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Kobato – Episode 10 Impressions and Thoughts

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So little and so cute... but so grumpy...
So little and so cute… but so grumpy…

Another filler attacks, but a rather decent one to say. Especially on a hot summer day when in real life, it’s only 20 degrees out and freezing. Well, Kobato decides to go to the Nursery, Sayaka decides to tell a story when they are airing out the futons about Fujimoto’s childhood when her father takes him in since he was a orphan. We was a loner and the children didn’t like him because of it. One event changed everything when two guys looking for the soccer ball and one of the guy fell on the sunflower plant. This gets Sayaka upset and hey apologized. They left and Sayaka ties the plant up with a pole. Then, Fujimoto started to play a song on the organ and children was singing… This is when he started to warm up…

Unfortunately Iroyogi got exhausted from the heat… and while Kobato was walking back, Kohaku call her over to offer Iroyogi beer… yep and he was excited about that… The funny part when Kobato and Sayaka was airing out the futons is Iroyogi became completely dehydrated…

I find it funny how Fujimoto doesn’t want everyone to know about his childhood… but it was too late.. Well, you won’t get very far in life if you become a complete loner and not being able to communicate… it’s essential.. Although he isn’t that quiet anymore, he is still very anti-social and doesn’t have any friends… wow…

Got to say, it was a good episode… but what comes next?

Verdict

8.7/10

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The Journey in Creating a MyAnimeList Client

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Exhausting work, right?
Exhausting work, right?

MyAnimeList clients are at their infancy. Before the API came out, MAL Updater was your only choice and it only worked on Windows. The problem is that not everyone used Windows and used different OSes. MyAnimeList is a staple for most anime viewers and bloggers out there who use it to keep track what they are watching.

If you recall a few months ago, I have complained there was a lack of a MyAnimeList Client for Mac OS X. I haven’t checked hard enough and there was a program called iMAL that allows you to update MAL… The only problem is the program is very unstable and every time I tried to use it, it crashes on me… and I even recompile it and it’s even more unstable. Another alternative is AniChou, which is open sourced. The only problem there is the interface looks like crap (except in Liunx) and it was difficult to install since I have to install additional packages to make it work on Mac OS X. With that, MAL Updater has way too much features, the interface is cluttered and it’s closed sourced, which isn’t good. However, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Unofficial MAL API made this possible since the APIs are alot easier to use than the official API and they are planning to add Manga support right after they made some fixes to some search bugs…

After I complained about not being a really good MyAnimeList client for Mac OS X and discovering a easier API to use, I went to work and created this. I used RealBasic 2009 to create this client and wanted to make as close to a Mac experience as possible without having to learn Objective-C and Cocoa (and I don’t want to spend time trying to fix memory leaks). I was able to at least get the most basic features to work after three days of programming (you can check out some of the early screenshots I made of the program in early development). It took that long since RealBasic was a little different from Visual Basic .net and I haven’t worked on that stuff ever since I switched to a Mac in late 2006. Just within a week, I added status updating with 2.x and you could add new titles to the list, update them or even delete them for the list.

However, by the time I have used melative for my live micro-blogging when I go and watch some episodes of Anime… so guess what, I have decided to add melative support to MAL Client OS X since media is all about experience. MAL lacks the ability to express what you want to say about a episode you are watching. This reduces the need to update both melative and MAL separately, when you can do it the same time. If you have nothing to say when you go update, it will just sync the information you updated on MAL to your melative library.

The reason I didn’t add any additional features like auto-sorting of media files and skinning support since it’s unnecessary. Most people would use AnimeSuki, IRC, or even licensed retail discs anyways, so I don’t see the point of MAL Client OS X do the work since you have it done already. Skinning support is a niche feature, especially on Mac OS X and Linux. Rarely, you will see any skinned programs on those platforms and it’s too Windows-like and make things more complicated. MAL Client OS X is all about simplicity and not all about features. Having a lot of features in the world don’t make your program any better if the implementation sucks and not easy to use. This is the reason I created MAL Lite, a simple, lightweight, minimalist client for Windows and Linux as an alternative. Along with it, I made a GUI for MAL Updater OS X scripts so it will be a lot friendlier and people can scrobble their anime while they are watching it.

There is a reason I used RealBasic over Adobe AIR. For one, RealBasic can make native apps and uses less RAM as a result. Adobe Air, on the other hand is notorious for using a lot of RAM and is not native. Also, I can access the OS features with RealBasic and do a lot more than I could in AIR…

The future… Once manga support gets added, I will start working on adding it to the program. Hopefully, the program will hit the final stages with version 1.0, and by then, RealBasic 2010 will be out with Cocoa support…

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Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Second Season – Episode 11 Thoughts and Impressions

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Yuuto... you are truly pathetic... (or is he?)
Yuuto... you are truly pathetic... (or is he?)

Yuuto’s pathetic self can’t get any worse when he actually believe the words Yayoi and Nozomi said and let them get away with their shenanigans with Haruka… They are trying to take Haruka away from you… are you possibly going to let them get away with it. The first half had him moping around… hopeless with depression. Mika and Shiina tries to help you and you push them away? There might be something wrong .

…

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Seitokai no Ichizon – Episode 10 – Thoughts and Impressions

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Academy Ranger Sheep! Mokyu~?
Academy Ranger Sheep! Mokyu~?

This episode can’t get any funnier, but I will highlight the funniest parts. Kurimu start with telling a tear jerking story with a mother mouse giving all her cheese to her child that made her cry since the mother mouse died. Another instance when Mafuyu tells a story when she loses her memory and forgot all the sweet times spent with Ken. Ken says he loves her, but she treats him as a freak and when she regains her memory, he is dead? This causes him to complain…
However, Chizuru’s idea was alot more harsh. In her story, Ken was about to confess her love for Chizuko. When she came, she tells about her new boyfriend and how great and leaves. This leaves Ken crying. Another instance is when he leaves the school hopeless, a stack of books hit his head and he was put in a hospital with jhis memory lost. This left everyone but Chizuru crying… Then Chizuru gave another idea with Chizuko and Kenichi with old age, which Kenichi dies of something and Chizuko saying everything is her. This is where the funny part come when Ken, Minatsu and Mafuyu raged about Chizuru’s ending and Kurimu crying a puddle of tears. The most funniest line that came out of this:

Mafuyu can’t take that! Mafuyu will sue her.
– Shiina Mafuyu

There is always a minority of this tear-jerking story backlash like in this instance. I have seen it when Misuzu dies in the end causing some fandom rage and also near the end of Clannad After Story when they killed off Ushio… Fan dumb at full force… right?
Next, they perform their own tear-jerking story, but ended up being entirely funny because the way they done it… I couldn’t take their story seriously… Eventually, they gave up on it.
Soon, it was the end of the festival and… Chizuru is dressed in her sheep outfit again… Mokyuu~? Next, they have to go through a pile of lost items. When going through the stuff, Ken discovers someone panties… which caused everyone else to be disturbed… but he finds out that Mafuyu wasn’t wearing any…

Mafuyu's reaction... priceless...
Mafuyu's reaction... priceless...

Next, they worked quietly , except Ken who said a overly long monologue, which annoyed them… Next, he said something like a drama CD and another instance he mentions pokkoncho and Kurimu, Chizuru, Minatsu and Mafuyu start asking what is a pokkoncho with the Nico Nico Douga-like commenting in the background…Ken tries to change the topic, but they won’t stop asking…
This episode was extremely funny. I couldn’t stop laughing because the material was that good. It’s so sad I don’t know most of the references, but in the end, it was golden… This is probably the best slice of life comedy for the season and got better for the second half of the season… too bad there is two more episodes and I will pretty much miss it after once it’s done…

Don’t forget the Mokyuu~!

Verdict

9.4/10

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First Anime Audiosurf Competition is now Live

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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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Kobato – Episode 9 Thoughts and Impressions

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She doesn't know where she is?
She doesn't know where she is?

Fillers galore, we are yet hit with another filler episode. While not having reading the manga since I don’t really have the interest to do so, it was a good episode, but there are some flaws and pretty much cliched.

This episode starts in the start of summer and Kobato wants to go to the summer festival while she was bathing Ioroyogi. The flier flew off and somehow Natsuki got it and Kobato finds her with it. She hands it back and notices that her hands mere a mess. Natsuki gives a cloth to Kobato to clean her hands. Then, another girl Yukino trips and falls onto the ground while she uses her cellphone and they left. Kobato forgot that Ioroyogi was still wet and she squeezed the water off him. He was angry and about to spit fire, but couldn’t. While Ioroyogi was drying, Fujimoto told where that girl’s school was which was a all girls school. After she goes there and watch through the window, she finds Yukino and Natsuki, but gets caught by a teacher. Kobato runs and hide in the bushes and Yukino finds her while trying out a camera. They went to the pool area where Natsuki was working and handed back the towel…

Why do I need to tell you this… Well, the rest of the story is about Natsuki’s and Yukino’s friendship becoming distant ever since Yukino started to act strangely. In the past, they had matching phones and they needed a way to tell the phones apart. They got their charms and they exchanged it (Natsuki gets a snowman and Yukino a watermelon slice). With their friendship distancing, Natsuki decided to work harder in school. Not knowing that Yukino was working in a part time job to buy a new camera and finally got the money to buy one at a sale, Kobato goes to the mall and she finds Natsuki looking at the two other girls and Yukino. Without thinking, Natsuki said something that she didn’t intend to say, but it was hurtful.

You guys are so stupid! Even photographs that just mimic an advertisement can be seen as pretty good, so alot of people are mistaken about good photography…Even though you’re an amateur with no talent, you pretend you’re a pro. You’re pathetic
-Natsuki

That moment pretty much sums up this episode… Well, the accusation of Yukino being a poser is pretty lame, don’t you think. Also, the charm which Natsuki was panic about when the charm is missing go through the trash and with Kobato taking notice of it, helps her but finds it near a bucket… HOW DID IT GET THERE? It must be some kind of magic since it couldn’t walk off like that. Natsuki finds it and Kobato takes a picture of it and sends it to Yukino. When Natsuki meets Yukino, she reveals that she kept her charm on a necklace… thus their friendship is healed and Kobato gets another konpeito.

Although this episode is not that bad and was good… it was pretty much cliched… How many shows employ this kind of plot? Does anyone know. Another complaint I am hearing that Kobato is butting into others people’s problems, although it’s the thing she does best, or she wouldn’t be healing these people.

Another thing that bothered me is Yukino using her cellphone during class. Why would you use a cell phone during class? It seems like alot of teenagers in high school spend their time texting on their phones secretly during class while the teacher is teaching and high schools usually ban cell phone use… In college, they don’t even care, but it’s quite risky since you might lose important information on a topic. Yukino did not realize that using a cellphone camera will make a noise… I noticed all Japanese mobile phones does that, except my iPhone 3GS since I can turn off that sound by turning on the silent switch. A great way to get caught easily…

Is this the last of the Fillers? Who knows, but they aren’t that bad considering that I haven’t read the manga or have any interest to do so.

Not to mention, Kobato looks really cute in her new outfit, especially in her yukata…

Verdict

8.8/10

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Moments in Anime of 2009 – The Bad, The so-so and the Good…

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2009 was a pretty dismal year for the economy in general, but not for Anime… I will be discussing several moments in Animes I watched that were good to the ones that are horrible. Let’s start with the bad, shall we.
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Moments in Anime of 2009 – The Bad, The so-so and the Good…

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2009 was a pretty dismal year for the economy in general, but not for Anime… I will be discussing several moments in Animes I watched that were good to the ones that are horrible. Let’s start with the bad, shall we.
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Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Second Season – Episode 10 Thoughts and Impressions

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Our evil schemes can't be stopped. MHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Our evil schemes can't be stopped. MHAHAHAHAHAHA!

When you think about idol, what comes in mind… The game iDOLM@STER by Namco? White Album? What? Yayoi, the “clingy girl” b**ch wants Haruka for herself to make her into a idol and she doesn’t want Yuuto in any part of it… Let’s try that again… She loathes Yuuto that much that she want to split the relationship between Haruka and Yuuto so she can have her to her self… Thats more like it…

Miran makes a reappearance in this episode and most likely in the next two episodes. Yuuto becomes a manager for her and we get some back stage appearance with Miran with her photoshots… There is one crucial quote she made about Yuuto which is apparently true.

I don’t even consider you as a guy, so it’s fine.
– Himemiya Miran

Apparently true since he doesn’t fight against Yayoi and defend Haruka, his girlfriend… What would a guy do if another man hits on your girlfriend… Of course, you would defend her… but apparently not so with Yuuto because he is way too nice… Being nice is a good thing, but you must do all means necessary to denfend your girl before someone go take her away… I’m sure you don’t want that.

Beside her shallow Tsundere personality, she does have a soft side.
Beside her shallow Tsundere personality, she does have a soft side.

Besides the behind the scenes with Miran and the Anime recording, we get another reference… The N’s which is basically Noto Mamiko & Gotou Mai & Shimizu Kaori & Ueda Kana & Satou Rina and Yuuto voices as a Lizard and he gets a servenior, which he intends on giving to Haruka… but… yep, the evil managers. Miran almost revealed about Yayoi, but probably much more in the next two episodes.

I have the feeling that Gentou should send his Hell Hound and infiltrate the whole building with soldiers with M5 surrounding it… If that were to happen, that will teach that b**ch a lesson…

In a side note, Yuuto does what Mika suggested and uses a chocolate bannana with Alice-chan licking it for more innuendo… but that did not go well for Ruko and Yukari…

I see some people complaining about the series because it’s not focusing on Haruka’s and Yuuto’s romance officially… I for one think that this series is rather enjoyable, although not the best in terms of content compared to the first season… but it can’t get any worse than Kampfer…

Verdict

8.2/10

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Winter Comes Again. Time for Kanon Again?

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I’ve always live in this town, but cold is cold. But I love this town… In winter, it’s covered by white snow… In spring, the streets are full of falling sakura petals… In summer, it’s noisy with cicadas… In autumn, I’m surrounded by the falling leaves and then, the snow starts to fall, and the winter that I love begins again. This town is nice, isn’t it?
– Nayuki Minase from the Kanon Visual Novel

Winter is a few weeks away and with the latest snow storm that hit where I live reminds me of something. What is it?
…

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