Azure Flame Reloaded

The time has come to decide who the most HARD GAY man in the land is, with the first battle of the first round taking place between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao may have fewer men than his rival, but can he make up the difference in numbers with superior technique?

The chapters about Sun Ce are condensed into this one sentence. Continue Reading »

As the season hauls itself to the midway point, the inevitable pruning time has come again (although sometimes it feels like I prune every week). The first few series to face the chop are YoakeNa, Negima and Ghost Hunt, none of which inspire me to waste any more of my life on them. Code Geass and Red Garden now rest in the danger zone, with Busou Renkin only remaining safe due to parody potential.

I must also confess to some blogging inefficiency this week, so Otogi-jushi Akazukin 18, Keroro Gunso 66 and Asatte no Houkou 6 will all appear in the next round up.

Reviewed this week: Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 5 (why does this series not lend itself to a catchy acronym), Busou Renkin 6, Code Geass 6, Corda d’Oro 3, Death Note 7, Ghost Hunt 3, Kanon 7, Keroro 65, Otome Zwei 1, ROTK 31, SaiMono 21, Shounen Onmyouji 5, YoakeNa 7

…and in manga: Emma Bangaihen 4, Otome 35, Tsubasa 134, 136, Haruhi Suzumiya novel 4.6 Continue Reading »

The following parody comes with an advisory warning: if the thought of a man dressed only in a thong in any way scares, traumatises or disgusts you, do not read on. Please direct all complaints about his appearance to the animators and original mangaka.

Chouno’s father explains how he tried to train his eldest son in the preferred style of HARD GAY. Continue Reading »

Episode six turned out to be a particularly complex one to create; not only did Midori have to be transformed into a playable character, but every scene seemed to require some trick or another. Oddly enough, the section that required the most work was the seemingly simplistic ‘rocks falling in a cave’ event towards the end- it took me all evening to create the perfect falling rock animation and then dig out my old first year computing lab skills to get it looping correctly (even now, I’m not entirely satisfied with it, but that’s probably more to do with the limitations of RPG Maker than anything else). Continue Reading »

Ace high school student Light Yagami and shinigami Ryuk have one thing in common- both are bored out of their minds by their current lifestyle. Desperate for a change of pace, Ryuk decides to stir up some entertainment by dropping his Death Note –a notebook that enables the user to kill someone by writing down their name- into the human world, and as it turns, Light is the one who picks it up. Equipped with this new power, Light decides to use it to create a better world by executing known criminals- an act that draws the attention of not only the police, but the enigmatic and brilliant detective known only as L. Each committed to their own idea of justice, Light and L now engage in a battle of wits with each other, one where the wrong move could mean death…

Continue Reading »

Using the magic of television, the story has jumped ahead several years.

Zagi’s people (Blanc Ring) attack Night Ring. Zagi confronts its Top, Jeso.

Jeso: You won’t defeat me so easily!

Zagi: Who are you kidding? I’m an OP character, whilst this is your first appearance.

A messenger from Night Ring makes his way to Ochre Ring in order to meet up with Thor, Tiz and Third (now Top, Second and Third of Ochre Ring).

Thor: Look at me; I’ve gone through puberty; now I’m a fifteen year old MAN with a deep voice! Continue Reading »

Following on from what I was talking about last Friday, the KOS-MOS figure has arrived, and it is with some relief that I realise I like it enough to want to keep it (but if only I’d ordered it from United Publications and saved myself £14). Nonetheless, a new problem has arisen- just where am I going to put it?

How to be evil: location, location, location
In part two of the ultimate guide to becoming a final boss, we cover that all-important aspect of villainy- finding the right place to turn into your final boss castle. Remember, you’ll be spending a lot of time here waiting for heroes and underlings to show up, so choose wisely! Continue Reading »

As the blue-white light causes the house to explode, pieces of wood fly everywhere.

Mokkun: Guren form!

Mokkun transforms into Guren in order to save Masahiro from that most dangerous of enemies- wood.

Guren: This will be the most dangerous enemy yet.

Masahiro: Yeah, I sense a lot of evil foreign demons. Continue Reading »

These days, it’s rare for a series not to get subbed- even the likes of Haruka 8 and the twenty year old Ginga Nagareboshi Gin are slowly but surely being released. With that in mind, it seemed only logical to expect the Angelique TV series to be picked up by someone sooner or later, but unfortunately, as the final episode aired, it became clear that such was not to be the case- if I wanted to watch it, my only recourse would be the raws. Driven onwards by a strange need to watch the series, I decided that I would have to rely on my basic grasp of Japanese to carry me through, but as I realised by the end, it hadn’t really been worth the effort.

Continue Reading »

Entry Seven
It has taken a while, but at long last I have worked out the optimum schedule for maximising my time with the girls. In order that others may learn from my shining example, I have generously decided to include it here.

Early morning: Get up, tease Makoto, walk to school with Nayuki if possible.

Morning: Classes with Nayuki and Kaori.

Lunchtime: Visit Shiori outside before eating lunch with Sayuri and Mai.

Afternoon: Classes with Nayuki and Kaori. Walk home with Nayuki if possible; otherwise go into town and spend time with Ayu. Pick up Makoto from work.

Evening: Copy Nayuki’s homework; eat dinner with Nayuki, Makoto and Akiko. Take every opportunity to tease Makoto.

Late Evening: Go back into school to see Mai.

Night: Forego sleep in order to catch Makoto at her pranks. Encourage her to spend the night in my bed.

As you can see, it is a packed schedule, but surely well worth the effort. Continue Reading »