it is here is the list”

Spoiler Inside	Select Show
– Nintendo DSi – Noise Canceling Earphones (not real expensive ones) – Kannagi Vol 1 and Vol2 (preorder) – sola Boxset (preorder – New wallet with money

I will post my thoughts on the anime DVDs and DSi once I receive it through the mail…. Otherwise, Happy Birthday… myself… =p

Attribution Information

This fanart used in this post is made by かゆね (kayuumi) source.

Category: UncategorizedTag: updates

Reminder: Fanart and Crediting

August 4, 2009 by Chikorita157 5 Comments

In response to the raging over not crediting artists fanart I decided to make some changes. Most of the time, I will use screenshots from my anime, but sometimes I might use fanart. Note that I am very busy and I don’t usually browse imageboards… but I made changes so that you can send the artist and the artist page of the fanart used to help me to credit for their hard work deserve and also to save my time trying to figure out who made which image.

On the contact page, there is a new contact form. If you want to help credit the image for me, just select the “Crediting Artist.” After that, you must provide the following information, the blog post the fanart is used (URL), the Artist name and URL to Artist’s page. This information goes directly to my inbox and I’ll try to fix that immediately.

Note: Any fanart in the future that I cannot find a credit to will have a notice on it and a link to the contact page so it will be easier for people to help and find the artist and the artist page for the fanart. Any that is missing information will be placed in the “Missing Artist Information” category so it will be easier to identify which are missing this sort of credit. Once I get the information, I will add it ASAP.
Another note: The danbooru Image Board provides the source of the image that is uploaded, so it shouldn’t be a problem not to obtain the artist name.
Another Note: A new page explaining about this matter can be read here. Spread the word!

Category: UncategorizedTag: update

What Anime songs you play with Audiosurf?

August 4, 2009 by Chikorita157 2 Comments

While one other Anime Blogger mentioned Audiosurf and Audiosurf his whole music collection… I actually did the same…

What is Audiosurf anyways?

Audiosurf and it’s purpose is to “ride your music.” Just put Rock Band/Guitar Hero and put it on a F-Zero track and you get Audiosurf. Like Dance Dance Revolution and Beat Mania, the blocks in Audiosurf represents the beats in the song and it’s automatically generated, so the tempo and the blocks are created according to the song you chose to play. There are various modes, but the most easiest to get the hang on is Mono, which you hit the color blocks and avoid the grey blocks. If you don’t hit any grey blocks, you get stealth bonus, which is 30% bonus. Also, there are puzzle modes like Pointman, which you have to match a cluster of color blocks (red and yellow matches give you the highest points while the others give you lower points). Other modes have similar concepts to Pointman, but have different abilities. Audiosurf also feature Ironmode, which makes the song even harder, but sometimes, you can earn even more points.

Audiosurf is relatively cheap ($10) off Steam and have unlimited replay value depending on how good is your music collection.

Audiosurf runs great with the highest settings if you have a decent graphics card (My Unibody Macbook Pro plays Audiosurf with good framerates at native resolution).

What are the best anime songs to play on Audiosurf?

Most of the time, songs with a downhill pattern and high traffic (150 or higher) gives you more of a enjoyable experience. If you still get a uphil pattern, suggest adding [as-steep] to the song title (Suggestion: Just make a copy of the MP3 file and add that tag at the end of the song title), but it will create a different scoreboard.

Lia

Most of Lia’s songs work great with audiosurf since most of her songs are trance, which most of the time create high traffic and downhill patern.
Suggestions:
– Tori no Uta – (Air Opening Theme)
– Light colors – (Tomoyo After Opening Theme)
– Toki wo Kizamu Uta (Clannad ~After Story~ Opening Theme)
– TORCH (Clannad ~After Story~ Ending Theme)

Ayana

Same as above, although Kaze no Tadori Tsuku Basho have higher traffic count.
– Last regrets
– Kaze no Tadori Tsuku Basho

Suzumiya Haruhi

Suggestions:
– God Knows
– Lost my music
– Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite
– Bouken Desho Desho?
– Hare Hare Yukai (any version)
– Koi no Mikuru Densetsu
– etc.

Lucky Star

– Motteke! Sailor Fuku
– Kaeshite! Knee-socks
– Koi no Minoru Densetsu
– Kosutte! Oh My Honey
-Yuuchou Sentai Dajare Ranger

K-ON!

– Cagayake! GIRLS plus the Image Song
– Don’t say “lazy” plus the Image Song
– Fuwa Fuwa Time (both regular and Yui version)
– Tsubasa wo Kudasai
– Practically all the Character Image songs.

Others

– motto hade ni ne! (Kannagi Opening Theme, although adding [as-steep] makes it more interesting)
– Shiawase Sagashi (motto hade ni ne! Image Song)
– Shoujo no Gensou ZTS Remix (Remix of Shoujo no Gensou, Clannad…)
– Little Busters! (Little Busters! Opening Theme, duh!)
– Megmeru (Clannad Opening Theme, depending on what version)
– Any of Touhou songs and remixes
– Kumikyoku Nico Nico Douga (Pretty epic song and it’s 10 minutes long)

What songs you play in Audiosurf in your opinion that is Anime related that give you a enjoyable experience? If you don’t own Audiosurf yet, I suggest you to get it… it’s a awesome game (and it’s very addictive)!

Also, you can check out my recorded Audiosurf runs (mainly Anime and casual mono since Fraps kills the framerate alot) on my Youtube account.

Category: UncategorizedTag: final impressions, opinion, review

Anime Bloggers: Optimize your blogs for the iPhone!

August 3, 2009 by Chikorita157 3 Comments

As smartphones are getting more popular, more people are using them to browse the internet including Anime Blogs. Except from Ganbatte Forever and the blog you are currently reading (and yes, Anime Nano have a iPhone version of the website), I see a lack of easy readability on mobile devices like the popular iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberries, Google’s Android and the Palm Pre. Often, most anime blogs do not have a separate theme for mobile users. Unless you have a simple blog layout like Baka-Raptor’s, most cases, you have to zoom into the page in order to be able to read the content on the blog which can be frustrating (unless you have good eyes)… Not to mention, if you want to want to comment, it gets even harder just to type a comment since you have to scroll back and forth just to comment on a post… and most of the time, full pages will load slower if you are not connected to a Wireless Network with your Smartphone.

Some examples how most Anime blogs load on a iPhone:

Unless you have good eyes, you may need to zoom in just to read the content without straining your eyes.

However, there is a solution to this problem. The WPTouch plugin which work with most Wordpress blogs adds a iPhone friendly theme to your blog which will load when your blog is viewed on a iPhone/iPod Touch/Android/etc. However, this theme does not replace the current theme you are using and is completely independent. You don’t need to mess around with any coding or such and the mobile theme can be turn on/off on the bottom of the page if the visitor wishes to view the full layout.

WPTouch plugin is a highly recommended plugin for most anime bloggers and most should take advantage of it to give a better viewing experience for mobile users and it’s free!

Category: UncategorizedTag: commentary, opinion

Summer Vacation approaching…

June 19, 2009 by Chikorita157 3 Comments

With my vacation approaching, I will be very busy for the last few days before I leave to Wisconsin which is a pretty boring state… not as nice as the place Tomoya took Ushio to… but it will take appromately two days to reach Wisconsin and two days going back and I’m planning to be on vacation for 10 days. However, I will still update my blog since I have Wifi access in the hotel and a iPhone 3G I can tether to my Macbook Pro so I have mobile broadband access in the car. However, it can delay any new episodes of Haruhi, the Kyou Clannad After Story special and the last episode of K-ON! for a few days since I cannot download any of these directly using a public Wifi hotspot. However, I won’t be neglecting the blog for the 10 days I’m away… I promise….

Category: UncategorizedTag: update, vacation

Some things and Sister’s Macbook Pro

June 1, 2009 by Chikorita157 1 Comment

Last few days, I have been very busy… but tomorrow, I will try to do a post on Kannagi Episode 4 and also a editorial post on Kotomi and Minagi comparison… because these girls are vastly similar for some reason… and I keep thinking about Kotomi when I watch Air for some odd reason.

Also, last Friday, my parents picked up a new Unibody Macbook Pro for my sister for college from the Apple Store since they had a back to school promotion(same laptop I am using, but with different specs)… so now she went to the dark side like I did a few years ago when I got fustrated with my Dell desktop. Now she doesn’t have to bug me about not being able to play her Licensed Anime DVDs on her computer. Hopefully, she will enjoy it just like I always do and I will be assisting her with the transition.

If you want to know what model, it’s the 2.66 GHz model.

Lastly, I’m departing to Wisconsin on June 26, 2009 and won’t be back until July 7, 2009. Hopefully it will not delay any new content that is coming up (Haruhi Season 2 Episodes and the Clannad AS Kyou OVA)

Category: UncategorizedTag: news, update

Some lose ends… Poll 3 Results and Site Statistics

May 22, 2009 by Chikorita157 Leave a Comment

Since it’s been a month, I decided to do some housecleaning and finally give the results to poll 3 which involves Female Leads from Air, Clannad and Kanon.

Site Statistics

Since April 22, 2009, I have been tracking the blog traffic and in one month, the website received over 2000 visitors and 3641 hits… which isn’t bad for a blog that is a few months old… Not to mention, we have over 9 people who are following us on Twitter.

If you are interested in the full report, this report can be read here. (Requires Adobe Reader)

Poll 3 Results

Last 2 weeks, I posted a poll asking readers what Key lead heroine they like the most? Here are the results:

It seems that Nagisa is the most favorite and following that is Misuzu. The least popular female lead seems to be Ayu… Some people might find Ayu a bit annoying because she say Uguu~ so many times and also considering how Clannad ended a few months ago, no wonder… Even though I like all three leads, I seem to like Misuzu the most because she is the cutest/most moe as stated in several posts ago.

Category: UncategorizedTag: poll results, updates