Dec 25 2006
Archive for December, 2006
Dec 25 2006
Read or Die volume 1
Yomiko Readman, aka The Paper, is a Paper Master- a British Library agent with the special ability to manipulate paper in any way she wishes. It should come as no surprise that such a person is also an avid bibliophile, and so what better person to be asked to stick close to than up and coming author Nenene Sumiregawa? Unfortunately, there won’t be much time for reading books on this mission, for someone out there has an unhealthy interest in Nenene, and they are prepared to use any means to retrieve her… Continue Reading »
Dec 25 2006
The Obligatory Merry Christmas Post
Ages ago, I had this great idea of reviewing various Christmas related episodes for today (think the Love Hina Xmas Special et al), but when it came down to it, not only did I have no time left, but I couldn’t remember most of those episodes particularly well. So instead, you will have to enjoy this festive low-content Christmas collection of seasonal anime screencaps. Click on the ‘more’ link and let the pointlessness begin! Continue Reading »
Dec 24 2006
Futakoi
From top left: the childhood friends; the rich girls; the lolis; the lead; the shy meganekko; the tsundere and the sick girl; the older women.
When Futami Nozomu returns to his childhood hometown in order to attend high school, he is delighted to be reunited with his friends, the Ichijou twins. There is clearly a hint of romance in the air, but if Nozomu thought that choosing which of the twins he should go out with was difficult, he gets something of a rude awakening when he finds out that town is literally filled with many sets of twins- each of them interested in pursuing his heart! Who will Nozomu end up with, and how will the others react if he ever does make a choice? Continue Reading »
Dec 23 2006
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 33
Liu Bei has enjoyed HARD GAY with Xu Shu, but now the time has come for his trusted advisor to leave his service and ‘attend’ to his mother and Cao Cao instead. Can Liu Bei hope to recruit a new lover in order to recover from this tragically brief relationship?
In case you hadn’t realised it, this is a time of chaos. Continue Reading »
Dec 22 2006
Weekly Round-Up: December 22nd
Star Ocean has taken over my life; it seeps into all the cracks and leaves me with no time to do anything else. Nonetheless, I shall get on top of this addiction, even if it means playing all three games (four if you count Blue Sphere) to death. In the meantime, Bakumatsu 7-8 will be covered next week since my birthday cut into regular anime viewing time.
Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 9, Code Geass 10, La Corda d’Oro 5, Death Note 11, Kanon 11, Keroro 70-73, Red Garden 10, ROTK 33-5
…and in manga: Bokurano 33-7, Chevalier 1, Chokotto Sister 37-8, MariMite 21, Pani Poni 1-7 Continue Reading »
Dec 21 2006
Can anime surpass its source material? Part One: manga-based series
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I have a habit of unfavourably comparing anime series to the original manga- it’s not something I do to be provocative or controversial, merely a statement of my opinion. As my manga experience has increased, I have continually found that the majority of manga-based anime series simply do not live up to the original, regardless of which version I was exposed to first.
From some viewpoints, this may seem a little strange- surely black and white pictures squeezed onto an A5 page cannot compared to something that has colour, movement and sound? Admittedly, this is often case for action series; trying to follow a battle via static images is often a futile cause, but most other genres seem to lose something in the transition from page to screen. Continue Reading »
Dec 21 2006
Shameless Self-Indulgence: Another Year Older
I can’t say I’d normally be excited enough about my birthday to make a blog post about it, but I wanted to show off this lovely picture that my loyal slave necromancer made for me, featuring the ‘royal wedding’ between President Aria and Mikoto.
Oh, and if anyone feels like buying me a present, how about some Wordpress credits so I can upgrade my image storage limit? I’ve used 48 out of 50MB so far, so the need is pressing (yes, I know I can just resort to imageshack, but it’s not the same, damn it!)
Dec 20 2006
Star Ocean 2, or how I reopened the gaming era
Over the last few years, I’ve found myself becoming increasingly disillusioned with gaming. I had reached the stage where I was collecting games just for the sake of having them, and either put them straight in the cupboard or played them routinely and dutifully as if they were little more than a tedious chore. In the end, the outcome was inevitable- I packed up my consoles and did not look at them for months. As far as I was concerned, the gaming era was over. Continue Reading »
Dec 19 2006
Tuesday Rumble: December 19th
It’s been a while since I played anything more than Flash games or something Uta-related, but this week sees the grand ‘reopening’ of the gaming era. I previously stopped gaming because it had become more of a tedious chore than a pleasurable pastime, but in Star Ocean 2 I have discovered a game that makes it all enjoyable again. Next up: Star Ocean 1, Xenogears, Valkyrie Profile, and all those games I always meant to play but never did.
Christmas is coming: anime-inspired present ideas
Christmas is just around the corner, and for those who still can’t decide what they want to see in their stockings on the morning in question, we have compiled a list of essential items to ask for. Simply show this to any relatives pestering you for gift ideas, and your Christmas will be complete. Alternatively, if you’re stuck for what to buy for the anime fan in your family, just pick something from this list- we guarantee they’ll be delighted!
