Remember ayyo's bishoujo match? Binchou-tan tied for fourth. Come on, you guys, I know I can garner votes in you this time! ...that is, once I decide who to vote for myself... I'm torn between Nagato Yuki and the two Haruhis. I really need to watch more anime.
I'm getting impatient waiting for Soukou no Strain subs, but there's no way I'll be able to understand the raws. So I've just been holding off and muttering under my breath. Come on, they just aired episode 5! Speaking of subs, SS and Eclipse are doing a great job of Kanon with their combined release. I'd recommend that release over any of the others. A.F.K is doing well too, except for putting "Misaka" as "Misaki"- have they corrected this?- and the fact that I generally dislike groups putting Japanese names in Western order. Plus SS and Eclipse are using a cooler font. I'm such a flake, I know.
I got an Ayu-headband. It looks absolutely horrible on me. I don't know why I got it when I'd do better as Kaori than as anyone else, but, well, I have it now. I wore it to school today. People stared... but that was probably because I was running like Ayu in the ED to get to my Latin class.
Hm, what other news is there? Well, you might know by now that Muteki Kanban Musume got licensed. And it'll be released under the name... Noodle Fighter Miki. The original name was funnier.
Cuteness will prevail!So it's been proven to be in good taste to link other people's blogs, and this guy is holding a "bishoujo match" for the past year. It's in the first round now, covering this past winter. The Fate/stay night girls, of course, are dominating the poll. So why did I bring this up?
Look at the entry pic. I want Binchou-tan to win. She's just too cute for words, it wouldn't be right!
Mai is cool, shut up.
Another new anime announced...
Romeo x Juliet has its website up. Apparently it takes place in the floating city of Neo-Verona. The character designs remind me of some recent shoujo anime but I can't recall any of the titles. And isn't Juliet supposed to be 12?
And another...
...apparently. We all remember the "Haruhi got a second season!" rabid flailing this past summer, but this doesn't seem to be a hoax... I'm waiting for official confirmation. Apparently it'll be in fall 2007... which may or may not mean that Nanoha StrikerS will come in spring or summer. That or they'll use Chrono less. But before I get into the realm of complete speculation, next topic!
Soukou no Strain...
is awesome. I don't want to say more and jinx the show, hence no first impressions post (I'm a bit paranoid...) but I do like it. Still, time for me to be my usual self and nip fansub errors in the bud: Her pseudonym is Sara Cruz. Not Sara Crewe. "Cruz" is confirmed in the animation, as well as making sense with the pronunciation. However, props to the fansub group for coming up with, if the wrong name, a name that makes sense.
Yoakena...
is not awesome. Hate to admit it, but Satou was right. This anime is trying to be everything that anyone might look for in a ren'ai adaptation. If you want to be a comedy, be a comedy. If you want to be a harem show, spotlight the other girls and give Natsuki an actual chance. If you want to be a romance, don't use every cliche scene you can think of. And for goodness' sake, you've turned Feena into the most annoying Mary Sue I've seen in ages... except maybe on fanfiction.net. Apparently the game's much better. Come out with a clean version, August, please. I want to justify my liking this series.
Megami...
Come on. If you're going to showcase Soukou no Strain, at least get a better poster than this one!
Sara looks like a bobble-head...
...that one. She's coming February of next year. I just hope they make a good version of Mai. Mai has been deprived of decent figures for too long.
Speaking of figures, I got my hands on a Milfeulle, my first full-size figure (call me a neophyte... or whatever ruder synonym you can think of) today. I was actually looking at Tsubasa plushies. They had a set of the four main characters (just plain adorable) and a couple of HUGE Mokonas. I wanted the white one but I thought the black one would get lonely. I'm such a kid sometimes. Why are all my figures red or pink, anyway? I need to introduce more colours. Then maybe I can do a photo diary thing like that one person with the KH figures. Because that's just amusing.
Soukou no Strain~ How did I miss its release? I'm downloading it right now, share your thoughts. ^^
As you may have heard, Hirano Aya (well-loved VA of the Galaxy Angel II series' Kahlua/Tequila Marjoram, Sumire from Canvas2, Reira from NANA, Pachira from Magical Pokaan, and, oh yeah, that one girl from that one show last spring) has been hospitalized due to a sudden illness. All joking about readership aside, I actually am worried about her. I've never been in the hospital save for when I got stitches in grade two in the incident that led to strict scooter supervision every day since in my old elementary school. Get well soon, Aya-chan~
And speaking of Hirano Aya, I'm surprised her other roles aren't nearly as publicised as belonging to her, with how many of us anime bloggers adore her. I think she's pretty cool. Cosplaying her own character was the bonus. I wonder if she'll walk the streets in Kahlua's vest and dress some time. That would be amusing to say the least.
On that note, I should really polish up my list of potential costumes for next year. So far, I've got Angelica Burns. Come on, my glasses are already lime green. I just need to stuff and always have food in my mough.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just wait. It turns out that the guys over at Futaba Channel, creators of OS-tan, have come up with a design for an MSN-tan. And I find this out after I made my own MSN-tan over on my DA. Then again, these people can draw.
If you know, I'm a major stickler for canon. And my design sucked. But what I want to know is, what's her personality? I want to fanart her now...
In other news, my boyfriend got me a Cardcaptor Sakura wallscroll for my birthday. Cop-out gift or no? If so, justified revenge for my 'forgetting' his birthday which was in turn revenge for him forgetting mine last year? Discuss.
In light of the recent news that last week's Yoakena episode actually did not suck, and the show may be returning to its "hey, this is cool" status that it had in the first episode, I decided to celebrate. How? Well, it was a beach episode, so... why not list the most memorable beach episodes I've ever seen? And you can add your complaints about what I didn't include later. Because I know I've got to have missed something.
1: The first season of Galaxy Angel.
We've got Forte and Mint stranded on a deserted island. And not just any Mint, mind you, but the evil, conniving, sweetness-is-just-an-act anime version of Mint. Add an evil mastermind who's been intercepting their radio signals... who turns out not to be evil, but just really, really strange... and a pervert. And to those that might dispute: Swimsuits or not, there's a beach. It's a beach episode. Forte's outfit is enough fanservice for you anyway.
2: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu.
The picture isn't just for the readership! 2-parters count, too, in this list of mine, and only the first was really a beach episode anyway. You think it'll be a fanservice-packed, cheaply animated episode in the preview, but... good animation! Murder mystery! Mikuru's awful swimsuit! Sorry, Mikuru fans, polka dots are blinding.
3: Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer.
I may complain about how the anime switched around the pairings, but on the other hand, it worked there. The sparkler scene was cute, the sunset scene was aww-inducing, the TamayoxKoutarou moments made you really feel sorry for her (Dere in the sand. That should have been my blog name. But there's no sand here. Snow, mostly.) and, well... Ogata torture. Always fun.
4: Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch- the Mermaid Contest episode.
Why did I specify the episode? If you ask this, you obviously haven't seen Pichi Pichi Pitch. Practically every episode has the beach in it. This one is sort of a classic "swimsuit episode"... except with Rina holding up placards of Hanon being eaten by a fish... okay, maybe not. If you've read this chapter in the manga, there are significant differences, and plenty of them: for one, it's not held concurrently with one of Kaito's surfing competitions, and the prize is instead a plasma TV (which Rina in the anime has an obsession with). Another is that Lucia doesn't flash the audience, and the prize goes to Caren. And Kaito has a cousin that... stalks Lucia in the change room? Well, technically he just wandered in there, but it makes for a more interesting episode description.
5: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R
Sometimes, things stand out to you not because they're good, but because they're bad. This episode was so horrible, it didn't even show up on the "uncut" English box set. It's hot out, so everyone goes to Hikawa Jinja, never mind that it's on a hill and heat rises. Then Rei takes them to the beach, where horrible animation ensues, of course... so what's the plot? Well, Chibiusa meets a seafaring baby dinosaur. That should be enough to make the list on its own.
