Like all the best entrepreneurs, President Aria built himself up from nothing, with his dream of hitting the big time beginning in his early years. Whilst roaming the back streets of Neo Venezia, Aria dreamed of the day when he would be able to afford his own hat, and resolved to find a business partner to help him achieve this mighty dream. After some consideration, he selected Akino, an undine from Himeya Company, and the pair set up their first and most enduring enterprise- Aria Company.

Although it was hard to break into a market already dominated by Himeya and Orange Planet, Aria’s business acumen and his talent for hiring the best people helped Aria Company build up a legendary reputation- and all the while a steady trickle of profits began accumulating in the president’s bank account. Even so, for an entrepreneur of Aria’s level, it was not enough- he knew he would have to branch out.

With the help of Aqua’s foremost feline power, Cait Sith, Aria began to branch out his enterprises, dealing with numerous companies and even, rumour has it, allying himself with the Neo Venezian mafia. With his charming manner and inimitable ‘punyu’, Aria became a household name, with the numerous products he endorsed gaining immense popularity.

These days, Aria has risen high enough that he likes to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labours where possible, but don’t be fooled by his laid back attitude- behind the scenes this feline heavyweight is always popping into company meetings and keeping up with the latest developments in the business pages, and if there’s a good investment to add to his impressive portfolio, he isn’t one to pass it up.

Shion no Ou 18

“I’ve had to make do with night after night of Hyper Self Pleasure!”

“HARD GAY is serious now!”

“The strength to Pleasure many lovers in one night!”

“Ayumi, don’t even try to run away- you’re my bitch now.”

“We can observe some naked men from there.”

“I’m no longer a trap- I’m openly HARD GAY.”

“I had to come out of the closet.”

“Could it be that mere generics weren’t meant to have wild nights of Pleasure?”

Yasuoka’s wife catches him watching adult videos on his laptop.

Dragons’ Den
Welcome to our regular feature based on the TV program of the same name, in which anime characters try to market their great idea to five fat cats of anime! President Aria made his fortune in the gondola industry of Neo Venezia, and is now CEO of a well-known company. Mikoto started her business in the capital of Wind Bloom, and is now a trusted advisor to the queen, with business partners scattered across the world. The Admiral’s first business venture was to invest in a Chinese restaurant, but a meteor threat to Earth saw her buy shares in ground and space based defence technology, which she currently administers with her protégé “The General” (aka Shogun). Mr Tibbs started his career as a tea cat for the bank, but his sound grasp of finance saw him rise up the ranks until he became one of their most prominent managers. Finally, The Cardinal is the world’s most powerful fat cat, with a wide range of business interests that ensure that he has a paw in every pie (often literally, depending on his appetite). These five cats represent some heavyweight investment clout in every sense of the word, but is any deal attractive enough to get them to roll off their backsides and shake paws with a budding entrepreneur?

This week two brand new entrepreneurs have dared to brave the Den- merchant Lawrence Craft and his business partner Horo. Can they win over the Dragons with their confident sales pitch?

Lawrence: Hello Dragons, my name is Lawrence, a freelance merchant looking for a fast investment of some fifty-odd Rumione in my company. We are traders who travel across the country dealing in everything from furs and pepper to armour and even, of late, gold smuggling.

Cardinal: Gold, eh- I like the sound of that- but why do you need such a swift investment?

Lawrence: Er, well, the thing is- we’re in a bit of debt at the moment.

Mr Tibbs: Debt? Do you think the Dragons are your personal bank? I’m out!

Horo: Ah, but they do say that an entrepreneur who is in debt is also in business, don’t they?

Cardinal: Hahaha, I like your spunk!

Aria: Punyu? [Do you deliver to Neo Venezia?]

Lawrence: Not at the moment…

Horo: …but it will be easy enough to alter our trade routes.

Mikoto: What about Windbloom?

Horo: We can deliver anywhere you need.

The Admiral: Do you deal in spaceship parts?

Lawrence: I can’t say we even know what a spaceship is, but we have this armour here.

Admiral: Nice try, but I know that armour is worthless at the moment, so I’m out.

Cardinal: If I give you the money, what exactly are you going to do with it?

Lawrence: Pay off my debt, and then continue trading as normal. Of course, you’ll get a share of any future profits I make.

Mikoto: And if you go out of business?

Lawrence: I’m a main character- I can’t go out of business!

Cardinal: I have a good feeling about you two- especially the girl with the ears and tail. Please accept my investment, and may we do good business from now on.

Horo and Lawrence have managed to entice the Cardinal into investing, but will he appear in a future episode of Spice and Wolf? Tune in to find out!

This Week in Anime

Apples continue their takeover of SaiMono.

Dango and Go in the same screencap- this is just too much!

World’s largest fruit cocktail spotted.

“No apple is going to get the better of me!”

“Take heart, Shuurei- we can fight the apple invasion with the aid of these peaches!”

Shannon has a particularly disappointing HORSE session.

“Oh my god, he’s been killed by apples.”

“Here, little girl, take this delicious apple and join the revolution!”

“Now, let’s play Yu-Gi-Oh!”

“Gun may beat Knife, but Fork is the deadliest of all!”

Annual vegetable conference begins.

Tangerines are always watching us.

I have a Sony Vaio, er, I mean Avio.

Flash Game Review: The Big Red Button
All of us possess that innate desire to press the Big Red Button, and now you can do so- repeatedly. Less of a game than a clicking exercise, the idea of the Big Red Button is simply to ignore repeated warnings not to press said button, and keep on clicking it just to see what happens next. According to the game, there is also a hidden white button, but the truth of this statement has yet to be revealed.

Mini-editorial: Sticking with the formula?
When a series reaches a certain length, it gets thrust into a catch-22 situation- should it stick with the formula that got it this far, or should it try to evolve and update, possibly losing the very qualities that made it great in the first place? In order to fully examine this question, we will be delving not only into the world of anime, but also that of American TV shows, asking whether it would be better to simply cut things off in their prime.

Be it Keroro Gunso, School Rumble, Stargate SG-1 or even The Simpsons, there comes a time when you’ve used the same old format so often that the audience cannot help but tire of it. Even so, that won’t deter some of these old stalwarts; they have their setup and it’ll be a cold day in hell before they part with it. Used that joke before? Don’t worry, it was five years ago- no one will remember. Still stuck in the same old love triangle? Oh well, you can throw in a bit of development and then reset it.

Unfortunately, no matter how great something is to start with, the more you have of it, the less appealing it tastes, and indeed, those series that stick with the formula generally suffer for it, alienating their core fanbase and often turning into a tired parody of its former self. We’ve all seen it happen, but is the alternative any better?

If the static model is to be avoided, then can a series avoid death by trying to evolve and update? Old characters may be replaced with new, relationships may be developed and longstanding feuds resolved, but what are we, the viewer, left with? Gone are the very character and story dynamics that drew us to the series in the first place- instead, we have a bunch of new (and usually not very likable) characters, new adversaries and probably a few continuity errors to go with them. Did the Lead really have a previously unmentioned mother, father and brother? Was the former greatest power in the universe really a minor force compared to the new enemy? Why are we even watching this series anymore?

It seems, then, that the only answer to retaining quality is for a series to end on a high, choosing a “less is more” route. Sadly, in these days of commercialism, as long as there is money to be made, a series is more likely to simply be spun out for as long as it is profitable- regardless of the inevitable loss in quality.

Harem of the week: Samatarou (Kamisama Kazoku)
It’s hard being the son of God, and even more so when numerous women are after you- each of them possessing powers of their own.

Harem
Tenko: Samatarou’s guardian angel and main girl- has a typical on/off relationship with him.
Kumiko: The other woman at school, with more to her than meets the eye.
Meme: Samatarou’s little sister and token loli.
Misa: The sexy and troublesome older sister.
Venus: Despite being his mother, the high fanservice content of the series still qualifies her for the harem.

Rivals
Osamu: The old man still wants all the girls for himself.

The making of Azure Flame: Weekly Round-Up
In an ideal world, the Weekly Round-Up evolves naturally during the week- anime is watched when it is released, and then written about, building up an article that can be published without effort come Friday. Of course, as one can imagine, it often doesn’t work that way, with much of the viewing and writing about anime somehow accumulating until it must all be tackled on Thursday night (or, where time allows, Friday itself). Even so, once everything is finally viewed and written about (or put off until next week), the next stage is to pick out one screencap from the archives for the introduction, and then insert any amusing screencaps from the episodes themselves within the actual article.

Simoun DS
As we’ve seen recently, there’s a game for everything, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have room for more. One significant omission is a Simoun game for DS, a combination of dating sim and action game. You take on the role of a young sibylla who has just been assigned to Chor Tempest; off-duty you can chat to your fellow sibylla and try to build up relationship points with them, and then when the time comes for battle, you and your chosen pair can take to the skies. Your relationship score will affect your stamina in battle, whilst special Ri Maajon moves can be drawn with the stylus, unleashing the true power of the Simoun! Does anyone have the drawing power to manage the legendary Emerald Ri Maajon? Find out when Simoun DS hits the streets!

Shion no Ou 16

Man…

…or woman?

“It was fun while it lasted, but people are starting to give me funny looks.”

“I will teach you what it means to be a man…”

“…through constant HARD GAY!”

“It will hurt at first, but in time it will become pleasurable.”

“Just watch what I do, and you’ll soon pick up the technique.”

“Now, prepare to feast your eyes on my Zhuge Liang!”

Dragons’ Den: The Kaiji Gambling Experience
Welcome to a new feature based on the TV program of the same name, in which anime characters try to market their great idea to five fat cats of anime! President Aria made his fortune in the gondola industry of Neo Venezia, and is now CEO of a well-known company. Mikoto started her business in the capital of Wind Bloom, and is now a trusted advisor to the queen, with business partners scattered across the world. The Admiral’s first business venture was to invest in a Chinese restaurant, but a meteor threat to Earth saw her buy shares in ground and space based defence technology, which she currently administers with her protégé “The General” (aka Shogun). Mr Tibbs started his career as a tea cat for the bank, but his sound grasp of finance saw him rise up the ranks until he became one of their most prominent managers. Finally, The Cardinal is the world’s most powerful fat cat, with a wide range of business interests that ensure that he has a paw in every pie (often literally, depending on his appetite). These five cats represent some heavyweight investment clout in every sense of the word, but is any deal attractive enough to get them to roll off their backsides and shake paws with a budding entrepreneur?

The latest entrepreneurs to brave the Den are business partners Tonegawa and Kaji, who are looking to sell what they call “the Kaiji Gambling Experience”. Events-based companies are notoriously hard to work with, so will they have that something special the Dragons are looking for?

Tonegawa: Greetings, Dragons, today we have a unique business proposition for you- the Kaiji Gambling Experience! Our company offers a range of games aimed at those in deep debt, all designed to give them the hope of paying off their creditors. So far we have released Restricted Rock-Paper-Scissors, the Human Derby and E-Card, all of which Kaiji here has participated in.

Cardinal: Ah yes, I’m familiar with those events.

Tonegawa: Our hope is that, with your investment, we can expand the scope of our company, perhaps bringing out more games and of course reaching more people.

Mikoto: Well, debt is at an all-time high in Windbloom, so I have to admit that the market is there for it, but wouldn’t it be better to focus on selling one product rather than diversifying so much that you overstretch yourself?

Kaiji: Each game naturally leads onto the next- it’s like one huge product, really.

Aria: Punyu? [Could you explain these games to us in more detail?]

Tonegawa: Of course.

Having made his initial pitch, Tonegawa offers the Dragons the detail they need by showing them a range of video clips.

Aria: Punyu! [This looks rather dangerous and inhumane, so I’m out.]

Mr Tibbs: I’m not sure the bank and I really want to solve the problem of debt, so I’m out as well.

Two Dragons are already out! Can Tonegawa and Kaiji persuade the remaining three that they really are worth investing in?

Admiral: The thing that worries me is the high death rate- surely it damages your long-term profits to decimate the market?

Cardinal: Now, now, casualties are only to be expected. Tonegawa, I love your idea and I’d like to make you an offer.

Tonegawa: We’d be happy to have you on board.

Tonegawa’s games have appealed to the Cardinal’s ruthless streak, landing him with an offer from arguably the most powerful Dragon of the group. Well done.

This Week in Anime

Now presenting- the Turn A moustache.

Young Haruhi cosplayer explains how she got the look just right,

Forget Starbucks- all the cool people are going to Starbobs.

“I support bananas!”

“This is how you show those apples who’s boss!”

These days it’s possible to buy anything- even your own personal loli.

Is this Shaman King or Ren and Stimpy?

Grapes prepare to escape the fruit bowl.

“We aren’t HARD GAY, we’re just experimenting!”

“Yeah, and I’m actually reading Go strategy, not sneakily looking at porn.”

“Don’t be afraid to embrace your HARD GAY side!”

President Aria invests in the bowling industry.

“The discerning man drinks Boozer.”

Prepare for the brand new series- Athrun no Go!

No, not more Harvest Moon!

“I have mastered the game of Fantavision, and enlarged my Kadoya!”

Dog counsellor proves popular.

Flash Game Review: Eyezmaze
I first discovered Eyezmaze when someone started a forum thread on the Grow Cube game, and from then on, I was addicted. The Grow games remain my favourite offering on the site- the basic premise behind all of them is that you add components in a certain order so that they all reach their maximum level- a seemingly simple task that can sometimes be fiendishly difficult. The other games are of the more straightforward colour-matching/catch falling objects class, although the Chronon puzzle remains memorable for its seeming impossibility.

Reverse Harem of the week: Himeno Awayuki (Pretear)
Yet another in a long line of destined magical girls, Himeno not only became the legendary Pretear, but also gained the services of seven Leafe Knights, a group of bishies and shota whom she had to “prete” (fuse) with in order to use magical powers. Any excuse for it, eh?

Harem
Hayate: The brooding main love interest- tall, dark, handsome and taciturn.
Sasame: The carefree and laid back one, who harbours his own secrets.
Go: The straightforward strong man of the group.
Kei: The vain, effeminate narcissist.
Mannen: Oldest of the shota, the cool and pragmatic one.
Hajime: The second shota, the unmemorable, bookish type.
Shin: The quintessential blonde shota.

Rivals
Mawata: One of Himeno’s two stepsisters; the quiet, troubled one who wanders around angsting.
Mayune: The other stepsister; a comic relief character who continually tries to seduce the male characters.
Takiko: The “Princess of Disaster” and previous Pretear, with romantic links to both Hayate and Sasame.

The making of Azure Flame: Tuesday Rumble
In an oddly circular turn of events, in this Tuesday Rumble we will discuss how Tuesday Rumble is created. The first stage is generating ideas, which occurs through random trains of thought, MSN conversations and throwaway comments on other blogs. These ideas are all written down in a special Word document, which also lists the various articles in the right order for consistency.

Each week, the top ideas for each section are transferred to the current Tuesday Rumble, in the following order-

“Main article”- random ideas based on the world of anime and manga. I used to do two per week, but now it’s down to one.

Screencap parody- based on whatever screencaps I saved to the appropriate folder

Short parody/Random Thoughts/Dragons’ Den

This Week in Anime

HARD GAY/HARD YURI Corners/Anime or Game World Tour/Flash Game Review

OST Spotlight (not currently featuring)

Mini-rant/editorial

In Your Reflection/Harem of the Week

Fashion Police (not currently featuring)

The making of Azure Flame/Amusing Search Terms+Spam

Now the individual sections can be worked on over the weekend or on Monday and Tuesday, until the finished product is ready to be released. Sadly, tiredness, lack of time and the dreaded lack of internet can all conspire to make sure that some weeks have to go without a Tuesday Rumble.

E-card: the new gaming phenomenon that’s taking over the nation
Forget Pokemon, move aside Yu-Gi-Oh!- a new card game is in town! The kids will just love E-card, a high stakes gambling game brought to you by your good friends in the yakuza! In each E-card starter set, you get a deck of cards containing Citizens, an Emperor and a Slave card, as well as special accessories to affix to your eye and ear! Gamble too much, and the pin in the accessory will penetrate the eyeball or eardrum, permanently damaging the organ. Bet against fellow players for big money, and remember- what’s a sensory organ or two amongst friends? You can play again and again and again with our special E-card sets!*

*Please wash eye and ear needles between use. Note that we cannot accept returns on used E-card sets.

Harvest Moon Ninomiya

Today we’re here to introduce a special game to you- Harvest Moon Ninomiya: Let Me Eat It!

As per usual, you have a supporting character to guide you through the tutorial section.

One new innovation in the game is the requirement of checking every single grain for quality before planting or shipping.

Cows can be kept outside in a custom-made pasture.

Sheep are also available.

New to the Harvest Moon franchise are pigs.

The game designers decide to bring us “pigs like you’ve never seen them before”.

Unfortunately, this is the only way to handle the pigs until you can afford a slaughterhouse.

Ah yes, and where would we be without the obligatory Liang joke?

Dragons’ Den: Celestial Brush
Welcome to a new feature based on the TV program of the same name, in which anime characters try to market their great idea to five fat cats of anime! President Aria made his fortune in the gondola industry of Neo Venezia, and is now CEO of a well-known company. Mikoto started her business in the capital of Wind Bloom, and is now a trusted advisor to the queen, with business partners scattered across the world. The Admiral’s first business venture was to invest in a Chinese restaurant, but a meteor threat to Earth saw her buy shares in ground and space based defence technology, which she currently administers with her protégé “The General” (aka Shogun). Mr Tibbs started his career as a tea cat for the bank, but his sound grasp of finance saw him rise up the ranks until he became one of their most prominent managers. Finally, The Cardinal is the world’s most powerful fat cat, with a wide range of business interests that ensure that he has a paw in every pie (often literally, depending on his appetite). These five cats represent some heavyweight investment clout in every sense of the word, but is any deal attractive enough to get them to roll of their backsides and shake paws with a budding entrepreneur?

Facing the Dragons this week are artist Issun and goddess Amaterasu, who are hoping for investment in their Celestial Brush. Will the Dragons be tempted by their business proposal?

Issun: Hello, I’m Issun and this furball here is Amaterasu. We’re here today asking for investment in our revolutionary Celestial Brush technology, which you can use to literally pause the world and alter it to your desires! If you buy our full package, you’ll be able to turn night into day (and vice versa), summon wind, fire, water, thunder and ice, repair broken objects, make flowers grow and much more!

Aria: Punyu? [So, what’s your pricing strategy for this?]

Issun: Well, we sell the initial brush with the Sunrise ability for 300,000 yen, and then all the other abilities are extra.

Cardinal: What about the ink?

Issun: Well, that refills naturally, but you have the option of purchasing more bottles to store it in.

Cardinal: Hmm, don’t you think you could make more money if you forced people to buy more ink instead of effectively giving it away?

The Cardinal has just pointed out a major flaw in Issun’s pricing strategy, but the entrepreneur seems undaunted.

Issun: Well, if it didn’t work this way, the world would probably under the control of the forces of darkness right now.

Mikoto: I’m very interested in this, but I’d like to know how many you’ve sold so far.

Issun: Well, er, Amaterasu has the full set, I’m learning, and Ninetails could do a bit too…

Mikoto: So, three sales so far?

Issun: I wouldn’t exactly call them sales.

Issun has just admitted that, despite some impressive boasting, he hasn’t actually sold any of his product yet! This does not go down well with the Dragons.

Mikoto: You know what- come back when you’ve actually got some sales to show me, because for now I’m out.

The Admiral: With this night and day thing, suppose I’ve just got into bed and you draw a sun? Do I have to get up and go to work?

Issun: Yes, but you can always draw a moon and make it night again.

Admiral: But that would mess up everything! I’m out!

Aria: Punyu! [Creating suns and such is a bit irresponsible, so I’m out too].

Mr Tibbs: I’m actually very interested in this- anything that gives the bank the ability to control the world must be good. I’d like to make you an offer.

Issun: Thank you very much- I’d like to accept

After a grilling in the Den, Issun walks away with an investment from Mr Tibbs! But how will our world change now that a fat cat has access to the powers of the Celestial Brush?

This Week in Anime

Painting work begins on new 1:1 scale Gunpla.

Budget cuts made at Pizza Hut’s branding department.

All foodstuffs are now to be sold in clearly labelled containers.

It’s not quite Aria, is it?

Mikoto-class cat spotted.

Generic factory produces too many units.

What an appetising looking lump of wood.

Sunrise decide to supplement ailing budget by moving into clock production.

HORSE has evolved with time.

A DOG tries to solicit customers in the blue light district.

“By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!”

“I command you all to take up smoking!”

HARD GUNDAM.

If in doubt, just turn Super Saiyan.

Pears undertake a daring mission to infiltrate the apple basket.

Walnuts find a new niche.

Flash Game review: Light Puzzle
I’m a sucker for laser puzzles, and this little one amused me for a weekend during the Winter Olympics two years ago, so it’s way past time to point it out. As with all puzzles of this type, the idea is to get the laser beam to the target of the same colour, using whatever mirrors, beam splitters and prisms you are provided with. Naturally, it’s a simple enough task to begin with but one that gradually gets harder throughout the game’s 24 or so levels. Fear not, however, for if you get truly stuck, I have screencapped the solutions.

Mini-editorial: A few thoughts on Lain
A few weeks ago, Hige wrote about pretension, briefly mentioning his thoughts on Lain, and at the time I thought “hmm, I must say a few words about Lain too”. A series that blends the worlds of reality and the internet, Lain is one of things where you either don’t understand it but rave about how deep and complex it is, or you don’t understand it and openly admit that because of that, you couldn’t really enjoy it. Having said that, I cannot deny that there were large tracts of Lain that I didn’t understand, but whilst it is my least favourite of the four ABe series, it still has worth and merit for me.

As I said in my Sixty anime piece, Lain is anime of ‘layers’ rather than episodes- starting at the beginning in reality and slowly dropping deeper and deeper into the virtual world. Along the way, there is much to think about as the walls between reality and fantasy blur. Can consciousness exist on its own within the internet? What is the difference between one’s self and the person someone else perceives you to be, the “you” that exists only in their head? Or does the fact that people usually turn to Eva and Ghost in the Shell for these sorts of musings render Lain surplus to requirements?

That being said, should we really praise the creators for making a series so complex that viewers can barely understand it? Have they really packed it so full of that aforementioned depth and complexity that viewers must navigate their own way to meanings, or are they just so poor at presenting their ideas that the result is a mishmash of half-baked concepts?

Whatever the case, and in spite of the Michael Jackson look-alike who created the WIRED, I generally enjoyed Lain, but it will never be a series for everyone.

In Your Reflection

This week we have a head-to-head between two men from rather similar series- SaiMono’s Ensei and Twelve Kingdoms’ Shoryu (aka King En). Both men have similar appearance, along with a rough around the edges personality that belies their roles in government.

The making of Azure Flame: Screencap parody
This week we go behind the scenes to find out how a screencap parody is hewn out the rocks, polished and refined for your enjoyment. The process begins, unsurprisingly, by watching the episode (or in select cases, having someone else watch it), whilst basically spamming the screencap key to capture any potentially amusing moments. In this way, around 400 ‘raw’ screencaps will be generated.

The next step is to resize all the screencaps to 450px in width (or 225 in some cases), a task easily accomplished with either Irfanview or PhotoResize. The new, smaller screencaps are now pasted into Word, where the real work begins. Useless images are deleted, whilst amusing ones are captioned to retell the story of the episode; once all images are captioned, an introduction is written and the long process of uploading all screencaps and posting them all into Wordpress can begin.

For longer posts (100+ images), the parody will be split into two parts, although in some cases it’s had to go to three.

Okami 2
As we all know by now, when I love a game, I like to suggest improvements for the nonexistent sequel, and Okami is no exception. So, without further ado, let’s imagine what we might find in Okami 2 beyond the obvious desire for it to be an immersive, beautiful and never-ending experience.

• More skins for Amaterasu, including Ninetails and Oki’s wolf form.
• Less manual backtracking and wandering around the map due to an improved teleport system that is introduced earlier in the game.
• Harder difficulty modes for the experienced gamer.
• Increased use of the Lucky Mallet to change size.
• Unlockable versus battle mode.
• Possible PS3 version using the original photorealistic graphics.

This Week in Anime

Oranges spread to Lucky Star.

“Pineapple was an important friend- until I chopped him and served him on a plate.”

The evolution of HORSE is spotted in Neo-Verona.

Small horse tries to fight off the advent of its upgraded form.

Dodgy watch dealer gets careless by leaving out flyers in public.

“Shhh, the fruit are spying on us!”

“I never travel anywhere without my trusty watermelon!”

Strawberries face being mercilessly devoured.

The Himawari ninjas stumble upon Sunrise’s magic mushroom plantation.

Only healthy fruit can save them from the evil mushrooms.

Walnuts are back.

Flash Game Review: Orisinal

Rather than just reviewing a single game, this week I’m taking a look at a whole site of them, namely Ferry Halim’s Orisinal. At first glance, Orisinal’s many games are just yet another take on the whole jumping over obstacles and collecting items, but the difference here is that the games have their own unique and distinctive style. The graphics are soft, cute and pleasing on the eye, whilst the music is generally gentle and tranquil- these are the perfect games with which to unwind after a stressful day.

Although I haven’t yet had time to play every game on the site, my current favourite is A Dog for All Seasons, in which one must control four dogs simultaneously whilst ensuring they each jump over the balls in their respective paths- easy at first, but hard when you have eight balls in a row or different dogs facing different patterns of balls. Other worthy picks include Winter Bells (guide a rabbit with the cursor as it jumps upwards from bell to bell- easiest with a graphics tablet), Cats (get all the cats to either sit down or walk along simultaneously) and High Delivery (fill a vase with flowers whilst a balloon carries it up to heaven).

Mini-editorial: Fansites and Anipike, ye olden days
So anyway, a couple of weeks ago Hinano was talking about the old days when we had fansites everywhere, and in a burst of nostalgia I thought to myself “hell, I might as well write about that too.” For even though I haven’t been watching for that long compared to the old stalwarts (yeah, I loved Samurai Pizza Cats as a kid but I only properly got into anime in 2002), I too remember the olden days of trawling fansites and using Anipike to find yet more sites devoted to a particular series. In those days, I was mainly on the hunt for images and the odd mp3, but along the way it was easy to get distracted by randomness- everything from the Ayanami Raising Project to “colour it yourself” Tenchi line art lurked in the depths of the internet, alongside a hundred thousand shrines for various characters and pairings.

Ultimately, however, the blogging revolution brought those days to an end, and the question that must be asked is whether we miss them. Personally, despite the rose-tinted glasses with which I now view those times, my anime viewing habits have widened to encompass far more series than I was ever following in those times, and similarly my supporting material needs have changed to be fulfilled by blogs and image gallery sites. The only question that remains is to see what changes the future will bring.

Reverse Harem of the week: Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club)
Who better to lead a reverse harem than a reverse trap? Despite having to dress as a boy most of the time, however, Haruhi was able to win the hearts of both men and women alike.

Harem
Tamaki: Host Club ‘king’, the simplistic, over-energetic and flamboyant one. Likes to act as a father to Haruhi, although his feelings may run deeper.
Hikaru and Kaoru: Selfish twins with an air of the prankster about them. Hikaru is the more immature and hot-headed of the two.
Kyouya: The cool and calculating ‘Shadow King’.
Honey: The shota with a sweet tooth and a hidden talent for martial arts.
Mori: The quiet, stoic one.

Rival
Renge: Dating sim fanatic whose role gets pumped up in the anime- initially feels drawn to Kyouya.
Éclair: Tamaki’s fiancée and a serious rival in the final anime arc.

*NEW* The making of Azure Flame: text parody
I know no one really cares, but this is a feature I’ve wanted to do for ages, so bear with me as we delve deeper into the making of Azure Flame. This week we go behind the scenes to find out how a ‘text parody’ emerges from a blank Word document. In the olden days of Meine Liebe and Ginga Densetsu Weed, this was done by writing up an alternate version of the episode straight after watching it, but with memory being what it is, a new, more accurate method of parody had to be introduced.

In the current era, a text parody is created whilst watching the episode- regular pauses enable me to switch to Word and rewrite what is happening with a unique parody spin. Along the way, amusing screencaps are taken to spice up the action, ready to be inserted in the correct places when the parody is posted. The whole process can take anything from 45 minutes to two hours (depending on distractions), but unfortunately it can be quite draining on both energy and enthusiasm, which is why I intend to pretty much lay this style to rest in the near future.