Anime Nano: the RPG

The other day, a random remark on the Anime Nano forums gave birth to the idea of it being an MMORPG rather than a blog aggregator, and of course, me being me, I couldn’t help but think “where better to explore this idea than Tuesday Rumble?”. So, without further ado, let us explore Anime Nano: the RPG!

Choose your class: The first thing to do is invest your start-up points in creating a character. The cheapest class to create is Lurker, but with a little more effort you can go for Commenter instead. Purchase your own home base (blog), and your class immediately goes up to Blogger.

Tweak your stats: The next thing to do is assign bonus points to the various stats. Available stats include “Pretentious Elitist”, “Screencap Frenzy”, “Blow-by-Blow Summariser”, “Overanalyser”, “Straight Reviewer”, “Flame Baiter” and “Merchandise Whore”.

Time to play!: Now you are finally ready to step into the world of Anime Nano: the RPG. Much of the game is spent in blogging dungeons, using your abilities to hack and slash at endless waves of Flamers, Spammers and Trolls. The number of successive combo attacks you are able to perform in battle is determined by the number of hits your blog receives divided by one hundred; if you don’t have a blog, you can only ever perform a single hit combo.

Advanced Play: For those familiar with the game’s system, there are other, more advanced game play options to exploit. Form a permanent party by recruiting other writers to your blog, or a temporary one for multi-blog articles. Form trading alliances with links, or even declare war on other blogs. Whatever you do, avoid getting hit with the Hiatus status effect, since it usually leads to a slow and painful death.

Romeo X Juliet: X-treme(-ly over the top) version

After the revelations of episode seventeen, the time came to wonder- just how many more twists could the Romeo X Juliet anime throw our way? The only way forward, of course, was to delve deeper and come up with some of the more outlandish ideas the writers may still have in store.

• Romeo and Juliet are actually (half) brother and sister, making their entire love story completely incestuous.
• Hermione is actually Juliet’s half-sister, or at the least an adopted commoner who was switched at birth with Emilia.
• Cordelia (or perhaps Reagan) is the real Juliet, and Juliet is just a random generic.
• Antonio, Curio and Francisco are all Montague’s illegitimate sons.
• Romeo is not Montague’s son at all, since Portia had a one night stand with Conrad.

Reideen Again

“Look, girls!”

“Huh, who cares?”

“Well, there’s one other place, but it isn’t what you’d call practical or comfortable.”

“Yeah, Jack Squat’s a great guy, unlike his better known yet more offensive cousin.”

“Let’s have Pleasure!”

A new form of Hyper Self Pleasure is developed, code-named God Bird.

(”Did he break his arm having Hyper Self Pleasure?”)

It wouldn’t be Reideen without the damn swearing.

Even so, some people are trying to tone it down.

“Someone went and used a Qwack-o-Ray on us!”

Random Thoughts: Shinji, Asuka and Rei

With the upcoming release of the Rebuild of Evangelion movie, we decided to interview Shinji, Asuka and Rei on their hopes for the new movie series.

So, guys, what changes would you like to see in this remake?

Shinji: I definitely want to be kicking more backside! Let’s stop with this whole whiny Daddy’s boy thing and get me out there beating up bad guys with the best of them!\r\n

Rei: I’d like to actually have some skills instead of training for months and still having the lowest synch ratio.

Asuka: I should totally be the star this time around!

When you look back on the original series, do you feel that it has held up well, or was it even any good in the first place?

Shinji: I think mistakes were made and some things went wrong, but the fact that we were able to capture the public imagination so much has got to count for something.

Rei: I don’t care either way, really.

Asuka: if you ask me, everything went downhill when Shinji’s synch ratio overtook mine. Before that, I was in charge and everything was cruising along smoothly.

Has Eva’s continued popularity helped or hindered your careers?

Shinji: I’ve never really been able to escape the typecasting, which is a shame because I really wanted to try my hand at the whole outgoing shounen hero thing.

Rei: It was really a boon for my career- I got some choice roles like the part of Yuki Nagato on Haruhi, for example.

Asuka: I don’t know why, but everyone really goes for the Rei type- I can’t seem to get out of her shadow.

How would you respond to the people who say “enough is enough, let the damn franchise end already?

Shinji: I’m just glad I got to do something different in Angelic Days, which wouldn’t have been possible if the franchise hadn’t ballooned the way it did.

Rei: The revenue generated from PVC figure sales is really helping my bank balance, even if Gainax and the sculptors take a healthy cut of the profits.

Asuka: Enough is never enough! I’m never giving ground to those up and coming newbies!

Now for the individual questions. Shinji, can you shed some light on your apparent father complex?

Shinji: I do not have a father complex! I’m telling my dad about this!

Rei, was your emotionless performance a challenge to your skills, or did you long for more of a stretch?

Rei: At the time, I really wanted to be able to cut loose and show my emotions a bit more, but now I’m glad I played it the way I did, because it’s made me a really memorable character. Anyone can be a silly little girl, but playing it cool is a lot harder.

Asuka: I hope you weren’t referring to me just then!

Asuka, how did you react when you found out your character’s depressing back story?\r\nAsuka: It was a bit of a comedown- all this time I’d been feeling superior to the other two, and then it turned out I was as messed up as they were!

Well, thank you- we hope to have all of you back for more interviews.

This Week in Anime

Here we see fruit in its natural habitat.

An innocent slice of orange is impaled on the edge of a glass by an apple supporter.

“Just a little further…I can make it out of here!”

Heroic Age maintains its reputation for wide-wide-wide-angle shots.

Fat cat checks in on developments in Kaleido Star.

Nut forces threaten to overwhelm our leads.

Anime World Tour: Record of Lodoss War

Ever fancied dropping in on a world of classic fantasy? Why not try the so-called “cursed island” of Lodoss? Learn magic and swordsmanship from some bona fide heroes, visit classical kingdoms, meet dragons both good and evil and learn the secrets of elves and dwarves with our all inclusive trip to Lodoss Isle! Worship at the shrine of Marfa, participate in one of the many chaotic wars that plague the Isle, attend parties held by legendary kings and fulfil all your classic fantasy desires in one go! Who know, you may even find yourself on a heroic quest of your own!

OST spotlight: Heat Guy J

Heat Guy J is an odd soundtrack indeed, combining elements I usually wouldn’t have time for, such as looping and often random electronic themes, bagpipes and the dreaded J-rock to make something that actually has some catchy themes. I have to admit that there are stretches where you’ll just blank out and not really listen to it, but the sheer energy with which its quirky and often discordant themes are presented is enough to make it extremely catchy in places. One to at least try out, even if it doesn’t really suit your tastes, not to mention oddly reminiscent of the Noir and RahXephon music at times.

Notable tracks: Tribe, Rainbow Gate Park, Backstreet Guys, Black Box

Mini-editorial: Does commercialism exclude art?

A rather pretentious sounding title if you will, but let’s just go with it for the moment- do the needs of fulfilling an order for twenty-six (or however many) animated episodes on a given budget (whilst getting ratings and selling merchandise in the process) prevent any sort of artistic vision from being realised? Even if one retains the core essence of the original concept, does compromise prevent it from being the True Series it could have been? Is the integrity of a piece always destined to ever be compromised by the desire to pander to the audience? Can any anime, apart from perhaps Voices of a Distant Star, be said to be proper “art”, undiluted by the need to make money?

Then again, is making it for an audience merely a key element in the creation of so-called art? Aren’t plays written for people to come and watch, paintings created to sell and put on exhibition? Does it matter if a few elements are changed, as long as we can communicate the core essence of our vision to others? Can we possibly hope to use this line of argument to justify the creation of a model kit seller like Gundam Seed Destiny?

In the end, as we learn from Animation Runner Kuromi, the vast majority of anime is not meant to be high art, it’s just business. But if we can appreciate artistic qualities within it, does it really matter how they came about?

Harem of the week: Ayato Kamina (RahXephon)

The slowed down time of Tokyo Jupiter may have messed up his life, but Ayato was still able to connect with women from both his past and present.

Harem

Reika: The mysterious girl who guides the plot whilst having a deeper significance.

Megumi Shitow: The energetic and argumentative “friend your own age” type.

Haruka Shitow: The older woman, also with plot significance.

Quon: The second mysterious girl, fond of talking in riddles.

Fashion Police: Shigure

This week, the Fashion Police are after Kenichi’s Shigure for a double offence, starting with her default outfit. Her hair is at least nice and she does carry her costume off with confidence, but seriously, what’s up with that fishnet top and cerise tunice, not to mention the fact that certain screenshots seem to indicate that she isn’t in the habit of donning underwear?

Then we move onto this, her revealing “bandages only” swimsuit, surely in danger of unravelling whenever she performs strenuous martial arts.

Fashion sense: C

Amusing Search Terms

Old favourites: bouncing breasts

virtual sex: At least search for the real thing.

rpg maker 2003 harry potter games: Anything has to be better than EA’s efforts.

utawarerumono sex scenes download: You want them and don’t have them, I don’t care about them and have them on my computer. And no, I’m not uploading them.

tyou toube porn: is this the next evolution of you toube?

anime panty shot: These days, this seems tame.

walkthrough ( puzzle ARIMASU ): ???

super b train: Go! Super B Train! Gattai!

all grunty: It’s all grunty, all the time!

azure- nude.net: Is this domain taken? Will I get more hits if I use it?

gay movie maker: A very specialised version of Windows Movie Maker, it turns any movie into a gay love scene.

“marie zhuge”: A distant descendant of Liang himself.

evil teenager anime: Damn those evil teens.

Back by Popular Complete Lack of Demand, Amusing Spam

“were to sky dive…

The period of perpetually digging up dependable opinions having to do with this topic have ended….”

I agree, it’s time to stop investigating where to sky dive and just stick with the places other people used.

“emeraldrocks…

Once you totally appreciate this, you will be able to work more effectively….”

I hope so.

“home business…

Sometimes, you”ll become overwhelmed by the enormous quantity of attitude information out there….”

Yeah, I know.

“Our ambition is to point you in the right direction for sex investigation….”

Good for you.

“vegetable diet soup…

The normal everyday fellow would be under the impression that investing the time to obtain intellect on this topic of interest is a waste of resources….”

But vegetable diet soup is such a worthy topic! I have so much more to say about it

“fast weight loss diets…

It can occasionally get difficile to set apart the valuable diet soda info from the bad….”

I agree, there’s just so much information about diet soda out there.

“hallo everybody users of site azureflame.ikimashou.net I not so a long ago I live in Oshkosh

and so, that I divided with dear a man, Paul/Lisa – Craigkon, and now try to find him, last that I know so it that he lives in citi, and often vi

sits the resources of type your azureflame.ikimashou.net, names on itself Leeporkon

, if suddenly will see this nik write that this man contacted with me . I very much I miss without socializing with this man.To reason wanted to say thank you and to wish successes to the team of developments and web masters your resource. So to hold boys. Only little request of,sdelayte more graphic arts on pages on a subject”

I got several spam of this type, all looking for a different person.

“The plan of bonification of Telextreme is fantastic, therefore with few indications you can form a net of distribution of much success and excellent financial return. Visit:”

I so want to be a part of this…whatever it is.

A guide to a typical El Cazador episode

Even at this early stage, it is clear that El Cazador’s writers have failed to grasp the value of originality, and so I can confidently predict the pattern of at least nineteen of the next twenty episodes of the series.

1. Nadie and Ellis are driving south when bounty hunters catch up with them. In the ensuing chase or encounter, their car is crashed, and they are forced to stay in a nearby town or house.
2. Any generic the pair encounter will automatically help them, simply because they are the main character. They may also expound upon the clichéd and ultimately insignificant problems in their lives.
3. LA will film some footage of Ellis.
4. The bounty hunters catch up with the leads, and may even kidnap Ellis. Nadi goes after them, and will either shoot them in a back alley or after a GTA-style car chase.
5. Rosenberg logs onto his computer, whilst Blue Eyes takes a moment to privately say “Gwakaka, your plans will never come to pass, Rosenberg!”.
6. Nadi and Ellis get another car from somewhere and drive on through the incredibly dull cactus and dust filled desert.

Future predictions for El Cazador

Continuing with the El-C theme, the time has surely come to ask what will happen later on in the series. With Madlax in mind, we can deduce that nothing will be too ridiculous, and so here are some predictions.

• Nadie, Ellis, Lirio and LA are all different aspects of the same person. Alternatively, Ellis and LA were created from energy in the same way as matter and anti-matter, and Ellis materialised Nadie to act as a protector.
• Rosenberg is the reincarnation of Schneider, and Ricardo is the clone of his brother. Lirio is Schneider’s secret love child.
• Ellis, Lirio and LA are all destined beings raised in different circumstances. One (or two) of them must be chosen to be the controlling mind for a giant doomsday computer system.
• Everyone in El Cazador world is already dead, and Nadie and Ellis’ journey is an attempt to get to the afterlife.
• The whole series is taking place in Tsubasa bus filler world.

Kono Mini Pick ‘N’ Mix Part 1- Evil nipples abound

HARD YURI is not something to be done by halves.

These screencaps do not need exaggeration, since in typical Gainax style she did indeed walk in and see a RAGING HARD-ON.

Coming soon: world’s lamest fanservice excuses.

Akari has vigorous FISH.

“If you’re just faking it, I’m not going to be pleased!”

“I choose STRAIGHT!”

“STRAIGHT it is- now could I have a large serving to my mouth?”

“No, not HARD YURI!”

“He was the one I first had STRAIGHT with!”

“She’s giving him STRAIGHT all right!”

Short parody: Reideen and the f word

Those who watch Reideen may notice the series’ propensity for swearing, and so the time has come to construct a guide to communicating in the Reideen world. Here a few guide phrases to get you started.

Normal: Hello.

Reideen: Who the f**king hell are you?

Normal: I’m just going to the shop to get some milk.

Reideen: I’m bloody well going to the f**king shop to get some f**king milk.

Normal: It’s not looking good.

Reideen: We’re f**king royally screwed! Holy sh*t!

Normal: Last Exile is the bible.

Reideen: Last f**king Exile is the f**king bible, f**kwit!

Normal: Our breaking story tonight on the six o’clock news- kitten caught in tree!

Reideen: Our f**king story tonight on the six o’ f**king clock news- kitten f**king caught in f**king tree!

This Week in Anime

The watermelon arc begins in Kono Mini.

Who else can perfectly peel their watermelon like this?

One watermelon just isn’t enough.

For dinner tonight, we have watermelon, followed by watermelon and then a touch of watermelon to finish.

Darker than black cat emerges.

Anime Awards

Most Easily Forgotten Series of the Week: Poor Claymore, I completely and utterly forgot to watch episode 7 last week- is that a sign that I’m not as committed to the series as I thought?

1337est Character Appearance of the Week must go to Romeo X Juliet’s Tybalt, whose brief appearance at the end of episode six promised much for his character. I knew I was right to name a character in Galaxycats after him.

Best Episode of the Week is a tie between the excellent third episode of Emma season two, and the compelling sixth instalment of Darker than Black.

Anime World Tour: Romeo X Juliet

High above the streets of Neo Venezia[1] floats the aerial city of Neo Verona, a place of unsurpassed architectural beauty that will delight the eye of any tourist. For best results when taking in the breathtaking scenery, we recommend the majestic flying Pegasus, although those who prefer to travel by ground will find themselves well provided for in the horse drawn carriage department.

Visitors to Neo Verona should, however, be aware that the political situations is undergoing some turmoil at the moment, with the Montague family’s iron grip on the city causing dissent amongst the populace and some noble families. As long as you avoid the soldiers, this should not trouble you too much, although it is recommended to enter and leave the city via the north gate. Also, during your stay, do not forget to take in one of William Shakespeare’s plays; at the time of writing the players were working on “Otello”, a unique version of Othello that lacks all instances of the letter “h” in the script.

OST spotlight: Noir OST1\r\nNoir was my very first exposure to the music of Yuki Kajiura, and from the first minute I heard the haunting melodies of the series, I knew that I had to have the CD (naturally resulting in my buying the expensive Japanese version some months before Geneon inevitably released a cheaper US version). Although it doesn’t quite make it up there with the Madlax and .hack//SIGN OSTs, this CD still manages to offer a powerful selection of music, from fast paced action and tense jungle themes to haunting melodies and strong choral pieces. Whether you’re already a fan of Yuki Kajiura or just want to sample her work, this is a good place to start.

Notable tracks: Les Soldats, Canta Per Me, Melodie, Salva Nos

Mini-editorial: “How to blog”

Every so often, someone in the blogworld writes about its deficiencies, sparking a wave of articles about blogging and how to make your mark instead of sinking below the waves. Whilst some of this advice is no doubt useful, is following it to the letter really all that wise? If a blogger begins to calculate every article for maximum readership, won’t it inevitably come at the expense of his or her individual voice, and of course motivation? Everyone else may be writing about a popular series like Kanon, but if you still feel you have something to say, why should you hold back (although as Impz and Lupus once said, arguably you could just write something on Word and leave it on your hard drive if you truly don’t care about anyone else reading it)? If no one else is blogging Moonlight Mile, should you force yourself to cover it just because it’s a gap in the market. If you’re so stuck for things to say that you have to follow blogging guidelines as to the most popular topics, should you even be writing anything at all?

Ultimately, existing in the blogworld does mean that you will be influenced by what other bloggers and commenters have written, and you may well find that someone has already made a better job of that article you planned to write, or that you just have to create a response to something you’ve read. That’s all fine, but forcing yourself to cover something you have no enthusiasm, or thinking that you mustn’t write about something because someone else already has will most likely lead to a loss of both motivation and writing quality.

Harem of the week: Shiki Tohno (Lunar Legend Tsukihime)

nAs an eroge protagonist, Shiki needed plenty of girls to sleep with, but luckily he was able to make a good anime out of his exploits too.

Harem

Arcueid Brunestud: A powerful vampire with an unconventional personality, Arcueid spends many nights with Shiki and thinks of him as her own.

Akiha Tohno: Shiki’s sister, she seems strict and proper on the outside, but clearly is devoted to her brother’s wellbeing.

Hisui and Kohaku: Twin maids at the Tohno household.

Ciel: Shiki’s upperclassman and an operative for the church, she doesn’t want other women getting their hands on Shiki.

Aoko Aozaki: Comforted Shiki in the past and gave him his special glasses.

Satsuki Yumizuka: A classmate with a crush on Shiki.

Rivals

Shiki: The real Shiki Tohno, filled with murderous rage at being passed over as a main character.

Fashion Police: Amy

The fourth and final member of the Burst Angel team, Amy’s outfit doesn’t seem too troublesome at a distance, however by zooming in we can identify some problems, such as the inexplicably naked stomach and embarrassingly short skirt (and trust me, there’s even less fabric down there in the promotional and wallpaper artwork). Also, just why is the jacket so short, and what is that oversized blue thing hanging from the zip?

Fashion sense: D+

Amusing Search Terms

Old Favourites: “busou renkin + hentai”, HARD YAOI, you toube, yaoi hard, busou renkin doujinshi gallery

gay cicada: can cicadas be gay?

Motoko Aoyama hentai: ah, “classic” hentai.

get backers who does ginji love: Well, it’s obviously Ban, why else does he call him Ban-chan?

RPG Maker XP Farm Sim: There seems to be some demand for this.

gay sentai: Go, Gay Sentai!

hack perfect audition may new blog: May a new blog get that perfect audition.

BEYBLADE I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES [PART 13]: What exactly is this? I don’t remember any thirteen-parters.

animated lolicon: Nobue?

you toube tails hero: I’m almost glad you toube is back.

harvest moon rpg parody: Have you been here before?

rpgs with exp and gold: That’ll be most RPGs, then.

season 2 the fourth round rumble: Commence round four.

GINGA NAGAREBOSHI GIN RUN & JUMP GAME: Does this game actually exist?

play manga doll game: Something about this game just seems creepy and wrong.

Gantz RPG: the Gantz RPG gets through playable characters like nobody’s business.

haseo “part time job”: Yeah, I think I’ll take a part-time job as Haseo- I can get paid to stand around and angst.

gay raging hardon: Okay…

charades prompt cards: I also supply prompt cards for charades! Order them now.

anime rape: don’t Google your perverted tastes.

[1] May not actually be above Neo Venezia

Gundam Pizza Hut
Many of you must have wondered where the Gundam franchise would go next, or how it could possible top the masterpiece of angst, pointless characters, flashbacks and long stretches of boredom that is commonly referred to as Gundam Seed Destiny. Fortunately, Tuesday Rumble can exclusively reveal the next title in the long-running Gundam franchise- Gundam Pizza Hut!

In a universe where numerous factions on Earth and in orbiting space colonies are in constant conflict for no good reason, delivering pizzas can be a dangerous task. After numerous pizza-carrying Zakus are destroyed, Pizza Hut designs five new mobile suits- Gundams- designed to safely deliver pizzas to all corners of the solar system. When four of the Gundams are stolen by rival pizza restaurant Domino’s Pizza, however, an epic battle begins. Can KirAthruShinn, pilot of the Cheese and Tomato Gundam, outwit the Domino pilots of the stolen Hawaiian, Olive, Pepperoni and Stuffed Crust Gundams and ensure that hungry customers get piping hot Pizza Hut? Find out on Gundam Pizza Hut!

KyoAni presents Toilet Cleaners, or A Guide to Hype
When KyoAni announces that they will be producing a new anime about the working lives of toilet cleaners, the fanboys go wild. Let’s chart their reactions.

1. At first, there is general upset- a season spent on Toilet Cleaners is one less season for Haruhi, FMP and the latest Key adaptation.

2. Nonetheless, the discord soon passes- after all, this is KyoAni, and so Toilet Cleaners is bound to be great.

3. Numerous blog posts based around promotional artwork, CMs and general anticipation of Toilet Cleaners start to infest the BlogWorld. Some people start reading the Toilet Cleaners manga in order to be prepared for the anime, whilst Hung gets upset that this will stop a.f.k. from subbing more Animal Yokocho.

4. By the time Toilet Cleaners is ready to air, the anticipation is at fever pitch. Every fanboy is thoroughly excited about this exciting anime that will expose the heretofore unseen lives of the humble toilet cleaners.

5. Episode one airs, and even those who do not know a word of Japanese rush to download the raw. Up to twenty five minutes are then spent watching it.

6. When it comes to viewers’ attention that an anime about cleaning toilets cannot be anything other than utter crap, a complete backlash occurs. In short order, everyone is posting about how awful Toilet Cleaners is and how the hype has led to disappointment.

7. Within the next week or so, a subbed version appears, episode two airs, and more people pick up the series. It now become popular to buck the trend of hating Toilet Cleaners and post about how it really isn’t that bad, and is in fact quite entertaining in places.

8. By the time the fourth episode has aired, hardly anyone cares anymore…unless of course the series does something high profile like changing director.

Reideen Pick and Mix

“I’ve finally worked out how to beat Solitaire!”

“Are you saying you want to have HORSE?”

“How many times do I have to turn you down before you’ll realise I don’t want to go out with you!?”

“But you’re the only one who can arouse me!”

“Don’t even bother to try that old line- I’m just not interested.”

New Wang’s headquarters are spotted.

“I think that will result in a better HARD GAY experience overall.”

Random Thoughts: Nanoha

This week we catch Nanoha on set during the filming of the latest episode of StrikerS! We know you’ve all been dying to hear her thoughts on this new series, so listen carefully!

So, Nanoha, you were only nine years old when you first starred in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Was it difficult being a child star, especially one that so many lolicons were ogling over?
Well, although not many people know this, I’d actually already played a sixth-grader in Triangle Heart, and it was from there that I got the job for Nanoha. It was a bit strange to go back to playing a third grader, and to be honest, I always wondered why more people didn’t question the fact that it was left to a bunch of nine year olds to save the world. As for the whole lolicon issue, I honestly had no idea that kind of thing was associated with our series- I thought they were watching it because of my acting skills.

How do you answer accusations that Raising Heart is the one that does all the work in battle whilst you just stand there?
Raising Heart: That is correct- Nanoha is useless-

Nanoha: Shut up! Next question, please.

Well then, moving on to StrikerS, did you expect to be sidelined for a whole bunch of new characters that, quite frankly, no one cares about?
I guess there’s no point hiding it anymore- that tight-fisted studio weren’t willing to pay us recurring characters the fee we deserve, and we ended up in court arguing over it. Since they couldn’t exactly make the show without us with a huge backlash, we eventually came to a agreement that we would accept the lower wage but work in fewer scenes. We honestly thought that the studio would realise their folly and eventually agree to pay us more, but those skinflints just brought in a bunch of cheap to hire newcomers- can you believe it?

Could you also explain the logic between using a limiter to downgrade your impressive power?
That’s obvious, isn’t it? This series has to last twenty-six episodes, so they can’t just have us blowing away the enemy right at the beginning. Instead, we have to act like weaklings and wait for those damned newcomers to level up.

And finally, are you allowed to drop any hints as to what we can expect to see in future episodes of StrikerS?
I have to keep the specifics strictly confidential, but you can expect a lot of transformation sequences and fights against generic enemies.

This Week in Anime

Onions, potatoes and carrots decide to undergo essential bonding by going on a camping trip together.

Kenichi finds himself at the mercy of an apple infection.

The cure is swift but dangerous.

…and re-infection is always a problem.

Anime Awards

Most enjoyable flashback of the week goes to Claymore, which seems to have improved with the advent of its flashback arc.

Most forgettable OVA of the week has already been forgotten, but is a prize that deserves to be shared between Sakura Taisen New York and Murder Princess.

Widest angle scene of the week appears in Heroic Age, which gives widescreen a new meaning with its needlessly wide angled battle scenes.

HARD GAY corner: Gundam Seed
Kira and Athrun were HARD GAY partners from childhood, but a cruel fate saw them separated and forced to fight on opposing sides. Although Athrun had new lovers in the form of Yzak, Nicol and Dearka, he longed for Kira’s skilled embrace, whilst Kira’s Coordinator skills made all his Natural lovers seem unskilled- only Mu La Flaga could even come close to satisfying him.

After numerous experiments with passing lovers, and even brief dabbling in the world of STRAIGHT, Kira and Athrun were eventually able to reconcile with each other and experience a new form of HARD GAY known as ‘SEED’, but little did they know that their idyllic days were numbered.

To be continued in HARD GAY Corner: Gundam Seed Destiny.

OST spotlight: Phantom Brave
As the bonus disc that comes with the Phantom Brave game, this short CD isn’t one I would have bought on its own was it not provided. That’s not to say it is bad; in fact, the melodic orchestral blend of lilting themes often reaches quite a high standard for game music- it may not be able to challenge the greats, but it is still worthy on its own merit at times. Unfortunately, it isn’t really consistent, with some of the slower vocal ballads feeling more dull and interminable than engaging.

Notable tracks: Thinking of You, Grand Melody, Game Braker, Strange Wind, Sorrow

Licensing Reactions

• Saiunkoku Monogatari (Geneon): This isn’t unexpected since Geneon already acquired a SaiMono domain name, but now it is finally official, and whilst I love the series and want it in DVD, 39 episodes across singles will a bit too much of a strain on the budget, forcing me to wait for a boxset.

Mini-editorial: How similar should the anime and manga be?
I’ve talked about anime adaptations that have been better or worse than their original manga, but when it comes down to it, how similar should the two be? As we all know, changing the story in order to better suit the pacing of a twenty-five episode, adding in filler or changing the ending because the manga is unfinished are hardly uncommon, and yet they are also often cause for vocal complaints as a solid original story gets turned into something inferior. Then again, if the anime follows the manga exactly, no only does one become disinclined to experience the exact same story over again, but a certain amount of impatience and boredom creeps in due to knowing exactly what will come next.

Slice of life series such as Aria, Mushishi and Honey and Clover seem to be at their best when they echo the manga exactly, without ever feeling dull- and for some reason, it was the same with the faithful Hikaru no Go. Other faithful series such as the exposition-heavy Death Note, however, just feel surplus to requirements for anyone who is already familiar with the manga. On the flip side of the coin, the changes made to series such as Chobits only end up making the anime feel slower paced and more painful, perhaps because the original material is not that strong to begin with. Perhaps ultimately, this is a situation that needs to be taken on a series by series (or at least genre by genre) case, with consideration towards what works in each medium, and of course the quality of the core story.

Harem of the week: Keitaro Urashima- Love Hina
The luckless loser destined never to get into Tokyo University, Keitaro was a handed a harem of sorts by becoming manager of the Hinata Apartments, an all-female dormitory.

Harem

Naru Narusegawa: The main girl, and tsundere locked in a perpetual cycle of softening towards Keitaro and then beating up when he makes yet another unintentional faux pas.

Mitsune Konno (Kitsune): The laid back and forward older woman (in terms of attitude rather than age), has a fondness for drinking and causing trouble for others.

Kaolla Su: The eccentric inventor loli, can transform into an adult form under certain circumstances.

Shinobu: The quiet loli, shyly adores Keitaro.

Motoko Aoyama: The tough girl, a kendo expert scared to reveal a softer side.

Mutsumi: The sick girl, a childhood friend and love rival.

Sarah McDougal: Another loli, this one the aggressive and unruly type.

Rivals

Professor Noriyasu Seta: The object of Naru’s crush, and when she later turns to Keitaro, Kitsune reveals her feelings for him.

Lamba Lu: Cousin of Su, she seems to have feelings for him before giving him up to her sister Amalla.

Kentaro Sakata: An early rival for Naru’s affections until he becomes too minor to be a threat.

Fashion Police: Meg
The second entrant in our Burst Angel month of fashion diasasters, Meg illustrates what Selphie initially taught us- there are certain shades of yellow that should not be used extensively in clothing. Where Selphie wore a rag, however, Meg does at least cover herself up a bit, although much of the upper body and thighs are left exposed, with only the hideous yellow chaps attempting to compensate for a skirt so short that her panties are inevitably exposed. And above all else- why don’t her breasts pop out of the laughably small bit of fabric that is holding them in?

Fashion sense: F

Amusing Search Terms

Old favourites: busou renkin hentai, pr0n toube, you toube

romance of the three kingdoms III winxp: Not here, I’m afraid.

Ginga Densetsu Weed Theme Downloads: people actually want this as a computer theme?

rotk rpg: Can’t find ROTK III? Make your own RPG instead.

autumn flame grass: what is this?

“love slave” baka updates: Maybe try Baka Updates instead of Azure Flame?

rpg maker xp stargate: Stargate the RPG, coming soon to a galaxy near you.