Link for size and non-ownership: image. Original source here.

An adorable but too-short narrative/report in comic strip form about Live Fighter Red Side, from AniSong Vol. 6. The reference in the title is from here. According to the interview, Trickster was written by Agematsu-san after watching Live Fighter, so she thought it was fate/destiny that the song was chosen :333 There's also her opinions on DISCOTHEQUE and Trinity Cross but the words were a bit small to focus on so ikka eventually gave up |||oTz Photos were pretty too, the one with the scoresheets reminded me of the Orchestral Fantasia PV hahahah.

Oh, come to think of it, why weren't the off-vocal ("without Nana") versions of the songs included together on the single? I wanted to listen to the mad instrumentals in Trickster...

Onto something else Nana-related: another marriage proposal (!) has shown up in her Pick-up Voice Vol. 11 interview with Saitou Chiwa (Gachapen, Yuushaou etc), gillsa-san posted a transcript:
*words in [square brackets] are my rough translations

Q: What are your impressions regarding each other?
...
...(there was stuff here, but no transcript and I'm not typing)
N: *compliments Chiwa's voice acting* (very short summary here lol)
C: うれしい！本当に結婚して欲しい(笑)。 [I'm so happy! Now I really wanna marry you :D]
N: プロポーズされた(笑)。 [I've been proposed to :D]
C: 一生幸せにします(笑)。 [I promise you lifelong happiness :D]

I can so imagine the two of them laughing with extreme silliness while doing this...thus the :D rather than :) lol

小狐仙萌え小狐仙 wwwww

It seems as though the nicovideo post of this "special-edition" PV has been removed. Though ikka didn't really find it all that funny, it was kind of, um...interesting, in a somewhat odd way. And it had the lyrics, too. Pity.

Good thing for screencaps eh.

( cut for images )

Actually, this would be so much more suitable with the Trickster PV, and maybe funnier. Those who've seen that will know where I'm coming from.

Didn't really like DISCOTHEQUE at first, but was won over by the PV (that's what I'd like to think, anyway, rather than attribute it all to the song's denpa-ness). It's just...really cool. Very watchable.

Next post will be earliest next Tuesday night/Wednesday, due to end-year papers and such.

Home desktop sent for repairs. After the dearth of the optical drive, everything went down the same route rather quickly...though one might admit that it may not have been a good idea to try fixing it on my own (which may perhaps have actually made things worse -_-|||).

This is being typed at an internet cafe claiming to be "the cheapest" at $1 per hour, under great stress to ikka's sanity (something to that effect, anyhow). The lack of privacy as compared to the safe confines of surfing on one's own is NOT A GOOD THING...for me anyway. It does not help that the monitor faces the entrance and the proprietor is sitting very close on my right and that everyone and anyone could see what I'm doing WTF *starts babbling*

So anyway, due to laptop absence (it's not arriving till end of this month? Why?), chances are that no updates and presence from here will remain until the week after next, or so my estimate goes.

Pants: I so understand how you feel now...

Done during the wait for System Restore to, uh, restore the computer's settings. Roughly 10 (!) tries later, nothing has been fixed. |||orz Why does the message telling me that it couldn't be restored to that point keep coming up even after changing restore points? The mind boggles...

Also, because of that long wait, there's still a small mountain of holiday homework left to clear...no, please don't mention things like how the time spent on this could have been used on the homework. Comparing the charms of Chrome-chan versus that revolting stuff would be rather off-putting.



As ikka's mood got progressively worse, the Ayamine Rando-esque urge to just strip Chrome-chan down to very little rose higher and higher...this must be what happens when you pick a lingerie model as the body structure basis *tridents skewer*
Then again, as can be seen, common sense prevailed, though the torso looks like it needs some fixing still...hmm.

Only after working on the facial features for quite some time did I realize that this piece's style seems to be tilting a little towards the SNK art style of a few years ago 0_o;;; Why? *scratches head*

...which Takarano Arika's fulfillment of her end of the Animelo 2007 promise wasn't enough to give. Was actually banking on her choosing on a more edgy (?) kind of song, or something archaic/elegant like Hime Murasaki...hmmm.

Actually wanted to finish up a humorous (I hope) take on Jack and the Beanstalk with Linith-shishou as the cow and Precia-kaasan as Jack's (...>_>;;?) mother...among some other things. Unfortunately, those plans were derailed after watching 12 Lotus last night. *makes small noises*

For a movie that can be summed up as "tragedic drama with Bollywood-esque (!) song and dance plus wafer-thin plot", it left ikka with a horrible feeling inside, mostly because of the Downer Ending. Won't reveal too much spoilers, though perhaps watching it at night contributed to the melancholia as well...or maybe I'm a sucker for that kind of story. To think that I read a few reviews that leaked bits of plot beforehand, too...

Effects:
-gloom!ikka T_T
-a desire to dig out Hayashiya Shizuru's work or anything Aria-related for their therapeutic (...) purposes
-"I want to watch that *points at Wall-E model*" -quoth ikka after exiting the theater
-seriously weird dream-that-wasn't-quite-a-nightmare...where ikka fired a live round at some kind of parade for VIPs...WTF?! o_0

Going to nicovideo for some laughs now. *runs*

Got knocked down by a taxi at the crossroads near my place just now. Nobody was at fault, really...the pedestrian green light was on, but it's not illegal for cars to make turns there. I think. And I was running, so the driver probably thought it was fine to accelerate. Well, it wasn't.

It's probably by a stroke of luck that I can still be typing this with only a handful of abrasions from the encounter. Hit the side of my head and jaw on the traffic island, and no concussion too (so it seems)...could even pick myself up and walk to the other side ._.;;; Left hand and arm tremble when stress is put on them though.
This incident also proves that auto accidents are not as fatal as they are made out to be on TV (here's looking at you, Mediacorp). Just a comment.

Kind of upset that the taxi quickly drove off when it was apparent that I was fine, though. There was some honking, not sure whether it was the driver or some other road user who had witnessed the whole thing. If I died on the spot, it would have been a hit-and-run, too. Hopefully there'll be someone who had caught the license plate number. IIRC the color of the taxi was blue...but since the memories are hazy, it could have been any other color of any other company, so no point jumping to conclusions or getting paranoid.

Chinese saying: 大難不死，必有後福。
English saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
If these have any stroke of truth in them, ikka will do well in tomorrow's test and hit a perfect game at the bowling alley...yeah, right.

Don't have the actual thing, unlike a certain Sound Stage M still sitting in its encasing *looks over at Megami #100*. The download of Disc 1 just finished, though ikka hasn't listened to it yet. Rather put out now, after getting spoiled left and right by those who already have D: (mysterious voice: serves you right for not watching where you're going, dumbo)

If I mumble a bit about the booklet, it doesn't count as spoiling, does it?


May or may not have a follow-up post. Maybe only when the FLsnow Sound Stage sub volunteers work on it?

*goes off to find food*

With the series moving to Shueisha's Ultra Jump, some notable changes can already be seen, such as the reset of chapter count (probably to not confuse readers any further...not that it helps) and reprinting of tankoubon volumes 1 and 2 with "spiffy" new covers.

But one of the biggest surprises of this chapter is actually this...



HOMURA SANZENIN KUROGANE NAGI IMRE, BULLFIGHTER EXTRAORDINAIRE~~~
IN TENCHI UNIFORM ｷﾀヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ!

Had been wondering when Hayashiya-sensei would let Nagi in on the action after her brief appearances previously, maybe she'd been planning all along to keep it until the UJ move. Does this mean we'll finally get to see something regarding the hinted drama between the twins, or will Nagi be another of them commonsensical folks (in HCB?! ikka you jest!) a la Ouka/Yukari (...), constantly wondering if all the baka genes dropped into the other half of the zygote when they were being formed? Hmmmmm...

Eh, if Hayate's in this state, does it mean that she got schooled by Ensuu? *scratches head*

Another surprise: Daddy (?????) Kurogane.



Mistook Nagare as a made-over Hitsugi-kaichou the first time round in chapter 51. No weird looks please...come on, they do look sorta alike, no?

There was background info on HCB published together with this chapter, such as story summary, definition of key terms and a character list (with not-too-descriptive text, aw well) that was actually quite funny - everybody got at least a semi-sane/cool-looking shot, save for Wanko and Tatewaki. (ikka excluded Sou because it was kind of in character for her)
...then again, all shots of Jun in the drama CD booklets' character introductions weren't very flattering, and she's supposed to be the most popular cast member, so...-_-;;;

So funny.



Screenshot:



Well, some folks from my age group might be way more geeky, though...hmm. *looks at said folks*

For the record, ikka's heroes actually alternate between Kajiura Yuki; Katakura Mikiya; Hayashiya Shizuru; Takarano Arika; Tajiri Satoshi (!!!); Bruce Timm; Neil Gaiman and a load of other people. Go figure.

Singapore's managed to win a Olympic medal after a _LONG_ wait of 48 years, in the inaugural table tennis team event for women. Quite entertaining, even though the team was eventually pwned hard by the Chinese. Then again, no one had even expected them in the final, so yeah. The PM's National Day Rally speech was even set aside for one free-to-air television broadcast, kind of an indicator as to how important it's thought to be ^^;

Well, after that moment of patriotism-like emotion, I'm bringing this up: Mozdev's RIP (Remove it Permanently) extension for Firefox. It doesn't work on the more stable 3.01 make, but there's a tweak on Lifehacker that purportedly works for that too. Trying it out at the moment, it's really pretty useful. RIP's wasted as an ad blocker because there's AdBlock Plus for that, though it takes out other elements of sites which lessen the viewing experience. I'm going to see if it works on those annoying comment lists/boxes that dump spoilers over video sharing sites without the option to turn them off...

nico link here

Don't really listen to much radio, especially when it's in Japanese, because ikka's ears are fail and wouldn't be able to make it. In fact, the only time I understood one full episode (?) of Smile Gang was when the fifth anniversary was made into a video that was later subbed >_<;;;

Catching this week's Smile Gang was something of a coincidence, and could not have happened without niko-san blogging about it. This post also has a rather informative (...) writeup on the show, so those who have a grasp of some Chinese/Japanese (!) may find it useful - I know I did. Only skimmed through and listened to it in fragments, though...a straight half an hour's worth of audio-only is a tad too long for ikka.

For those who don't, here's a bit on this week's Smile Gang...unfortunately there's not a lot as my ears aren't discerning enough so this will be muchly based on niko-san's report for help+reference and whatever remaining that ikka could get.


OK, so if you passed that up, one more motivation (...?) to listen to this week's show can also be its doubling up as a healing balm for y'all who got mad at SSM 3...or something. For those who'd prefer having Nanoha and FTH giggling away at mundane (?!) things.

I do hope that Misato-san gets better soon, however.

Just a rough sketch. There's a bit of background behind this image, but that'll be another story for another post.

Coloring/inking ETA unknown, though I do plan to work on it.



Now to go eat.

DAS FEEN REICH! DAS FEEN REICH! DAS FEEN REICH! *loop*


Okay, now that my proclamation as a shinmin (臣民) has been made...time to talk a bit about the PV. Unlike the Schwarzer Sarg post some time ago, this post will have no pictures beside the one up there as Youtube's picture quality is you-know-what and no DVD rips are floating around yet. (sorry Tachibana-san!)

Been trying since the single's release to find the audio tracks online, but to no avail. Schwarzer Sarg was leaked even before it hit the streets, too...oh the unfairness! Even if I could buy the CD off Yesasia or wherever, there's no means to play it with, too...due to the dead optical drive...>_<

Public holidays are good. Just saw the PV on nico (in HQ sound quality too, yay). Here is some random (no particular order):

1) ikka still doesn't know if the tattoo on YUI's left arm is real or cosmetic, despite having seen it so many times...if it's a real piercing, her irl alter ego would get busted quickly if people saw it on her, I reckon

2) There were some commenters on nico talking about YUI's age...never mind, I'll just go with her claim of being over 300 years old...who cares if she's 3-x- already.

3) The PV opened with a distorted version of some lines from the last Hades track, Hades: The rise that was on metanoia. Listening to it through the static, beeps and whatnot doesn't tell me what the exact lines are, though they might be the same as those that followed immediately after, that is to say -
"罪と罰の支配裁く革命
生に背く魅惑苦楽悪性
苛烈　破滅　破裂　ハデス覚醒
罪裁く刺客九の惑星"
- which were done in a different way from the The rise version but equally enjoyable.

4) I apply double standards. A couple days ago ikka was making noise about Mizuki Nana and one of her costumes in Live Fighter...but there's two guys in this PV wearing outfits suspiciously similar to the same kind of thing. This is because the images being portrayed by these different set of musicians are totally unalike, so I'm alright with those two guys...

off-topic: Arika-san of alipro donned a military getup for Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis' PV, too. Same thing about their image.

5) YUI should do something about her English...or rather Engrish...the first time I watched the PV, the comments were turned off, so I didn't see the accompanying lyrics and only caught the "Hades: The Bloody Rage!" at the end. No, actually that's not totally true. I only caught the words "bloody rage".

The cries of "HADES!" (um, hah-daze...same difference) at points in the PV should have alerted me, really. Maybe ikka's ears are just obtuse to the Yousei Teikoku brand of Eng(r)lish, there was a time when the "I am a martyr. I am a believer. And I just believe the fairy" bits in Patriot Anthem didn't form comprehensible words when they registered in my ears/head =_=|||

6) Tachibana-san's armband, which carried the symbol of the Reich (I think. The camera never stopped on it), kept reminding me of Suzumiya Haruhi's Danchou Armband (tm). Unintendedly funny wwwwwwww

7) More on clothes: YUI'S LEGS WAHAHAHAHAH *insane*...if ikka was a legs person, the keyboard would be swamped by drool.

8) Just about every time the word "mune" was used, YUI's hands, in her fit of passion, were trailing near her chest. Her rather flat chest...rofl
Doesn't change the fact that YUI is tha hawtness, flat chest or no. Dang that fairy and her ero skillz...

9) I think the i/c over at Lantis realized that Tachibana-san's guitar magic actually makes quite good footage. That would explain his increased airtime in the PV...or maybe it's just me and his airtime is the same?

Took place this Wednesday, the pictures were taken around 10AM or so. This post is not for those overly grossed out by small insects.

Folks from the area (who? xD|||) might know that ikka's school is currently using a holding campus while the "old campus" undergoes expansion and renovations. It's not that bad a place, actually, just takes some time to get used to.

This incident, however, made me wonder if what happened was due to the campus being old and rickety, the pupils of that specific classroom's doing, or the magic powahz of Mother Nature, scary woman she can be.


Real life can be more interesting than fictional accounts sometimes, no?

So nice people shared the (official) Chinese version of Hayate Cross Blade 8, ikka squeed over Maki-sempai's minute amount of screentime while laughing at generally everything else (the "nice kind", mind. Hayashiya-sensei delivers again), and exploded into happiness when the author's notes finally featured the Kamijou-Someya duo. Took her long enough :3

Then in a case of stupidity claiming one's mind, I decided that the shot was filled with awesome and that the old Ash icon was getting a bit stale. New icon in the works! Cue roughly 4 (!!!) hours of GIMPing and the result above.
yes, ikka is aware that yukari's hair isn't the right color, but it's not wrong either...

To think I used to slave for hours/days on end fiddling with PhotoStudio, moaning about my lack of coloring ability. Yes, I still don't color all that great, but it looks kinda better, at least. Some useful tutorials helped loads, too. Yay? now ikka can finally go back to that abandoned project of *SECRET*

The big downside now is that this new shiny icon, when chosen to be the new default, replaced every single use of the previous default, Ash. *green flames BBQ* Not to mention that the "upload from file" option gave screwy responses...囧

Huh? Homework? What's that? Can it be eaten?