Yume Miru Kusuri and LB-EX

First of all Yume Miru Kusuri is amazing. I just finished Aeka's route. This is not a "pure love" ren'ai game like those by Key where the boy rescuses the girl and all is fine and dandy. This is a nitty gritty portrayal of a imperfect world and the selfish intentions of it's inhabitants. It's a lot more realistic XD. Don't expect to see a "clean" version of this ever, it wouldn't work and it would disgrace the game to try to do such a thing, that's the kind of game it is.

On a lighter note, Tsubaki is now my second favorite visual novel male character. Right behind Natsume Kyosuke.

Speaking of Kyosuke, (Aki your not gonna like this) I have decided to not open/install/play the game contents (I have opened the box for the audio content) of LB-EX untill I finish LB. This is not any noble intention of purity but rather simply because LB-EX has a function to view only new content assuming you've cleared Little Busters!. I'm guessing this marks all of the previous games text as read so you can skip it, or something of the sort. If this was in english I would simply reread everything I've read so far but Japanese is so slow and this is the least time-consuming way to play all content as easily as possible.

Since I have only cleared 2/6 character routes (though I am on Yuiko's endgame) and have not played any of the true routes I do not want to accidently expose my self to any spoilers nor miss any of the game. I bought the game(s) such it is my decision how I would like to play or not play them and I hope those who wish to borrow the newer version understand they will have to wait or do as I am doing (borrow LB complete it then use EX's new content function). Yes I know this may frustrate you as I work through this game rather slowly but I simply do not have the energy to get home from work and immedately tackle several megabytes of Japanese text. As a fast english reader this amount of time needed is one of the most frustrating aspects of these games to me.

On the bright side I may be enticed to help the translation project once I have completed the whole of the first game as reading the whole work is essential to attempting to translate it. :3

Comic-Con and Himeya Box Goods Roundup

This list is why I'm not updating :

Comic-Con goods

• Yume Miru Kusuri (EN)
• Casual Romace Club (JP/EN)
• Clannad: Tomoyo Sakagami 1/8 PVC figure by Kotobukiya
• Clannad: Kyou Fujibayashi 1/8 PVC figure by Kotobukiya
• To Heart 2 Another Days hand towel
• Ninja Domo-kun 8GB flash drive by Mimoco (a generous gift from parents)
• SHUFFLE! Disc 5 (pre-sale)
  

Himeya Shipment

• Little Busters! Ecstasy First Press with jigsaw puzzle (JP)
  
• complete set of planetarian drama cds (JP)
  
• Watashi wa Konya Aishite ~Come See me Tonight~ (EN)
• OTSU volumes 1 & 2

Firstly, Little Busters! EX is waiting for hard drive space to become available. The bonuses were an arrange CD and a special edition of "Natsume Brothers!" It might very well end up installed on the previously mentioned Ninja Domo-kun flash drive.

The packaging for the planetarian Drama CDs is amazing... a box and a "picture card book" were included with volume 1. The box holds all three CDs and the book which is a set of postcard style illustrated cards with a spine like a composition note book. Closest thing to a planetarian art book on the market. The CDs are all in DVD style cases with a double sided cover insert (so you can see it through the clear case) and booklets with the art from the orginal novel. The last drama CD is a set of the last two stories (one per disc) making this a 4 disc set.

10 audio CDs to import........hurry up iTunes

Yuiko is so cute....

Riki is cute too XD

Little Busters! Pass Case

Little Busters! Pass Case

Ordered this. Cute isn't it? Too bad I don't have any (US) IC cards... It'll end up as a sleeve for my SeaWorld ID I'm pretty sure.

Comic-Con and LB-EX... both so close and so far

nventionAs most of you know, San Diego Comic-Con International (or as I shall say from now... comic-con or cc) will soon be upon us (Wednesday evening in fact) and will cast it's rays on San Diego untill Sunday. (So its simple : Don't go downtown, don't try to take the trolley)

CC is scarily popular now though, I used to tell people I went to it and they would say something like "wait what.. you went where?" Now everyone is going and I saw a blub in (someone else's copy of) Elle O.o

I am actually more excited about the release of Little Busters! EX than the con... probably because the former sucked away most of the money I could spend at the latter. That and the half a dozen Little Busters! soundtracks I want T_T

You know when I started getting in to these games I thought to my self "How can someone bring them self to buy something twice? Isn't that a grand waste of money, they have to be crazy to do that at the price these games cost. They ought to at least sell their copies of the old editions." Then when EX was announced I posed the question to some friends both said "Yeah I'd rebuy it." and my guilt crumbled away XD

And hey... Play-Asia carries some eroge now...

Key Sounds Label Updates :D

First of all Key Sounds Label (KSL) is the audio CD publishing branch of the Key visual novel studio. I say audio CD but don't try to get these through Amazon or CDJapan, as the first marks them as software (since their from a software house) and the second doesn't carry them at all. Hello Himeya....

I ordered the Planetarian Drama CDs and OTSU trance remixes recently and will have more information on those when they arrive.

New Discs (All LB you can stop reading here if you'd like.)

リトルバスターズ！エクスタシートラックス: Little Busters! Ecstasy Tracks

All the music added to Ecstasy that was not in the original. An append disc to the OST. This is a Comiket 74 exclusive release for ¥2,000 but Key never keeps CDs exclusive for long (price may change however).

Rockstar Busters! Little Busters Arrange Album


This was a Comiket 73 exclusive but it will be reissued for general sale on 8/15 for ¥2,000. I believe the Ecstasy version of the OP is from this disc.


リトルバスターズキャラクターソング "鈴の密かな恋の唄 / Mission:Love sniper" : Little Busters Character Song "Rin's Secret Love Song/Mission:Love sniper"


Another previous exclusive this will be released at the same time as Rockstar Busters! on 8/15 for ¥1,200.

ラジオCD 「ラジオ リトルバスターズ! ナツメブラザーズ! 」 vol.1 : Radio CD "Radio Little Busters! Natsume Brothers!" vol.1

No cover art available
While this has not been officially announced by Key yet, from the software designation it is clearly a KSL title. This is a collected volume of the streaming net radio show with the expected price of ¥3,000. There will be limited and regular editions of this CD according to amazon but only the regular edition is listed currently.Expected release date is 9/24

Another awesome LB figure but this time exclusive -_-

First of all AAAAnime distribution seems to have plans to carry the two Kotobukiya Little Busters! figures of Natsume Rin and Kamikita Komari I blogged about previously. This is awesome :D

Well a more dynamically posted Rin figure has surfaced but its an exclusive to two shops and niether ships to The-World-Not-Including-Japan. So stare at her with me XD

Kotobukiya's Web Shop's Order Page (for those in Japan)

LB-EX master up!

And I'm ordering tonight :D

Computer situation..

We put my hard drive into my sisters old laptop (same model). Note I say old as in she got a new one because it sucks majorly worse than mine did because she treated it like crap. I swapped my battery in to because she killed hers.

Pros
-Working built in wireless (I still use the other card though
- Turns on

Cons
-Broken USB port
-Sticky mouse buttons
-Much much hotter
-louder

Neutral
- headphones port defective on both

If only mine would turn on...

Uhhhh...

My computer spontaneously shut down and won't turn back on... even the charging indicator that is on when it's plugged in won't work making me suspect the internal power structure... so don't expect to see me on the forums this week... or next unless it magically fixes.

I really appreciate Hirameki's DVD games right now....

AnimeExpo and LB-EX

Well my Little Busters! Ecstasy focused G's festival DX arrived while I was away at AnimeExpo. G's is a simply wonderfully moe magazine, and festival's are always a treat. I need a mouse so I can use that mouse pad...

Booty List from AX

Dengeki G's Festival 5 - Tsuyokiss with talking alarm clock, metal pins, and pencil board
sola GN 1 by Broccoli Books
Love Hina Bilingual GN 8 - One dollar clearance
Little Busters! Solid Works trading figures: Kudryavka and Rin
Day of Love by Hirameki
Anime LA 4 shirt I forgot to buy in January

The Kudo figure is most definitely from the same leg mold as the G's anniversary Kudo with a very similar rest of the body (different faces, same pose). The paint and textures are a lot better however especially on the upper body. Kudo isn't a big fave of mine but I enjoy her well enough to not regret the purchase. Rin is the real treat however as she has such a cute pose (pulling on her socks with a frolicking cat nearby). I seemed to get a different colored cat than the box had but this might simply be a issue of prototype vs. finished product.

I saw the three announced Kotobunkiya LB figures. Adorable, excellent quality, and NOT FOR SALE waaaaah ToT. I saw ToyWorks Kudo for sale but cannot say the same praise... it looked fine but not as polished.

MangaGamers had a presence through Circus who was there through Broccoli. very nice people at Cicus's booth.

ComicCon will still remain my go-to con for esoteric purchases but AX was a wonderful change of pace being a "large" con vs. a megagiant (My sisters first words... wow its so small!) . If all goes well I will have attended all 4 major sizes of conventions by the end of the year (small - ConJecture, medium - ALA, large - AX, San Diego - SDCC; The size is simply called San Diego because its the side of the San Diego convention center XP )

I will be making my biannual Himeya purchase tomorrow. All you San Diegans suck for not splitting shipping XD Just kidding I know how hard it is to afford this shizz.

Haven't posted in a while!: Goodies, work, and AX08

Well its been a while, I haven't had anything particularly notable to blog since I am not buying any otaku goods until I've placed my Himeya order (LBEX and a hell of a lot of KeySoundLabel CDs). And I'm not placing this order untill after AX in case I find someone selling the said CD's there (like that'll happen =P).

I will be at AnimeExpo Saturday and Sunday. This is my first time at AX and I am excited. ^_^ Additionally, I recieved my first paycheck of the summer today >.> I am working all week up till the convention (including the 4th) so I should have no problem affording LBEX. I just might not have time to play anything XD I enjoy work though in a way because it lets me interact with happy people. This is the big "secret" in working at a theme park: the customers are already happy and relaxed so your job is halfway done before you say hello.

Anyone who keeps up with me on Google Talk might have been aware of this but I am trying to clear out my anime/game backlog this summer hence titled : 萌えの夏 . Here's what's been done so far:

• Finally cleared the last bit of Hourglass of Summer (Mana's route)
• Wrote a bit more on ONE review ^^;
  
• Finished Tomoyo's route in CLANNAD (I can now play Tomoyo After with no regrets)
• Cleared Nanatsuiro*Drops DS again to unlock a new "If Story". Yuri is popping up in the main game now. :3
  
• Purchased SHUFFLE! volume 4 (en route)
• YesAsia goodies
  
• Purchased Dengeki Festival! DX 3 (en route)
• Cleared Kudryvaka's route in Little Busters! Now powering through common for the last time (making save points this time ^^;)
  
• Worked more on Wahrheit Academy plot
  
• Hung up Nanatsuiro Drops posters that have been rolled up for months.
• Rereading Higurashi because it is brilliant. The translation is full of life and a pleasure to reread. :3