April 2008

I’ve really been out of the anime loop lately. So we have an otaku equivalent of Myspace now. I’m shocked. My indifference to social networking sites aside, it really doesn’t look half bad. I might make an account there to see how it is. Anyway finals are coming up, and I’ll slowly write up some things to post in between cram sessions.

Kotobukiaya’s Tamaki Kawazoe figure looks promising so far. The final production won’t live up to the promo pictures, but that won’t stop the Tama fanboys from snatching her up anyway. Also caved on the Alter Haruka Takamori pre-order. It was just too tempting for me to resist. Yamcha is weak!

Before I forget to bring it up, A-kon is coming up at the end of May. I have a love-hate relationship with this convention. Love the fact that vendors can carry a ton of rare merchandise. Hate the fact that there are so many sweaty otaku crowded into one building. Oh well…

I’ve risen from the dead to make a post. After all, Wolf Hurricane isn’t just a place where I write nonsensical blurbs and post cute pictures…

Let’s disregard that statement. There’s no weekly overview again mostly because I don’t feel like it. Well the semester is almost over. Spring classes end to make way for summer classes. I’ll slowly work on a couple reviews as this semester comes to a close. What will they be? That’s a secret for me to know and you to find out.

So I hear Tsukihime is getting a remake. Type-Moon proves that Tsukihime still prints money for them. Crazy Japan and its endless remakes of everything. The game industry has figured out that people don’t want original things. The masses want familiar franchises that are comforting; Originality be damned.

There have been a ton of announcements for gorgeous figures lately. In particular, Alter is really trying to take my money with their beautiful rendition of Haruka Takamori. I’m not familiar with the character but she’s so tempting. Surprisingly, Max Factoy’s pickings are looking a little slim these days aside from the new Figmas. Where’s that long-lost Shiori Misaka?

Having watched Soul Eater, I can pretty much safely say that BONES has really outdone themselves here. The 3D looks snappy, and the various crazy angles get so much love. The design style also has a whole lot going for it. It’s hard to think of anything that’s not OVA-level and above with this sort of animation.

It’s a pity then, that it’s all gonna be wasted on something that’s not even finished in Manga form, as opposed to, say, another Eureka Seven. Still, the first episode was pretty amusing, so I might keep this on my loadroll for now.

…Why the heck is that kid always drooling, anyway?

Sorry that I haven’t been around more often. Between term papers and tests, I just haven’t had the energy to blog lately. Once the semester ends, things will settle down for a bit. So for the next couple weeks updates will continue to be sporadic at best. Maybe it’s time I pick up a couple more writers to handle some episode blogging. The big problem is the matter of where to find people that can commit to this endeavor and not get burned out.

So if you read this and think you’d like to give anime blogging a shot, send an application to my e-mail. I don’t really expect any replies but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

PS: Arcana Heart is mega moe~

No, seriously, half the time I don’t know why I like this show, but I do. It’s like sugar or something. Maybe crossaints and pie. Cinnamon cake pudding ginko mayo lemon salad margeri-I digress. If you like Code Geass and haven’t watched it, what are you doing? Direct Downloads are dime-a-dozen on Google. If you don’t like Code Geass, well that’s fine too. Like cats. Zing.

As usual, because I’m lazy like that, you can head over to RandomCuriosity for the usual pile of screenshots. Because Omni is a better man than me. Screenshotter, anyway. Is that even a word? Screenshotter?

Again, I digress.

If anyone’s wondering, no, only half my hyperactivity is due to Code Geass R2. The other half is a caffeine high - It’s 1:31 AM here as of this post, and I’m downing tinned mocha lattes. It’s all that’s keeping me up, really.

I decided to skip last week’s overview since Wordpress was ditzing out at the time. Well since WP 2.5 now supports Gravatars, do be sure to sign up for an account. The icon of your choice will show up when you comment here or at any other WP 2.5 compliant blog with the feature enabled. It saves me the trouble of uploading a bunch of icons to the server for now.

No anime this week. Seriously. I’ve been playing games in my free time though. No More Heroes on Wii was an awesome game despite some glaring design flaws and tedious money farming. Strawberry on the shortcake!

Finished two paths in ONE as well. The protagonist is super unlikeable, but the main story as a whole was actually pretty depressing. In the first playthrough I somehow went down the Nanase path from the intended Misaki or Akane routes. It always seems that when I decide with my gut instincts alone in a bishoujo game, I pick the tsundere… Maybe I secretly like tsunderes…? That’s absurd! Urusai! With help from a walkthrough, I went down the Nagamori path the second time around, and it’s really shocking what you have to choose to get her. Next up is probably Akane to better understand the Eternal World aspect of the game.

At the urging of Summonmaster I gave Eternal Fighter Zero a spin. It’s a fun little doujin fighting game featuring the early Key gals (ONE, Moon, Kanon, and AIR). Gameplay is fast and generally balanced. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next rendition of the game which will hopefully feature Clannad, Planetarian, and Little Busters. That’s a huge roster if all those games are included.

The spring season anime are just around the corner, and a few of them look promising. I ultimately didn’t get around to doing a preview, but a geek by any other name and Random Curiosity have excellent previews for you to check out.

As you can tell I’ve really dropped the ball on the few shows blogged from last season, so I won’t cover anything from this season. In retrospect, this blog should have been started two or three years ago when free time was more abundant. Oh well. I’ll try to squeeze some of the new shows into what little time I do have though. Well that’s it from me. Yamcha is just getting too old now…