Chikorita157's Anime Blog

The thoughts, reviews and analysis of Comedy, Romance, Drama and Slice of Life Anime of a College Student

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Extreme Makeover… Blog gets Completely New Theme

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Have been working several hours on this...

Well, it have been decided that I was going to ditch the old theme and make a new one. The last theme, Wicketpixie seems alright, but the problem is that it uses alot of images and it seems to load slower than it would on top of the glitches on top, so I decided to gut the theme. We are still using the same banner, but I made alot of mods and tweaks to the Thematic Theme Framework with the help of the Web Inspector in Webkit to figure out what CSS to edit and all that good stuff. I managed to maintain the top bar from the old theme, except for minor glitches that I need to fix. Overall, the theme seems to be very appealing to the eye and also loads alot quicker than the old theme… Several seconds quicker since now everything is done with CSS, not with images and such… I haven’t tested the theme in Internet Explorer since it is the worst browser ever made, but everything seems to work fine.

Anyways, tell me what you think about it and I will take some suggestions… No, the color scheme is here to stay, so yeah….

Also, I got rid of Wibiya… so people who are reading this blog don’t have to tear their hairs out when they see that annoying, floating toolbar. And yes, this theme has threaded comments!

Update: Subscribe menu should now view properly. Something was up with the positioning of the menu in the CSS.

 

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AniBlog Tournament, The ISML of Anime Blogs

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Yep, we are doing it...

From my surprise, someone felt like doing something that the Anime Blogosphere haven’t done before… an ISML (International Saimoe League) like tournament, but instead with moe female characters, now with Anime Blogs and we are listed. As they say, if you want a blog to win, you have to campaign… so this is what I’m doing right now.
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My Big Annoucement

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yea, this is my new home page. ;p

Today and for now on, I will now forth today will become a Danny Choo follower and post only about Japanese stuff I don’t even know about… That means, you won’t see any more anime content or any editorials anymore, but I will post random shit like… well, you know… eating ramen and Danny Choo will be my idol and I will worship his new anime production, Chinka. I may be harsh to him in the past, but I seen the light… I’m going to be like him like others failed to do… WATCH OUT, Otaku Elimination Game, I will be eliminated next!!!

On this day forward, on April 2nd, this blog shall be renamed to Chikorita157’s Otaku Blog… Take that OEG! ALL HAIL DANNY CHOO!!!!!!

In addition, I will no longer take part in Melative and I will stop developing any projects I’m working on to catch up. I know it sucks, but thats life… 

Chikorita157’s Anime Blog turns 1 year old and how it was started.

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Time flies when you are having fun and blogging. When February came, I went… Oh shoot! It have been a year since I have started blogging about Anime exclusively. The blogging started in February 17, 2009 when I decided that putting my Anime stuff with all the rest of the stuff on my old blog isn’t a good idea. I have split the anime section of the blog from the main blog, but the main blog ended up dying since I didn’t felt like maintaining two blogs and there is alot to talk about Anime and it’s related stuff like visual novels, related songs, etc. Of course, this blog won’t be possible if I haven’t rediscovered Anime when I started freshman year of college in September 2008 (more on that story in About chikorita157 page)!

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Although it uses the same theme, the banner was lacking in quality.

Well, when I first started this blog, I decided to use WicketPixie  as the theme for Chikorita157’s Anime Blog since it looks clean and stylish. I just removed the text logo and the Twitter stuff on the top since it wasn’t necessary. As time went on, the banners improved in quality, but the theme stayed pretty much the same. I could of use the same theme as everyone else, but that would look boring and not so unique.
As of Feb 17, I will probably make close to 260 posts, and thats good since I wanted to always update the blog. I’m dedicated and love blogging about Anime because this is what I enjoy doing. Watch Anime and blog about what I thought about it. So dedicated that I even blog when I’m on vacation, because there is nothing to do around the hotel room except sleep and watch TV. I am hoping that more people decide to look up at my model and start blogging more often than just leaving their blogs collect dust for more than a week.

2010 will be another great year and as always, I will keep blogging… until I get tired or lose interest on Anime, which isn’t happening anytime soon. So I give these two words as I go onto the second year of blogging.

2010, fighto~

Attribution Information

Fanart used in this post is by 透子 (Orig Source.) 

Chikorita157's Anime Blog gets a makeover

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It only took a few hours!

I have always wanted to update the blog style, but I haven’t got the time with my programming projects (MAL Client OS X and Melative Library), college work and spending time watching Anime and Audiosurfing that I neglected to update the theme for a long time. Now, it have been almost a year and I have decided to change the theme.

I didn’t want to ditch the current theme, Wicketpixie since it’s a very clean theme and I want it to stand out since bloggers use the same theme over and over again… I wanted to be different, so I just updated the banner, icons you see on the top and the color sceme. The image is obviously themed on Furukawa Nagisa, my second favorite character from the anime Clannad. I used my Wacom Bamboo Tablet (very useful and they are inexpensive now) to quick mask the whole thing to have a clean cut from the original image and paste it into the banner with some touch up. The graphics tablet made life alot easier to make the selection possible and I haven’t discovered the quick mask tool until I learned how to use it in Intro to Digital Photography, one of the electives I’m taking this semester. Also, threw in some snapshots with some effects and I was done.

The color scheme is now purple and it used to be bright yellow. I was getting sick of the yellow, so I replaced it with a darker color that is easier on the eyes… Well, it comes down to preferences.

However, if you compare this current theme to the one used since February 2009, it’s a big difference. It really shows how much effort I put into this blog because I really enjoy blogging on Anime and expressing my thoughts. Hopefully, this will be another great year… 

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! 

MAL Client OS X is now Release Candidate

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Is it done yet?

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. 

My Experiences of Anime Blogging in 2009

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I have started to blog back in October of last year, mostly about topics not about anime. Suddenly, my interest for anime came back when I discovered better anime such as Suzumiya Haruhi, Lucky Star and soon after Kanon and also Clannad/Clannad After Story. This is when I started to blog about anime in middle of February while using the same WordPress theme with alot of modifications and kept at it for close to 10-11 months with my effort to update my blog frequently with new Anime episodic posts, reviews and editorials.

Whole year went by so fast and I have published over 220 posts within the 10-11 months I have blogging. Basically, I have been posting on average 20 posts per month. Blogging has always been fun for me, although it’s time consuming. The idea is I want to share my thoughts instead of relying on Twitter like most anime bloggers and neglect their blogs. Yes I’m looking at you… and RyanA have been complaining about this frequently on IRC! I for one didn’t take this trend and decided that anime blogging should stay as it is… on your blog.

The most notable events I have written a response about is the eroge ban (which is wrong, btw), ADV shutdown, Bloggers not crediting their fanart and lastly, Otaku Elimination Game where we spread more controversy and of course, the Endless Eight outrage where most of the bloggers complained about Endless Eight endlessly… I enjoyed that… err… not really.

I have seen some good series this year. The second half of Clannad After Story which is a masterpiece in my books, K-ON!, a lighthearted slice of life comedy, half of Kobato and Seitokai no Ichizon along with already finished animes I haven’t watched like Kanon, Clannad, Air, some of Kannagi, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (first season), Suzumiya Haruhi S1, Lucky Star and five episodes of Hayate no Gotoku. I’m hoping that next year will bring out great anime again… and pretty much looking forwards for Angel Beats! and perhaps another season of K-ON!

Except Suzumiya Haruhi Second Season… that sh** sucked thanks to Endless Eight… Never forget that…

But for now, so along and we see each other in 2010!

Attribution Information

Fanart used in this post is made by moonknives 

How about an Audiosurf Contest with Anime Music?

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

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Success tastes sweet!
Success tastes sweet!

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. 

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