Wakeless Days

One volume of Jump, 100 smiling people.

2011-04-30T23:36:00.001-07:00

This is a 30 minute translation and I am still a student. Please verify anything you want to cite, this is for interest/convenience only.

Original : http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0326/TKY201103260109.html

At a Sendai bookstore that can't receive new magazine shipments, one volume of Weekly Shonen Jump as been read by over 100 children. This single precious copy was a gift from a customer. Being able to continue with popular manga has calmed children and brought smiles to their faces.

After the disaster, in the midst of many closed bookstores, the Shiogawa bookstore in Aoba ward near Itsuhashi station on the north-south subway line has reopened after 14 days with only its existing stock. But customers come looking for new magazines and the shopkeeper Mr. Yuuichi Shiogawa (47) has had to tell them "We have none. There are no plans for stock shipments." He mentioned that when he reported that they did not have Shogakuan's "Korokoro Comic" a young child began to cry.

What many people want to read is the popular manga One Piece and other titles serialized in Shueisha's Jump. One male customer that absolutely wanted to read Jump went to the neighboring Yamagata prefecture and returned with one copy he had finished.
"Shonen Jump issue 16 from 3/19 can be read here!! We only have one copy" Shiogawa posted a sign at the shop and the information spread by word of mouth. He says that children have come over 10 km by bike to line up and wait for a chance to read the magazine.

Holding the battered Jump in his hands, Kouki Sawada was relieved, "I went around to many bookstores but not one had it." His friend Takashi Hasegawa (13) read One Piece twice carefully and was overjoyed, "I am at ease now, I'm glad I was able to continue reading it".

Mr Shiogawa said "People don't want to see the miserable images on TV and the number of parents looking for children's books and picture books has grown. Of course we must consider the necessities of life first but I think providing books for children is important too." The next issue comes out on 4/4.

Initial Impressions of Wakemate (sleep gadget)

2011-02-18T14:19:00.001-08:00

Today I will deviate a bit from the anime/games theme and touch on another realm of nerdery: gadgets. We love gadgets. We use gadgets all day long. And now even when we sleep.

The WakeMate doesn't come in doll sizes

WakeMate (official website) is a Bluetooth wristband that tracks how you sleep (using actigraphy) and wakes you up at a optimal time within a 20 minute window so you feel better overall. It works with iOS, Blackberry and Android (Windows Phone 7 possibly soon). The product has been in startup hell for a couple years but units started shipping this winter. Since my not-so-trusty iHome is out of commission I thought I'd give it a try. I'd looked at sleep trackers before but they usually cost 100-400$, WakeMate is a bit more affordable at 60$.

Hardware - The physical half of WakeMate is a wristband that connects to your smartphone. The band fits me snugly and has adjusting elastic. I can (barely) fit both hands in it so it should "fit" all but may be tight on some. The WakeMate itself is removable from the fleece band so you can wash it. The visible section is simply a mini USB-B port, a LED indicator, and a plastic switch; everything else is wrapped in plastic. and then inside the wristband.

The actual unit

I was worried about battery life after reading Engadget's review (lots of great pictures) but I got three nights out of it before it warned me I needed to charge it. Considering each night is about 7 hrs (and many people sleep shorter nights) I don't find this unreasonable. If the device does run out of power while you are asleep the fail-safe alarm will sound at the end of the waking window. The unit charges over USB and normally would come with a AC adapter. However they are having problems with the AC adapter overheating the battery and lighting the wristband on fire (seriously) so mine only came with a cable. Supposedly I will be sent an adapter at a later date.

iPhone Software - I use a iPhone 3GS, the same app is also iPod/Pad compatible. Different apps exist for other platforms and they may have different interfaces/features.

The app is clean and easy to use, the WakeMate must be paired once via Bluetooth settings and after that it can be connected to from the app. If the band isn't connected correctly and you try to go to sleep the phone will make a fuss until you fix it.

You must log-in to the free Wakelytics site before you can use the app. The alarm is set to a 20 minute window and that window is calculated and displayed prominently. The software chooses the best time to wake you up before the window is over (see the Experience section). You can set the alarm to one of the supplied tones, iPod music (my choice), phone vibration (the band does not vibrate), or no alarm. The app encourages you to tag nights, it comes with many example tags but you can make your own as well (I made a "roommate" tag for example).


Status	Alarm Screen	Tag Screen	Data Screen

When you wake up the app greets you by name, asks how you feel, and automatically syncs data to the website. Data is not viewable in the app (a shortcut to the website is included). As the system is multi-platorm a unified website is probably easier to maintain but it would be nice to have in-app view as well.

Website (Wakelytics) - Wakelytics is the name of WakeMate's analytics platform. It assumes you don't know anything about sleep cycles (probably true) so everything is explained in fairly simple terms. This is nice for most things but I can't help but wish for an advanced view or even just an encyclopedia page explaining the scientific equivalent of the sleep categories the site uses. Tags can be compared but I don't have enough data to do anything useful with that yet. Oddly you can't compare tags simply to nights without that tag (example, caffeine-tagged nights vs non-caffeine nights), this seems rather basic so its odd its not included. The product is young though so and the WakeMate team has expressed intent to add more to the tagging system.

Wakemate doesn't supply a ton of screen shots (and they seem slightly different than the actual site). Here are a few with my (real) data, click to view (quite large):

Experience - In terms of data, the device seems to be pretty accurate though the number/times of awakenings is the only statistic I can verify with any true confidence. I had been getting similar scores for most of this week but this last night I felt a lot less rested and my score reflected that. I must stress here that I am not a doctor, I don't have any solid knowledge of how this works.

The wake-up feature works as expected. The device will sense when you are in a sleep-stage close to awake and wake you up. In contrast a traditional alarm is completely time based so the sleeper may be in a deep stage when it goes off, causing them feel terrible upon awakening (sleep inertia). I felt pretty groggy this morning when I work up but I also remember slightly before the alarm went off so WakeMate did not call me out of deep sleep (like a traditional alarm could do). One other time it went off at the end of the window and I felt pretty wake but I may have just ran out of time and triggered the fail-safe alarm.

Overall- I was a bit hesitant to order the WakeMate because of numerous production problems and negative initial reviews but I chanced it on the 30-day return window. The device has worked as well as I hoped these first few days and I don't see my self returning it in the future. If you have trouble getting up without 2 or 3 alarms (my old system) WakeMate is definitely worth a try.

Fall Anime Midway Roundup

2010-11-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

We are about halfway through the fall season and since I didn't do any first impressions blogging, here is a midway roundup. Here's what I've been watching, in rough order of enjoyment:

OreImo - My Little Sister Can't be This Cute (ANN)

Kyousuke Kosaka's younger sister Kirino is irritatingly perfect. Pretty, popular, and athletic with top grades and even a modeling job, Kirino wants nothing to do with her loser older brother. That is until he finds out her greatest secret, she is an eroge otaku. Surprised that Kyousuke doesn't mock her and tell their parents, Kirino begins to drag him into her hobbies. Despite some major drama and bad security management, OreImo finally began "simulcasting" last week. Despite the title and many jokes, OreImo doesn't seem to want to be a incest series, rather it is a comedy about otaku. The target audience is pretty clear from the plot, general fans may find amusement (and Kyousuke makes the show fairly accessible) but those who have gone through the same experiences as Kirino will find much more to enjoy here. I frequently find my self laughing out loud and talking back at the characters.
If you liked - Genshiken, Nogizaka Haruka's Secret

The World God Only Knows (Crunchyroll)

Keima Katsuragi is a galge otaku happy to ignore reality until a mistake contract with a demon forces him to capture the hearts of real girls. One of the top shows I was looking forward to this season and its lived up to my expectations. Obviously there is a lot to like here if you are into visual novels but the title is also resounding with a larger crowd and is Crunchyroll's top new simulcast.A light-hearted parody and without significant fanservice.
If you liked- Baka to Test, Haruhi

Maidenly Demon Zakuro (Crunchyroll)

In this alternative history, the Meji government set up a Bureau of Spirit Affairs to deal with Japan's native spirits (Yokai) during the period of westernization. I didn't expect much from Zakuro, the Meiji period setting piqued my curiosity so I watched it and was surprised how much I liked it after 2-3 episodes. Despite being a seinen comic by a yaoi artist, Zakuro has a firm shojo adventure feeling to it. Crunchyroll also provides optional pretty purple subs.
If you liked - Fushigi Yugi, Sakura Wars

Squid Girl (Crunchyroll)

Squid Girl has risen from the ocean to conquer humanity! Filling this seasons wacky humor quota is Squid Girl, each episode features three separate skits about this moe invader. The humor is nonsensical and sometimes gross but never exceedingly cruel. SG is a family-friendly feel-good show with heart that has proved quite popular; only my personal preferences rank it this low on the list.
If you liked - Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu, Azumanga Daioh

Fortune Arterial (Crunchyroll)

I had high hopes for this one and it could still make a comeback but right now it is exceedingly bland school harem except for two points: Kouhei is not the usual loser character, instead he is exceedingly irritatingly perfect, and the main heroine is a vampire....who goes to school and doesn't really do anything vampire like at all. If you like calm slice of life harems you may enjoy FA but the average viewer will have better luck elsewhere. I will see it to the end in hopes the plot improves but if you haven't started it yet don't bother.
If you liked - Shuffle!, Negima!

Blood of the Sinful Hound ~Bloody Curs~ - Togainu no Chi ~Bloody Curs~ (ANN)

In a apocalyptic future, Akira is falsely accused of murder and is offered the chance to free himself by fighting in a tournament to topple a druglord. Bishonen and blood, Togainu is the fangirl fodder of the season. I started it because its based on a BL eroge by Nitro+CHIRAL but so far it hasn't shaped into much. Due to Aniplex/ANN/Oreimo drama, this one started late so I've only seen four episodes so far and its entertaining but hollow.
If you liked - Uraboku, Kizuna

Detective Opera Milky Holmes (Crunchyroll)

Milky Holmes is the most successful team of detectives at Holmes Detective Academy until they lose their toys (magical powers) at a battle with their rivals "The Gentlemen Thief Empire". They must struggle to gain back their toys and their place is society. The main quartet is a bunch of whiny loli has-beens, accustomed to a life of luxury thanks to their natural talents. While it is somewhat satisfying to watch the selfish brats deal with being normal people, the writers so clearly wants you to root for them that the plot ends up an awkward mess. The first episode follows a wierd time continuity just so it can open with sleeping loli fanservice, yet other episodes have awkward male nudity. I watched a few episodes just to figure out if it was supposed to be a magical girl parody or not. If it is, the show fails miserably. If not, it is the most hollow pathetic excuse for moe I have seen.
If you liked - UltraManic, Precure

Too many nendoroids...

2010-07-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Nendoroid Nagato Yuki Disappearance Ver. (PVC Figure) Good Smile Company The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Nendoroid

Another beauty on preorder. Is it really a surprise since I loved Shoshitsu so much?

I didn't get the original Nagato nendoroid though so I don't feel very guilty about this one (this will be my first non-trading Haruhi figure). Besides the obvious wardrobe additions, this version seems to differ from the original Nagato nendoroid by having more hair highlights. I hope someone does a side by side comparison.

Princess Waltz: Now with less DRM!

2010-07-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

Princess Waltz package ver. DRM removed

This isn't really news-worthy because it is simply a company doing exactly what they promised too. However that seems to be a rarer and rarer thing nowadays.

When Princess Waltz was released (my review here) both the download and packaged edition came with the Software Defender DRM system. This was JAST USA/Peach Princess/G-Collections first release with this system and a departure from their previous policy of selling physical copies without DRM.

I do not dislike Software Defender. It is extremely invisible and does what it is supposed to. Each code gets 5 installs so I can lend/share a game within reasonable limitations (lending/sharing itself is a interesting moral quandary but that's another post). That being said, I certainly don't care for it and would prefer to not have to deal with it. Many people agree with me so part of JAST's new policy was that a patch would be released for packaged editions after a certain length of time (1-2 years) and that would allow people to remove the DRM. Not perfect as you still have to use your serial code to fetch the drm-free patch but still a reasonable compromise.

The first of these patches came out today (for Princess Waltz) and amid smart phone cases on the deepwater horizon, one company kept their promise to their customers. Quiet, simple, accountability. Today I am happy to be an eroge customer.

So go buy it already

Westboro Baptist Church is coming to Comic-Con

2010-07-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

The Westboro Church has some stern words for us comic-loving, costuming, nerds:

Comic Con is an excuse for whores to wear skimpy get-ups (as if they don't already) without censure & for emulating rebels to compare costumes. Yikes. Put away your action figures & get about the business of serving your God. You fail as a human being because you shun your only obligation in this life. - From the Press Release

If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the ... See Moremean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent - so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry. - From the Picket Schedule

Comic-con has finally caught the eye of Fred Phelps and his so called 'church'. I'm only sad that I'll be at a panel so I can't counter protest colorful signs such as "# Thank God For IEDs # God Hates Fags # USA = Fag Nation # Thank God For Dead Soldiers # Thank God For $10.9 Million # God Is America's Terror # Your Pastor Is A Whore # Don't Worship The Dead # America Is Doomed # God Hates America # Fags Doom Nations # God Hates Fag Enablers # Fag Court # Priests Rape Boys # Fag Church # Fag Flag" . No, I'm not making these up check the website. I knew they were nuts but protesting outside a 200,000+ person convention in downtown San Diego? Sounds a bit suicidal too.

Heroman Song Translations

2010-07-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

I've been watching Heroman on Crunchyroll and noticed they only have the first ending subtitled so here are translations for the other three. As usual, my Japanese isn't great so read at your own risk. As for the songs themselves, Roulette was definitely the hardest to understand/translate as it is full of the happy nonsense J-Pop is known for and Missing was the easiest (relatively). The video that accompanies "My Hand is for Your Sake" is one of my favorite anime endings, it mainly focuses on Joey and friends spliced into everyday scenes on the US, most likely California. (I believe the first photo is of the I-405N near exit 51) Check it out on Crunchyroll even if you don't care for the show (the ED starts around 22:20 in ep. 13+)

OP 1 : Roulette by Tetsuya

キラキラ回れ! Roulette
Sparkling Spinning Roulette
運命の瞬間を
At the moment of fate
Just now My way 始めようぜ
"Just now" "My way" Let's get started

道に迷った時には
When you lose your way
瞳を閉じて風に聴こう
Close your eyes and listen to the wind
真白な闇の中
inside the pure white darkness

キラキラ回れ! Roulette
Sparkling Spinning Roulette
運命の瞬間を
At the moment of fate
Just now My way 始めようぜ
"Just now" "My way" Lets get started
奇跡を起こせ Roulette
Causing miracles Roulette
泣いてなんかいないで
Don't cry
Why not? Hang on まだ間に合う
"Why not?" "Hang on" We can still make it

全て賭けたら Roulette
Betting it all Roulette
狙い定めて Roulette
Aimed at deciding Roulette
回れ! 回れ! 回れ!
Spin! Spin! Spin!
光集め回れ!
Gather light and spin!

OP 2: Missing by Kylee

一人　来てみた　いつもの公園　
I visited the usual park alone
it's a feeling never felt
"Its a feeling never felt"
子供みたいに　風の音が怖くて
Like a child scared of the wind
帰り道走ったんだ
I ran the path home

窓の外は　広すぎる空　where are you now?
Outside the window the sky stretches out, "Where are you now"
(届いて)
(please reach)
いつか叶う願いなら　ねえ　神様　
When praying, Hey God
今すぐ叶えて　my wish
please grant it soon "my wish"

声が聞きたいよ　miss you　今逢いたいよ
I want to her your voice. "miss you" I want to see you now.
どうしてもう　明日を見てるの?
No matter what, will we see tomorrow?
逃したねって timing 簡単に言わないで
I missed it "timing" Don't say that easily
もう一度だけ
Just once more

大好きなのに it's too late ずっと前から
Even though its loved "It's too late" Much earlier
諦めても　過去に出来ないよ
I gave up but I can't do it in the past.
しょうがないって no way 簡単に決めないで
It can't be helped, "no way" Don't decide that so easily
もう一度だけ笑って
Just once more, smile again

ED 2: "My Hand is for Your Sake"/"僕の手は君の為に"　by Mass Alert

分かり合いたくて　本音でぶつかってきた
By wanting to understand each other we collided
君の涙も　笑顔もここにある　
Your tears and your smile are both here
どんな苦しみだってもう怖くない　二人ならどこまでも行ける
No matter what pain I'm not scared anymore, if its the two of us we can go anywhere
僕がひとりじゃない事　教えてくれたんだ
You taught me that I am not alone

君に合う為生まれきた　そんな言葉をつぶやいて度
I was born to meet you、When you mutter those words
不安は消えて　強さが心に灯る
My anxiety disappears and strength burns in my heart
ありがとう僕らしかわからない　合図で共に前に進むんだ
We knew nothing but gratitude and move forward with the signal
かけがえのない時に　刻み込め
Engrave that irreplaceable time

この場所から離れられない　同じ鼓動を感じて生きているから
We cannot be separated from this place because we live feeling the same pulse
守り切りたい　重ねてきた約束を
I want to hold on to that repeated promise
ありがとう僕らしかわからない　合図で共に前に進むんだ
We knew nothing but gratitude and move forward with the signal
かけがえのない時に　刻み込む
To engrave that irreplaceable time

Reaching for Tomorrow's Future: Kud Wafter Arrives

2010-06-29T12:11:00.001-07:00

As the title says, Kud Wafter arrived at my house today (about an hour ago?). Above is a simple shot showing everything in the package besides the DRM support serial card, technical manual and survey card. On the left we have all the discs in the package, the game disc, OST, and Rewrite trial edition. In the middle we have the box this all came inside of and a item serial card for AiSpace. Finally on the right side is my preorder bonus telephone card (50 call units), some promotional Weiβ Schwarz cards and the official guidebook. While not as thick as the book that came with the first-press of Little Busters! this is a perfectbound guidebook (50 pages) with dust jacket and includes sketches, an illustration gallery, and musical scores for vocal pieces.

So thats a short round up! I'll post more once I actually get into the game.

A rough translation of the Back Text:

A summer of living together with Kud.
Kudryavka Noumi and Riki Naoue are lovers,
In another world of Little Busters EX where that accident did not happen.
Summer break has begun and the Little Busters are returning home
Kud and Riki are left at the dormitory.
There has been an accident with the water supply at the boy's dormitory,
and the rooms cannot be used.
Kud suggested to destinationless Riki, "Right now I am recruiting a new roommate...". He replied "okay" with a nod.
From this began their secret cohabitation. A honeymoon while helping Kud with her summer vacation self-study and hiding from the other dorm inhabitants.

Where is the place those two are aiming for?

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. (LA Screening)

2010-06-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

This last Thursday my friend Aki and I went up to Los Angeles for a special showing of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの消失). Unfortunately for you all I am not the type to take a camera to a movie theater so I don't have any photos but read on for the even details!

The Event

Setting the actual movie aside for a bit, Bandai and the other sponsors set up quite a nice event at this unsuspecting mall theater. When we showed up at 6pm there was already a moderate queue. Though the event officially started at 7:30, the staff decided to begin the voice actor meet-and-greet/signing at 6:30 so we could wait inside the theater. All attendees recieved free movie posters signed in person by the dub voice actors Wendee Lee (Haruhi) and Crispin Freeman(Kyon), a raffle ticket, and a free copy of either the first english novel (the dreadfully ugly paperback) or the first manga volume courtesy of YenPress.

Rather than running ads or trailers for the pre-show entertainment Bandai showed the first two episodes of the recently completed season 2 dub, a pleasant surprise even if I despise dubs. At 7:30, (the actual starting time) the ASOS Brigade (Bandai's semi-viral marketing team) featuring Christina Vee (a popular fandubber/budding VA; again not my cup of tea) preformed a skit and a few of the songs (both in English and Japanese) with the accompanying videos on screen behind them. After this the movie finally ran (more on that below) and after the movie there was a raffle for Crunchyroll subscriptions (Aki won one :)) and the opportunity to get your poster signed by Christina Vee(from above) and Stephanie Sheh (The dub's Mikuru). Though not exciting, the final event feature was that attendees got atleast 5 hours of parking validation in the very expensive garage, longer than the usual validation given by the theater.

Just the guests, giveaways, prescreenings and parking credit alone were enough to warrant the 15$ admission fee (which sold out in 24 hours). This was a superbly handled event, especially for dub fans (and us sub fans got to see the movie subbed so no reason to feel shorted either). Especially since we combined this with a trip to Little Tokyo, the trip had all the makings of a convention (even overpriced concessions). Well done Bandai, well done.

The Movie

I don't want to say too much in fear of spoiling it, so I won't detail the plot beyond what the title gives away. It asks, what would happen if Haruhi completely disappeared one day and no-one besides Kyon remembers the world ever being otherwise? Obviously this movie is meant for fans of the TV series and even those who have seen season one (but not two) might be confused (luckily Bandai showed some of season two before the movie). As long as you fit this billing (and if you're reading this you probably do) Disappearance does not disappoint. Blessed with a longer than average running time (163 minutes) and a budget to match, it is a joy to watch. The story is compelling and hooks you in, I cannot remember the last time I have left a theater wanting to watch something again immediately. I rarely see the same movie at the cinema twice but if I could I would have bought a ticket for the next showing. I loved it.

The theatrical presentation was from an actual film print, with unfortunately white subtitles (a bit hard to see but unlikely to be the same as the future DVD). The translation was competent and the picture was clearly a step above the DVD video that was shown earlier. I have no technical complaints (even if I did they would be rather moot as this was a one-day event).

So that's that. Unfortunately for those who missed the showing, Bandai hasn't announced the movie's DVD release date yet ( I plan on preordering the DVD ASAP). However, season two went up for preorder recently (and i already reserved mine). Half of it is Endless Eight but the set price isn't bad considering the feature list:

Street Date: 2010/08/17

Price: $64.98 SRP (45$ @ amazon)

Language: Japanese Language Dialogue / English Language Dialogue / Optional English Subtitles

Bonus Features: Interactive Menus (Exciting!) Location Scouting Videos / Behind the Scenes of Aya Hirano’s Music Video (but not the music video?) / Endless Eight Prologue (because you really wanted more E8) /Special Event Video / Promo Videos / Commercials / Adventures of the ASOS Brigade Episodes / CD Tracks: Super Driver / Tomare!

So 14 (or 9 depending on your view of Endless Eight) episodes of anime and some sweet J-Pop for 45$? Seems like a good way to spend time while waiting for the Disappearance DVD :)

Special Post: Little Busters! Setting and Character Summary

2010-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Since I have been fangirling over LB so intensely, one of my fine readers and twitter followers suggested I make a spoiler-free post explaining the characters etc.While I am absolutely in love with LB and have read over both the game and this post for accuracy, please keep in mind I am not fluent in Japanese.

This is also a complimentary piece to my Little Busters review on Sleepless Nights.

For those unaware, Little Busters! (official website is Japanese-only) is an all-ages (realistically 16+) pure-love adventure game (visual novel) by the famous studio Key (makers of Kanon, Air, & Clannad). There is a translation project in process but I know little about it (and am not really interested in it). I admit this post is somewhat paradoxical as those who it is meant for cannot play the game. So rather than as a promotional tool, this is provided more as a spoiler-free alternative to Wikipedia for those who want to know more about it for any reason.

Plot and Setting

"Little Busters!" takes place at a co-ed boarding school (a "gakuen") in some small city in Japan and revolves around a group of childhood friends at the cusp of graduation. Wanting to have exciting memories of their school time, they decide to start playing grasslot baseball and search for classmates to join their team, the "Little Busters".

Characters: Location in picture is noted by area and hair color

Riki Naoe (center, black hair) : Riki is our protagonist He is a slender quiet boy with narcolepsy who is hesitant to assert himself. His parents died when he was young and he seems to have grown up without a family (he refers to a legal guardian at one point, suggesting he may be a ward of the state). After Riki's parents died he was invited to join Kyousuke's group, the "Little Busters!" which came to serve as a surrogate family for him. He is a second year student at the boarding school and likely 19 years old.

Kyousuke Natsume (top, brown hair) : Kyousuke is in some ways Riki's opposite. He is the optimistic and confident leader of the group, always coming up with outlandish activities that were likely inspired by manga (which he loves and collects). Probably 20 years old (the age of majority in Japan), Kyousuke is older than the other members and as a 3rd year student, in the midst of job hunting. It was his idea to start the baseball team. He is Rin's older brother and feels responsible for her.

Masato Inohara (top, black hair) : Masato is a cheerful bodybuilding fanatic and Riki's roommate. He joined the Little Busters before Riki and has been with him since childhood. Masato is not particularly smart and can be quite simple minded but he has a protective spirit and cares deeply about his friends. He has a rivalry with Kengo over who is stronger. He is a 2nd year student.

Kengo Miyazawa (top, gray hair) : Kengo is a serious minded member of the kendo club and also a 2nd year student. Though he is a close friend to the other original Busters members he is resistant to the idea of a baseball team, preferring to focus on his club activities. His looks make him quite popular with female students.

Komari Kamikita (middle, blonde hair) : Komari is a cheerful second year student and one of the first to join the new Busters. She is a typical girly girl who enjoys sweets, picture books, and frilly clothing. Komari isn't very good at baseball but she works hard and enjoys the team. She is the best english speaker of the group. Komari is featured prominently in the promotional materials of the game.

Rin Natsume (center, brown hair) : Rin is Kyousuke's younger sister (by one year) and a member of the original Busters. Rin loves and talks to cats but is extremely socially awkward, she doesn't have any friend outside the original Busters when the game begins. It is this which lead Kyousuke to ask Riki to find female members for the baseball team. She can get quite loud and violent especially with Masato; Riki thought she was a boy at first because of her rough manner. Rin has many of the typical symptoms of Asperger's syndrome but any diagnosis is unmentioned. She is the main heroine.

Haruka Saigusa (middle, purple hair) : Haruka is a second year student from a different class. She is a prank-loving trouble maker and often running away from the Public Morals Committee (lead by Kanata). Haruka joins the team easily and always jokes around with the other members.

Kudryavka Noumi (bottom, white hair) : Kudryavka (Kud or Kudo for short) is a 1/4 Japanese (3/4th intentionally unspecified country with a space program and civil unrest) new student who has returned from living abroad. She is a year younger than the others (likely 18) but has joined the second year class due to transfer credits. She is close to the guard dogs on campus and is quite goofy (often exclaiming "wa-fu!". Kudo loves Japanese culture and is quite knowledgeable about it, she also loves English but she is terrible at it. Kudo is the fan favorite character (because she is the loli >.>) and is getting her own spin-off "Kud Wafter".

Mio Nishizono(bottom, blue hair) : Mio is a quiet, serious girl who prefers to sit in the courtyard and read books. She always carries a parasol and joins the team only as the manager. Despite her reserved manner, Mio has a sharp tongue and can be quite clever. She is a second year student.

Yuiko Kurugaya (middle, black hair) : Yuiko is a mature but eccentric second year student. She is smart and outgoing, happily sharing in Kyousuke's visions of grand adventure. Yuiko often makes sexually suggestive comments towards Riki or the other girls but she also has a gentle side.

Side Characters (promoted to heroines in EX)

Kanata Futaki : Kanata is the leader of the public morals committee and has a difficult relationship with Haruka. She thinks the Little Busters are trouble makers.

Sasami Sasasegawa : Sasami is the captain of the girl's softball team and is worshiped by her team members. She is Rin's rival and they fight almost daily. She objects to the Little Busters using the school's field. She acts and speaks like a rich ojousama-type but has a crush on Kengo.

A loss to our community...

2010-05-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Though I have been working on longer posts, I find myself updating this blog unexpectedly today. Some of you may remember Champange, a Japanese doujin circle I'm a fan of and have mentioned here before (see tagged posts). I had just ordered their latest work from Himeya, and that is what brought me to the website. An update on their homepage was added last week with some bad news. It seems that their programmer Furamen (literal romanization) passed away in a traffic accident. While this is a great loss to us fans, my heart is with his friends and family who surely are suffering in this difficult time. That being said, the circle has decided to continue producing works, feeling he would not want them to stop because of him. You can read the post here (in Japanese of course).

Those interested in the circle's products can buy them at the English DLsite. Most works do not require significant Japanese knowledge. Titles are released on CD first via the usual doujin shops but can be found at Himeya, of course doujin titles are not reprinted often so only the latest titles can be bought on CD. Personally, my top recommendation would be Little Royale EX, a fighting action game (the extra yen is worth it over the regular version for the save mechanism).

"Is Pokemon anime?" Musings on fandom

2010-05-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

Tokyopop, a company that used to be a large and successful manga publisher, is now making a reality show about anime fans. This prompted me to think about the fandom at large and naturally being the web 2.0 Gen Y label-of-the-day nerd I am, write a blog post:

This is about the anime fandom as a whole NOT anime itsself, or individual fans. Yes you are all special little snowflakes and noone fits the generalization perfectly just like no-one looks like Betty Crocker.

The first anime I watched? Pokemon.

So lets start with Pokemon, its a good spring board right? Probably the most internationally successful anime ever and a keystone of a franchise so hugely popular, that Nintendo has set up a multi-national affiliate company just to manage the brand (株式会社ポケモン).

Yet the obscure, Japan-only late-night show Kodomo no Jikan likely occupies more space in the collective consciousness of the anime fandom than Pokemon does. Its not that anime fans don't know about Pokemon or dislike Pokemon its just treated as something related to the fandom but not really a part of it. Anime forums are not full of screaming fans demanding the lately uncut episodes or even subbed episodes. Where are the simulcasts? The box sets? (Pokemon has its own separate fandom that would appreciate such things but they are more video-game focused)

These things are not going to happen because fans and publishers alike do not consider Pokemon as "anime".

And when publishers do attempt to market these popular franchises as anime (rather than as non-origin specific cartoons) strong hatred emerges from the fandom. Naruto fans are universally lambasted, YuGiOh and Bleach receive similar treatments. Though still considered anime to some extent, one must admit any show that has shown a chance of success in English has become excluded and hated by many fans on a matter of principle.

So what is the anime fandom actually a fan of? Anime as a whole, some particular subgenre, "the good stuff", or something else entirely? What makes the shows we blog, tweet, or write about on facespace/geocities different from the other animated shows Japan (or any where else) produces?

To me it seems the anime fandom is desperately trying to be "not mainstream" without being freaky. Like Hot Topic or Lady Gaga it enjoys a comfortable "rebel" status without straying too far into actual taboos. And in this quest to carve out a niche it has become so over bogged with group spirit and identity that it has become something that exists to consume its self. Anime conventions are full of non-anime related events. Maid cafes, costuming workshops, rum parties, dances, art shows, webcomics, video game rooms, lan parties, board game workshops, concerts, and more. These are not bad things (I enjoy many of them) but these are also exceedingly NOT anime-related. While some variety is fine, one could easily go to an anime con tomorrow, spend the entire day there and not do anything anime related at all.

When you go to an anime con there is a coming together reunion feeling to it; much stronger than at other cons/meetups I've been to. Its mostly pleasant. People are nice to each other for the most part, they see each other as more than random strangers. This is a good thing but I wonder if fans are addicted to this sense of belonging and group spirit more than they are to the media it supposedly stems from.

I don't hate the fandom, but I barely even consider myself part of it anymore. I purchase the same DVDs, watch the same shows, but I don't particularly feel an attachment to any of these people. I dislike most of the individuals I've met at cons, they tend to be loud and rude. In fact, I only started following other anime fans on twitter recently and was suprised to find that I liked talking to these people (unlike in my other interactions with the fandom). Maybe its the 140 character limit but I've managed to avoid the worst offenders that fill forums and con halls. I can discuss anime without being reminded how exclusive and special I am for "being a fan". Its refreshing.

I like discussing shows with others. But do we need such strong fandom spirit?

90% Little Busters! Roundup: Goods, News, and Anime recomendations

2010-04-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

I was going to call this a general roundup but then I realized it was 90% about LB -_- Scroll past jailbait Kyousuke to get to the non-LB stuff

Not much of interest has been happening to me as of late. I have been working on some long posts about aspects of Little Busters that will end up here if/when they get finished.

I preordered Kud Wafter with the yet-unannounced omake. I was waiting for getchu's decision (they supply himeya) before ordering but then erogeshop had a coupon sale. I hope I don't get burned. -_-

Aoishima replaced my Komari mobip after 2 months of exchange negotiation. Not bad service (considering my terrible Japanese...) but her joints aren't very good on this one either. They are cute but I can't recommend the mobip series at this time.

I bought the LB-EX artbook (despite not having played the EX part yet). Even so I'm considering getting the other one as well (which is what I was trying to avoid) because it seems to have bigger versions of some favorite CG and illustrations.

----End obsessed LB otaku section----

With that artbook, I also got the fifth Nanatsuiro Drops manga (recommended since its a fairly easy read) and the new JLPT spec book. This new listening section could be a problem but I haven't done a mock run-through yet. I'm pretty good at listening from playing LB though (see how I worked it in? xD) the grammar section is what is going to kill me.

For my birthday I got the Fate/Stay Night DVDs. I might review the set later since most reviews are by people who haven't played the game. Would that be worthwhile?

Animewise, I've been watching a lot of CrunchyRoll since they went legit. Particularly I want to recommend Time of Eve and Natsume Yujincho which are both fairly overlooked series that are quite deep and entertaining. (I've also been watching Heroman but that is something else entirely >.>)

I'm sure this post reads as a little aimless. -_- Please comment on what things you would like more in depth posts about!

Do you remember 'Childhood'?

2010-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

The irreplaceable ones existed there...

I finally finished Little Busters!, it was quite a journey indeed. I'll be doing some more CG collection and need to get some bonus endings but I am through the refrain/true route and finally know the whole story. As many reviews will tell you, this game is truly about that last true route. A wonderful story is buried in under the guise of a galge, and you shouldn't be disappointed if you play though it.

Kud Wafter

2010-04-04T21:34:00.001-07:00

I'm a bit late with the news but Key is making a fandisc to Little Busters! titled "Kud Wafter" (assumedly a parody of the title "Tomoyo After"). I don't care for the opening theme much but you can't decide for your self (warning: cam rip)

So, as you can guess, its a Kudo epilogue fandisc, probably with lots of H (lol). Its pretty much set that I will get this barring natural/economic disasters.

But I hear you asking, "how can you get this if you haven't finished LB! yet?"

I have been playing Little Busters! of and on for three years (I can't believe its been that long...). The only reason I'm not done yet is that I keep taking breaks between routes, that amount of Japanese reading is exhausting and at first especially I could only do it short bursts. Furthermore in the middle, when I had finished my favorite girl's routes and was left to struggles though the rest to unlock Rin's route and the Refrain, I found my self not playing very often (that and life issues).

However more recently it has been easier to do and my pace has picked up considerably. I don't feel I misunderstood the routes I read earlier but I read much faster and with less reliance on rikaichan now. Still nothing near fluent but I can manage 80% of the voiced lines without using rikai (My listening skills far exceed my reading skills so Riki's lines are very difficult for me T_T) In this weekend alone I finished the Haruka and Rin routes, unlocking the Refrain (true path).

So despite my speed issues, I have been enjoying LB very much and haven't given up at all :)

Narcissu and Rapelay

2010-03-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

What a combo we had today:

Narcissu 2 Released (the news item I wrote for VisualNovels)

After nearly three years of effort, the English edition of 2007 doujin work "Narcissu side 2nd" has been released. Narcissu 2 is the highly anticipated follow up to the 2005 doujin novel Narcissu by Stage-Nana. This author-sanctioned release contains two translations of the 2nd game and three translations of the original Narcissu. The game is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux/Unix as well as as a stand-alone OS virtual machine dubbed "Operation Setsumi".

More information can be found on the official site.

CNN revives Rapelay drama

CNN proves they will be anyone's puppet if it gets them a headline. Kotaku has a good article on this. I would rage here for a page and a half but Narcissu 2 just came out.

Black Rock Shooter Nendoroid and Figma

2010-03-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

While most of us have already blown major bucks on the 1/8th scale Black Rock Shooter (my self included), only to then be tempted with the ~~budget~~ black blade version (which I skipped =P), I could not pass up the chance to get some other incarnations of this character. Indeed, these two figures are the fastest I've preordered (from reservation up to ordering).

She makes such a kyooooot nendoroid! I love the bonus face (lower left corner).

I just like figmas. ^_^ (I suspect I'll need to get a DL:stage if I want to hold her gun out?)

Expect more when these ship in July!

Miku-4 (mikuyon)

2010-03-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

Miku-4, pronounced mikuyon, is a doujin 4-panel comic by Nagimiso that took the net by storm some time back. This comic has very few words but tells a pretty long story of Hatsune Miku's (the vocaloid character) coming of age.

I got the tankoban bound edition at BookOff! this week. This version varies slightly from the web edition but the majority is the same. (I recommend getting this version if you can because the art is much larger and nicer.)

You can read it here (some Japanese).

Goods round up! Chocolates and Kitty-chan (also Vocaloid puchi nendoroids)

2010-03-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

I received some packages from J-List these last few weeks and now that its all arrived I took some photos. ^_^ The vocaloid puchi nendoroids are from Rising Sun Creations but J-List did carry them as well.

Luka is happy to show off the Kit-Kat "Pass the Test!" mug set. Kit-Kats are associated with passing tests in Japan (kit-kat sounds like kitto katsu; you will surely win/pass); also the term "Pass the test" (gokaku) can also mean pentagon so the mug is five sided.

Rin is peering at the included sample of Nescafe'. Instant coffee can be amazingly bad so I haven't had the nerve to try it yet. Starbucks Via is pretty good though.

Saihate Miku is examining one of the wackier items I've ordered (J-List specializes in these): Sexy Dynamite I love Oppai Chocolates, which are little oppai shaped white chocolates and come in a fitting torso case.

Rin is stealing the scene again.

Kudo likes the chocolates too ;). (NSFW? I shrank it just in case.)

This is a miniature strap type Hello Kitty omamori amulet intended to raise one's grades (between this and the KitKat set I should be OK right??). I took the bell off because it is hanging from my iPhone.

These are going to my mom, both are also strap type omamori. the kitty charm is for traffic safety and the other is a feng sui happiness charm.

This one is a full size general luck Kitty omamori.

I also bought a cute 3D Hello Kitty ice tray. Very sturdy feeling and surprisingly easy to use. :)

A very cold but cute Hello Kitty. She has a nose and such but ice doesn't photograph well.

A cute bunny friend of Hello Kitty. According to the official iPhone app her name is Cathy. (the more famous My Melody has a hood on.)

Thoughts of Brass Restoration and Busy-ness

2010-03-14T14:56:00.001-07:00

Hello loyal readers, due to life changes I haven't been updating here faithfully. (I've been active on twitter, its not like I've left the fandom or anything ;) ) This is the first of hopefully many posts I will be making.

After blowing my mind by finishing Fate/Stay Night last month I've taken a respite from games and have been catching up on anime now that legal streaming is taking off strongly. I'll blog about some of those series soon but today I am back to visual novels. Actually, back to a game I gave up on some time ago: Brass Restoration. I got to a bad end and just stopped playing. I don't mean that too suggest it was boring. Rather, I related to it much too closely.

The plot revolves around an amateur musician, Ryo, who recently lost his arm in a train accident. Without his arm he cannot play music any longer. The music club members, beg him to come and help, visit, and be part of the fold again and this is the main conflict of the story. Now, I have both my arms, I'm typing with two hands right now, but it was this "coming back into the fold" part that really bothered me. I quit violin after going to lessons and playing for about a decade or so. Its not that I hated violin, I just didn't have the desire to spend the time time to practice faithfully and didn't feel it was right to my teacher to go if I wasn't going to be a diligent student. After all this was a hobby. Everyone I knew begged me to "start again" even people like my (now amicably ex-) boyfriend begged me to play even though they had complained about my practices taking too much time before. My sister harassed me for "being a quitter" as well. Later when I actually wanted to fool around with music again (not take lessons just play for fun) I knew the drama would start a fresh once my bow hit the strings.

When I was in Ryo's mind and all these people are begging him to "come back" it stirred up that old drama. Now obviously Ryo actually still wants to be a musician and all that, he had his chance taken, he didn't get a choice. These are not parallel situations but the story was effective enough to stir those feelings of resentment and I think this is probably a sign of good writing.

That ended up as quite a personal rant ^^; I'm giving BR another shot, if your interested get the game here (free).

There She Is!!

2010-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I'm years late on this one. But if you haven't seen this amazing work of Korean animation check it out. This is a quite cute love story though it take a serious turn around part 3. Do watch all 5 steps, as a complete series this work really is much more than the simple sum of its parts.

If the below tags don't work for you, you can watch the videos at this site. Due to age, the author provided code calls on legacy HTML :(

iCame, iSaw, iPad

2010-01-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

Ok you can go read about the iPad on Apple.com/iPad if you have been in a cave and don't know what it is. Millons of bloggers has described what it does and I'm not going to repeat them (except worse) here.

Here's what I want to know before March:

Textbooks! Steve said "We are very excited about textbooks as well" This is the primary appeal the iPad has to me. How can I get my hundreds of dollars and tens of pounds of textbooks on this little device. If not from Apple, CourseSmart has promised tablet textbook support and even made a mock up. Textbooks are the main reason I would want a iPad.
Tethering: I pay AT&T 30$ a month for 3G on my iPhone. Let me tether a iPad to it if your not willing to allow full computers. Preferably tethering over Wi-Fi or bluetooth so I don't need to blow an extra 130$ on a 3G chip. Hell I'll plug the iPad into the phone if that's what it takes.
iTunes Extras/LPs: Just make 'em work on the iPad. There is no excuse.
Student Discount?????????? Pretty Pwease??

To be honest multitasking isn't a huge dealbreaker for me because I would buy the iPad for educational use. Its probably good the device doesn't let me have 50 windows/programs open when I'm trying to study.

Some features I think would be cool to have in the iPad (but don't count on it):

Plug your iPhone into the iPad and play media off the phone. Why should I carry two portable devices with my full library on them? this would be great to play someone else's iPod on the iPads larger screen easily.
Flash? Please?
Function as a secondary monitor to one's mac when docked. Its a big beautiful screen and this would sell tons of docks.
LogMeIn for iPad. Like LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone but on a useable screen size.
It should make toast. Apple devices do get very hot so this is not as far-fetched as you might hope.
hulu. Seriously, make an app hulu, just make a frigging app. I am the point where I will PAY for it.
The rumored apple tv show subscription would be nice too.

Angel Beats! Teaser Streamed

2009-12-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

ムービー｜Angel Beats! 公式サイト - アニプレックス

Finally an Angel Beats! Trailer with animation. Looks good :D

World is Mine Miku: Brown Frame ver.

2009-12-23T12:37:00.001-08:00

A lovely lady arrived at the post office this week. Please forgive the crappy iPhone photography, my camera is a state away. This is a 1/8th PVC version of Miku from the World is Mine PV by Supercell/ryo.

Even if you don't play the video above, the snapshot gives you a pretty good idea what this figure is supposed to look like. Audio quality on that video is pretty terrible compared to the CD anyhow. I did not like World is Mine at first but then I listened and realized how silly the lyrics are and it fits really well. Its a really fun song so I was quite excited to get this figure.

The box has one window and opens up from the front.

The box is simple, elegant, and has images of both frame versions on the sides. Stickers on the top and bottom indicate which color frame is included and the UPC for that version.

Miku and the frame are housed in completely separate layers of plastic.

I got the Brown Frame version. The frame is made of ABS plastic and has a nice satin finish (except the wood-like part which looks like wood, duh.) I really like the headphones laying near the corner. The song name and "supercell" are printed on in silver but can't be read in this shot.
Miku sticks on with magnets so the base is pleasantly clean. The design is quite sturdy, she will stay on quite firmly if you want to hang her on the wall. I even turned her upside down.

The world's number one princess (according to her anyhow ;) ). The iPhone really doesn't do her justice but she does look as good as the sample images promised.

The first thing I noticed is how BIG this set is. She is normal 1/8th but the post and base make her quite large. She draws attention, just like a princess. The frame is not flat but molded so she sinks into it. This also means she looks silly laying on smooth surfaces like one's table.
From the side, you can see how her back arches up a bit and her feet just barely rest on the frame. Her socks are smooth and shiny. White pantsu.

She can sit on edges but isn't very sturdy. The first photo is from this same pose. Her face is rather devious isn't it?

In short, I'm quite happy with this figure. The colors are just fantastic together, unfortunately my iPhone and bad lighting don't show that. I really hate the natural (light colored) frame version (not pictured since I don't have it) but check them both out before you buy.

With the frame she feels a lot more like a piece of artwork than a toy (as my mother calls them) and is a quite elegant way to show off your fandom (said mother actually liked this one). No Miku fan should pass this one up.

UPDATE:
Size wise she's almost as tall as a 15inch laptop screen. Here you can see her on my 15 MacbookPro (easel stand is at an angle over the keyboard)

Cute Things looking Cute

2009-12-14T18:50:00.001-08:00

Also, World is Mine Miku is on her way so expect a post soon.

Education Rant

2009-12-09T23:44:00.000-08:00

You have no right to a formal college education.

There I said it. Bring out the pitchforks. Its a hot topic in CA nowadays for student to demand the state continue paying much of their formal education. They're wrong. The state of CA made sure they got to adulthood reasonably educated and with life habits that come from school work. Now its their choice on how to grow them (or not).

You have a human right to information for self study.

Most likely this is via the internet. Maybe the books at the library. Maybe you work a job where you can hear another language or you post pictures for feedback on a website. Maybe you learn programming from a website or history from a old textbook. You do NOT need a professor to learn. You do not have a RIGHT to be taught by a professor. Your high school teachers did not teach you so you continue to rely on others, they taught to to be an effective human so start applying those skills.

I go to a private university because it is more efficient and enjoyable to learn in a formal environment (particularly that of my chosen school). I am majoring in Japanese studies and would like to do a 3-2 MBA program. My parents and I feel that the private formal environment is more efficient and enjoyable and that it is worth the cost. State students ought pay because they feel the formal environment is better for them than self study but they do not want to pay for the differences of a private school.

ALL students can self study if they do not feel their education is worth paying others for or if they can't pay/don't want loans. I started studying Japanese in middle school or early high school (don't remember) by buying a 10$ kana book and using David Hallgren's Japanese page. After a while of this when I began moving on to kanji, my parents decided to send me to a private Saturday class in Japanese. I got up at 7:30 every Saturday for years to go to a 4 hour class in Japanese language and culture. I love that school, I am grateful for them. While they didn't push students very hard, a motivated student could learn quite a lot and I passed JLPT 4-kyu last December (took it on a whim). I placed into Japanese 331 for freshman college and took JLPT 3-kyu this year. I won't say the formal education didn't help me (it did) but the motivation that made this happen can be applied to self-study.

Only you can better yourself. If you don't like the system, stop relying on it and study on your own.

Preorder Hell

2009-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to post more but so much of my otaku funds have been tied up in two preorders that keep being delayed. Rumor has it that World is Mine Miku and Black Rock Shooter are coming out on the 10th and 12th respectively. (Note: AmazonJapan says 12th and 22nd) I'm so excited!!!!!

I'm not dead yet.

2009-11-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm just busy. And cold. (I can't believe most of the world has grown up and lives with so much god damned weather!)

I recommended you play Canabalt instead of reading any more blog posts. It is awesome. Excellent, addicting game with great music.

More posts to come when I have stuff to post. ^^;

Mana, Heath, and Blood Oh my!

2009-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

Got a major stock up on energy drinks. Mana and the like tend to be verrry expensive but the kick is quite good (stronger than zipfizz). Monster/etc doesn't do crap except fill me up (though it tastes OK). Bawl's isn't bad but again, heavy on the stomach.

They included some freebies like a comic and stickers. Small box is appreciated since I gotta carry it around and back over a bridge (Amazon take note!).

The goods, I ordered a 4-pack of the new Blood drink but haven't tried it yet. Twice the size and half the caffeine makes it less alluring than the others but still light on the stomach. I really wanna hang these around for Halloween XD. In the Health box is 6 Mana and 6 Health (not just Health!) Mana is better than Health but both are nice for different moods.

The cute wittle bottles of 160mg of caffeine each!

Mana and Health are two different drinks besides different taste and color. Mana has more B12 and an enzyme mix, assumingly to help you digest faster so you feel lighter (unlike what some reviewers claim, they WON'T make you sick, I take 100x the amount of lactase in Mana multiple times a day. XP). Health has different vitamin mix most notably is that there is no niacin/B3 (some rare folks get harmless but painful itching and flushed after having mana because of niacin). Both have no sugar which means no crash/jitters. The feeling of each is different so try both.

These really are small drinks

I'll post more on Blood later when I try it :)

Miracle*Train: Anime hits a new low

2009-10-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

Watch Episode 1 (legal simulcast)

Train stations (not trains but the stations) come to life as beautiful boys to help solve the problems of young women. I don't know what to say about this. Usually when an anime involves a single girl surrounded by 6 men on a empty subway train its just chikan gang-rape and, no matter how distasteful one finds that, it makes way more sense than Miracle Train ever could. Dull plot-of-the-week styling and random train trivia (Roppongi is the deepest station on the Oedo line....so what?) are weaved with a thin premise. Why do stations have to manually search inside stations (themselves) to find a dog? How can Roppongi-san be running around inside Roppongi-eki anyhow? Stupid etchi shows are stupid but at least they have a goal and actually meet it.

I might keep watching this just to see if it can fall any lower....

Black*Rock Shooter Pilot Edition (thoughts and lots of screenshots!)

2009-10-01T18:40:00.001-07:00

I am in love with BRS (The PVC should be shipping this month) so don't expect much objectivity here. The DVD comes with a 16pg. artbooklet, a CD of 2M Mix (both Miku and instrumental versions), and of course the DVD with the 90 second promo video in three flavors, original/Instrumental, 2M Mix (Hatsune Miku), and 2M Mix Instrumental. 2M mix stands up as a instrumental piece better than the original but I don't have much preference between vocal versions, the original is beautiful but 2M mixes with the sound effects of the anime much better. If I was just going to listen to BRS I'd choose the original but for this DVD I generally prefer 2M vocal :)

So here is some comparisons to the (longer) original PV (above):

The obvious difference between the openings is BRS-san is not in the picture ^^;

BRS-san with her sword in the checkered tunnel. No total match on this shot but shes obviously moving and jumping so that's to be expected :)

Now for some original shots! Part of me thinks they should get Saki Fujita to play BRS-san because we all associate this work so closely with Miku.

Magical Girl Transformation GO!

Normally, I would take case shots and whatever but its pretty typical packaging. If you want to see the artbook Amazon.co.jp still has this amazing disc in stock (and blu-ray versions too if thats your thing).

NOTE: I reported this disc was Region free since it uh... says region ALL on it. And on the case. But my internal drive is reporting region 2. I didn't notice yesterday because I was importing the CD from my internal (R1) while watching the movie on my external (R2). Sorry Folks

ATTENTION! MS finally made a decent ad!

2009-09-26T22:37:00.001-07:00

Its true, Microsoft has actually made a advertisement that is enjoyable for the RIGHT reasons. Witness this miracle above.

Clover DVD & Komari plush

2009-09-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

A long awaited CD Japan box finally made it's way to my new residence! Komari was delayed a couple times so this took quite a while to get!. The remastered CLOVER DVD looks fantastic and is highly recommended since its fairly cheap (but short).

Here we have, Komari from Little Busters! in plush form, the 1999 Clover OVA finally released to the public on DVD (it was shown before the first CardCaptor Sakura movie), and Vocalostar : a top rated Vocaloid collection.

Clover Front

Clover Inside. Fairly simple with a warning on the menu acting strange with certain players.

SHES SO KYOOOT.

Komari meets Komari x3

CD Front

CD Inside

Here be Happy Words

2009-09-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's latest ad is an awkward blend of cute little girls, unicorns, marshmallows, hard rock, and a little dash of Windows.

Aired during last night's football game. This ad does not seem to appeal to the sports crowd but hey what do I know. I didn't spend big bucks on this. Actually, it freaks me out.

BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER PROJECT

2009-09-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER PROJECT

BRS Anime.

HELL YEAH!

With all my Supercell loving, its needless to say I ordered the DVD version. Money's not east but its BRS!

Post is late because of moving. Sorry all >_<

Why people Really buy a Mac.

2009-08-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

A lot of reasons are thrown around on why people by macs:

Speed
Reliability
Sexiness
Justin Long
Viruses, Lack of
User Interface
1 package
creative power
Right click is the work of Satan
Vista
64 bit
It works
to be cool
Thought out design
iPods

But the real reason is:

Photo Booth.

And yeah I did this whole thing to post a Photo Booth shot of my kitty. Isn't she kyoot? :3

For those who don't know, Photo Booth is a app included w/ OS X that lets you take snapshots with your webcam and even has stupid effects (if one wants) :)

Obitsu Body for Sumomo and packing to Move

2009-08-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a while! Entirely my own fault but life has been hectic...

At ComicCon I got Sumomo a posable Obitsu body. While this isn't as nice plastic as the Pure Neemo bodies (which are PVC) it is much much more posable. Shes been sitting on my desk for a while now ^_^

I recently changed her back to her regular uniform. I think this body makes her look older...

On another note, I'm moving to a dorm. I can't take all my figures so I've boxed about 75% up (and will box/cover the rest soon) so far to keep them safe and clean. (I don't have the box for older figures like my Sumomo nendoroid or Primula nendoroid and 1/8th so they are in the mighty mouse and dokimajo boxes) I'm still deciding who to take...

supercell : Months later, still great.

2009-08-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

supercell web

With anything it is real easy to absolutely love it at first but then realize its only average after the so called "honeymoon phase"

Supercell's first album isn't one of those things. This album still blows my mind on a regular basis. (That I can't spell album still blows my mind on a regular basis. Yay, spell check!). If you don't have it yet GO GET IT.

On a tangentially related note, my Komari plush was delayed another month so my entire CDJapan order was delayed so I'm not getting Vocalostar (another Miku CD) for a while yet.

女性だが、こまりんは俺の嫁！！！

SUGURI Perfect Edition

2009-08-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

SUGURI Perfect Edition

My latest time suck :)

Anyhow, Suguri is a hella hard shoot em' up game and Acceleration of Suguri is a one on one fighting game (with similar flying and projectiles). Both of these are in the Suguri Perfect Edition as well as some other goodies (expansions and soundtracks). AoS also features net play. Both games have fully translated interfaces as you can see so no worries. The soundtracks are worth loading to one's iPod. Trance X3

Really quite fun stuff from a new doujin game translator Rockin Android. I met these guys at SDCC and they're all super nice people so give the game a shot :)

劇場版『Fate / stay night』Movie Version

2009-07-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

劇場版『Fate / stay night』オフィシャルサイト

Yeeep, Looks like Unlimited Blade Works but I just barely started UBW my self so don't count too much in my opinion.

Still could be promising :)

American Live-Action Movie of CLAMP's Clover?!

2009-07-26T00:55:00.000-07:00

Dark Horse, Universal Negotiating on Clover Movie - Anime News Network

WTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTFWTF

ARE WE THINKING OF THE SAME BOOK?

THAT CLOVER?

Nevermind that CLAMP supposedly has 2 more volumes to go with it or that its 3 separate storylines that interweave (but aren't intended to be read chronologically). Nevermind the SHORTNESS of it all.

HOW could this work at as a movie?

I have the music-video-esque short anime on order so at first I thought this was "DH is releasing Clover movie" (the previously existing one) because that would make SLIGHTLY more sense.

But not really.

I should have gone to this panel....

Daniel Radcliffe is offically an Awesome Person

2009-07-21T19:43:00.001-07:00

First sorry I haven't updated a lot. Work, and school planning and laziness. Sorry all.

I've always enjoyed the Harry Potter movies but I tend to reserve judgement on the actors. I read about Radcliffe in TIME and Parade and thought he seemed like a nice enough dude but this cinches his role as an Awesome Person.

That's how celebrities should be! Be considerate to your fans! Especially ones with such pure intentions! Kudos to him and best of luck with life after Potter.

From Topless Robot which is written by the only good writer at ANN.

Yoshinoya follow up: Really we're anime fans too

2009-07-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Ms. (name removed)
I reported this to the Mgr. and the employee is also into anime. Maybe she could have communicated this better but in any case, please accept our sincerest apologies.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future.

Thank you for choosing Yoshinoya and have a nice day.

Maybe I am a cynical bastard who blogs at midnight from an iPod about last weeks email but I really don't buy this at all. It is a proper and correct response on Yoshinoya's part but when I meet an anime fan (especially at work) I say "oh I like that series too" or "oh you're an anime fan? I've been wondering about that series." not " hey you're an otaku aren't you?". Even excusing the negative connations of the word it's rude. I wouldn't say "hey a Mac user" I would say "Cool. I like macs too." or just "nice computer".

Insomnia and manners aside I really crave some beef bowl. Yum.

Region 2 Drive GET!

2009-07-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

My apple default drive is in perfect condition for warranty sake and I now have a spiffy Lite-On eSAU208-11 DVD burner for 65$ + tax. Its an expensive rape fee to pay just to watch legally acquired discs but having two drives for disc copying is nice. Reads fine off 1 USB port and even has a data pass through connector.

Oh and it does LightScribe which I love but I probably have to go Windows for that. (Maybe not) Came with some Windows software too (I'll never use it but)

This was a gamble as the box said Windows Windows Windows but it was a Lite-On and not badly priced so I took the risk (and kept the receipt!).

Now to rewatch all my R2 anime that I had to acquire crappy fansubs for.

Societal Impressions of Otaku, Gyudon, and Saikano Ultimate Edition

2009-07-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

SOME CONTEXT : If you understand otaku, oteiku and all that just skip down to the main point

Here in America, Otaku has two meanings. The first is a "badge of honor" positive happy title for a anime fan. Used like : "OMG I'm such an otaku!!!!! I watch 50 episodes a week!". Cartoon network and shonen jump create many of these fans. Those people annoy me but are generally harmless and a lot are good people on the inside. Hereby referred to as oteiku because a lot of them simply can't pronounce otaku.

The other meaning is closer to the Japanese one : a nerdy introverted person who spends a lot on thier interests and likely has encyclopedic knowledge on thier favorite fandoms. Often having to try to explain their purchases to confused non-otaku friends and learns to keep quiet around non-otaku because explaining gets old. Stereotyped as socially-inept and a failure in life (not true in many many cases!) and close to the virgin DnD comic book nerd of American lore. The book/film Densha Otoko shows this well. Commonly but not exclusively used for anime fandoms. You can be a military otaku or a train otaku or any type of otaku your passion leads you to. Not a badge of honor: a fairly negative term.

For the sake of this blog I'll note Akiba-kei, Akihabara-type. A subset of otaku that hang around in Akihabara and like anime/games/etc. I prefer the term Akiba-kei when describing myself because it is more specific, less negative, and avoids possibility of confusion with oteiku.

THE MAIN POINT

I went to Book Off with Aki and I got the Saikano Live Action Ultimate Edition DVD. It will probably suck but I can't buy the standard edition for Saikano. I love it. Brilliant series. Aki bought a Junjo Romantica Boy's Love artbook (18+; Nice art ^_^). Then we went to Yoshinoya because it was a) right behind bookoff b)cheap c)not a burger. Aki takes the artbook inside and is paging through it while I order food. She's talking to me about the art when a lady employee walks behind our cashier:

Lady Employee : "Oh! Otaku! Shes a Japanese Otaku!"

Us: "........................"

Cashier: "Oh they're otaku. You're an otaku aren't you??"

We just kinda freeze at this point. They continue giggling or whatever (its hazy)

Me: " Uh... Yeah I'm an otaku... ^^;" *tries to laugh along and holds up Haruhi wallet* "Here's the money."

*gets change and sit down*

Yeaaaah.... the staff up right up laughed at us. For an artbook. An no it wasn't a "hey you like that stuff too?" kind of thing. I've gotten that at bookoff and its very different (and nice to see other eroge fans! :D). This was more of a "lets make fun of the stupid people" thing. Right to our faces, not in the breakroom later, but "oh they won't mind! if we talk about them while they try to buy lunch!". I don't think I've ever gotten worse customer service anywhere. I've been treated with more respect when getting lunch in cosplay.

But its Yoshinoya so I'll go back XP

UPDATE: Email customer service is gonna open a cup of whoop ass. After this post, I just forwarded it to them and said I like beef bowl. XD (cause its so good!)

Dear Ms. [name removed]:

Thank you for contacting Yoshinoya America, Inc.

I apologize for any inconvenience. It will be reported to the Store Manager at Kearny Mesa, as well as the District Manager right away so they can take the necessary precautions to prevent this from happening again.

We appreciate your feedback to continually improve our products and services.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future.

Thank you for choosing Yoshinoya and have a nice day.

[name removed]
Customer Relations Specialist
Yoshinoya America, Inc.
customerrelations@yoshinoyausa.com
[phone number removed]

Doll Cosplay

2009-06-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sumomo's new clothes arrived today!

I'm annoyed with HobbySearch lying about the shipping charges. They say they charge by a provided weight chart. According to that chart these clothes weigh 1500g/3.3lb which cost 3200 yen to mail. The package says it weights 203 grams and cost 1200 yen to mail. I want my 2000yen back. I think someone made a innocent mistake because the customs form says "1500g" as well. I've ordered from HS before and the shipping price was accurate to their chart.

UPDATE: HobbySearch gave me 2000 points "store credit" to fix the shipping problem the same day I sent off my email. I'm satisfied with that :)

The package is simple with Kudo on the front (Resinya sells a Kudo head).

The clothes laid out. Its all very nice especially the skirt fabric. Fairly accurate costume overall.

Sumomo has a Azone Pure Neemo Advance body while this was made (I think) for the more posable obitsu body which has different proportions. I hope to get a obitsu body soon. The posablity would also make her easier to dress. Her thighs keep the skirt fairly high on her body.

Here you can get an idea of the accuracy compared to Koto's very excellent Rin PVC figure.

"How do I look?"

Overall I am happy with this costume despite the high price tag (4343yen + EMS shipping). I'll write a retailer review of HobbyStock sometime after I see how they handle my email about the shipping charge discrepancy. UPDATE : Received store credit very promptly to compensate for the mistake. :)

iPod Touch: proof that God (or atleast Apple) loves humanity.

2009-06-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

I got a iPod touch. I love it. Its wonderful. I love love LOVE my iPod mini (surrendered to my mom ATM, she lost hers) BUT the touch is the first worthy replacement for that blue wonder. Nano, photo, video, nothing was worth getting a new iPod untill the touch came out. I talked a 10$ discount out of the Apple Store so I could get 3.0 for free but then went and spent more money on apps. The app store is capitalism at its finest. And I still haven't bought a case ><

I actually have had my Mini full for a while so its nice being able to fit all my music on my iPod. Podcasts and videos are a great too.

Let me just say it here. I shouldn't have to buy a iPod touch to play Myst on modern technology. Myst needs quicktime 6 and DirectX7 to run on Windows XP so forget about it coexisting with any other media. It won't run on Leopard at all (no classic mode) and I hear the DS port is hideous.
Luckily the touch app seems nice so far. It clocks in at 727 MB (much bigger than the DS version and comparable in size to the original) and is the largest iPod app I know of. According to sources its 1.5GB when installed (glad I got a 32 GB!). Last time I played Myst I was a wee little thing and thought it was a pretty thing to click around in (and MS Bob was a dollhouse). Now I hope I can actually understand it better cause there are some pretty things I haven't clicked in a while that I miss.

I named this 'pod Rin so here is the current wallpaper:

Ghost face is from using the iPhoto retouch tool as a censor.
Where the ghost face is now is actually just white with my personal contact info (Full name/cell/email) in case it's lost/disputed/whatever but I don't need that all of the interwebs. :) Minutes are money.

Names of my electronics so far (some are long gone) and inspiration source:

Ye ol' Win98 box : Joshua (Wargames)
Crappy Compaq Presario : Itsuki (Doll)
MacBook Pro : Raki (Piece of Wonder)
Windows partition : Alecto (Piece of Wonder)
iPod Mini : Chise (Saikano)
iPod Touch : Rin (Little Busters!)
Purple Cellphone thats a cheap RAZR with a different name: Haruka (Little Busters!)

Anyone else out there name their electronics? I find "Front Room PC" and "Jane Doe's iPod" to be so dreary.

Sorry this post is so disconnected. I'm 24+ hours in to ownership and still am overexcited about my Touch.

Title joke besides, I'm not religious XP

Spymaster

2009-06-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Spymaster

Spymaster is a twitter game of sorts and largely dependent on your # of followers. You can complete tasks, assassinate other users, buy weapons and other such fun.

You get a bonus for allowing Spymaster to send notifications of your progress via your twitter account. While the urge to turn every one on is great its not kind to your non-spymaster followers. On the other hand, twitter asks "what are you doing?" and the notifications are specific to that question. Depends on your followers.

Follow me at @jyuichi if you do join :)

Little Busters! Ecstasy Stuffed Doll Komari

2009-06-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Little Busters! Ecstasy Stuffed Doll Komari

Couldn't resist....

I ordered the Clover OVA DVD with her. I've been wanting that for a while. DarkHorse put out a really nice new edition of Clover I highly recommend. I have the old Chix Comix/Mixx/Tokyopop edition as well but DH is the best.

小毬ちゃんは僕の嫁さんだから...

Kino no Tabi and More Goodies (updated)

2009-06-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

I went to BookOff despite going quite recently (see this post) because of an excellent game campaign. If you sell them 3 current-gen console games (worth more that 50 cents) you get an extra 10$. If you sell them 6 you get an extra 30$. I managed to scrounge up 6 and some ps2 games but had to split the money with my sister, leaving me with a bit over 30$ meaning half the money we got was because of the promotion.

My plan was to get the money and go over to Book Cafe J who had LB 3 on order for me. Of course it didn't work that way...

I ended up buying two things at BookOff. Guess the most expensive item in the picture?

The only planned purchase. The third volume of the wonderful LB 4 koma. Many obi are like this and simply provide a way to promote the book (rather than text printed on the book) and blend into the cover. They come off to leave a clean version of the same picture and I don't keep them. Not much to say except I LOVE THIS COMIC. Cover price is 780 yen but I paid a bit under 12 dollars which isn't bad for a special order from Japan (or so I keep telling my self).

The soundtrack for Air. A totally unplanned purchase but the stock is constantly changing so I went ahead and got it. 2 discs, 9 dollars. Its Air so there isn't much to be said. Shinji Orito can have my babies. (I'm joking!)

Here we have a product that I didn't know existed! I love Kino no Tabi and this little book/DVD set piqued my interest because I'd never seen it before, online or otherwise. Titled, キノの旅　〜とっておきの話〜 (Kino no Tabi ~totteoki no hanashi~) which loosely translates as "Kino's Travels ~Treasured Stories~". This book is comprised of two short stories and episode 00 of the anime. This set clocks in as the most expensive item (15$) but its Kino so no regrets. EDIT: Turns out to be a mail-order only item from '03.

The DVD with the prequel episode (12 minutes). Haven't watched it yet.

The book is mostly text with some illustrations.

The copyright page and anime cast information.

I spent more than I should have but I don't think I would have seen these items again or at that price. Such is the life of an otaku...

Blogger is really screwed up right now, periods appearing at the front of sentences in WYSIWYG mode. I'm typing in HTML mode just to be able to understand what I'm typing.

Fate/Stay Night Uncensored Patch 1.0

2009-06-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

Fate StayNight Uncensored Patch 1.0 - gemot encubed

For those of use who aren't turned on by pixels some generous folk uncensored the HCG from F/SN. BishopCruz gathered them together into a patch and I'm happy with the result so far (I've only made it to one H scene)

As a sidenote it took me roughly 15 hours to get to that scene. If you like action stories, you'll like F/SN and you can cntrl skip the (censored) H if it bothers you so don't judge the franchise on that. Some folk were working on a (further) censoring patch (to remove images and possibly related script) but I have no interest in that. Mirror Moon claims they'll do a non-ero patch at some point.

--------------------------
Another side note: I mark posts NSFW when the content I am linking to is solely adult in nature (this post) or contains explicit images (that dog figure). I will never include adult images on the blog itself because 1 I don't like how Blogger handles adult blogs (click a warning to view any post). 2 Its nice to have a heads up before you click a link in public (such as from a RSS feeder) and 3 I'm lazy. Posts NOT labels NSFW may contain mention of adult content but nothing too explict. Please post feedback on what you want warnings for!

The Most Expensive iPod application

2009-06-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Proloquo2Go: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for iPhone and iPod touch

And probably worth every penny for those who need it. Its amazing what can be done with these little iPods.

Fate/Stay Night & Kanon Artbooks

2009-06-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Went to BookOff! and found some nice art/fan books.

I don't keep the obis but it seems many people do since all these used books have them.They make it hard to shelf books so I always take them off. I've started to fold them (on the spine crease that already exists) and keep them in the back of the book now.

Also notice how much thicker the Kanon Visual Book is than the F/SN fanbook. It's actually 6 little books, one for each character and system book.

Kitty loves eroge artbooks!

The Kanon Visual books. On the back of each one is a small sketch version of the cover to show though the back of the slip case. Each is set up like its own little artbook with sections, etc. The Game System book has walk through charts and interviews.

A mini book is a bit thinner than a issue of Mac|Life or other perfect bound magazine.

Book Off is a bad place for me to go. Too much good stuff and and oddly large eroge artbook section.

Angel Beats!

2009-05-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

The new Key x G's x Aniplex project Angel Beats! looks very interesting.

http://www.angelb eats.jp/ More info on the website with bad interpretion below.

The story takes place in the afterlife (at a school of course). The Haruhi-lookalike Yuri leads the SSS (死んだ世界戦線 / Afterlife War?). They wear different uniforms than the rest of the students that have embroidery saying "rebels against the god" which is possibly the best English translation I've seen in a key work so far. The other group members call her Yurippe.

The other girl is called Angel/天使 (The kanji mean tenshi: angel). She is an angel in the form on a school girl and naturally on the student council. She upholds the order of the afterlife and fights violently with the SSS. Shows no emotion.

The theme is life. How it is not eternal and should be valued. This is inline with much of Key's prior work. It will be interesting to see this idea expressed from the afterlife not the human world. What I really want to know is how Maeda plans to kill off characters when their already dead.

Oh yeah, its an anime. Took them two months to announce that.

A MacBook Air SuperDrive is in my future?

2009-05-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

MacBook Air SuperDrive for all � tnkgrl Mobile

Looks like Apple's super slim and sexy USB DVD-RW drive for MacBook Air can be made to play nice with other computers for minimal upgrade costs. Considering one can eBay one of these drives for 65$ and the extra board costs under 20$.

The author there used a very cheap 9$ board but I am lazy and not terribly good at soldering so I am eyeing the 14$ Slim Optical Drive IDE to USB card that doesn't require me to remove and re-solder the crystal.(Found on this thread).

I've been wanting an external DVD drive for a while to set to Region 2 so I can watch anime on my MBP with it's damned matsushita drive. The external power supply and dearth of known support turned me off to the one's I've seen and I dismissed the superdrive as being Air only.

Yay for hacks :)

Disturbing is one way to put it...?

2009-05-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

Read before clicking this link! NSFW obviously!
A Bishoujo Figure that Comes with a Dog Figure: Can Do Bestiality (AkibaBlog)

I like girls. I like dogs.

I like them separately.....not in an ero-figure. Together. Posable.

I don't have anything else to say to this. Somehow the idea of a bestiality figure doesn't surprise me OR bother my since I don't have to buy it. BUT that the dog is removable and fully posable with numerous joints.... that this sells... disturbs me a little bit. He even has a joint on his dolphin...

Seems to be sold out by the way.

LED Cinema Display がほしい。。。

2009-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Apple - LED Cinema Display

Its called a display but really is a docking station. Screen (Duh!) + USB hub + MagSafe charger (these are expensive!) + 2.1speakers + camera + microphone.

I'm really tempted to buy one of these. 15 inches is nice but 24 is nicer. Of course I'd want a bluetooth keyboard so thats even more monies even with a education discount.

I'm moving to Oregon for studies this fall (land of no sales tax) so maybe I will get it if I save up enough.

Anime is better on a big screen and games are too. I'll have a (female) roommate though so all the ero still has to be confined to my laptop screen XP

For the record, the iSight is 640x480. Took the Apple lady a while to find this for me. I bit disappointing but not too much of an issue. Hell, just having another MagSafe makes up for that.

Poseable LB! figures

2009-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

GA Graphic:けいおん・リトバスのヒロインが登場!! アオシマの新アクションフィギュア

Not figma but pretty good looking

I need these.

Christopher Handley and why America is so fucked up

2009-05-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Down the Slippery Slope - The Crime of Viewing Manga

Christopher Handley Pleads Guilty to Possession Charges

Why defend freedom of icky speech?

Some background for you all, an Iowan man (with NO history of sex crimes) ordered some manga from Japan. Believed at this time to be your typical sexfest doujinshi. Customs opened his package, followed him home, and arrested him for possessing illegal material depicting minors in sexual situations. 150-300 images. Like individual pictures.

That was a while back, today he gave in, plead gutty and is facing up to 15 years in Jail. For 150-300 drawings of "minors" (according to whom? look at Aki Hoshino). No real minors are connected to the drawings. No real people were hurt by these images. Noone except Handley, anyhow. I can't even express how frustrated this makes me. This is wrong. So many assholes and jerks get away with murder, theft, and rape but a upright citizen gets sent to jail for cartoons. How can a jury accept this? How can a sane human being ignore the Constitution and send a man to jail for drawings?

My right to throw a punch ends where your nose begins. This is the concept behind free speech. You can express yourself as long as you do not limit the freedom of others. Real child porn does hurt children and should be prosecuted. Drawings don't hurt anyone.

And how are we defining minor? Depending on whose looking I could have hundreds of illegal images on my hard drive and my shelf or I could have none.

Here are three takes on one character design.... Who's old enough to be legal to import?

Dinner wafu~!

2009-05-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Kudo was happy to share the food (resultant of the previous post)

Itadakimasu wafu~!

Dinner with the CLANNAD Girls

2009-05-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hungry, I asked the girls what they were planning for dinner.

Tomoyo refused to share her stew, pointing out my abundance of gigantic frozen goods. Indeed, one bag of gu is almost taller than her.

Kyou told me she had already eaten her bento and didn't want any giant gyudon.

Both girls scoffed the frozen meal.

As you can guess, I'm cooking rice for gyudon and got impatient ^^;

SHUFFLE! Essence+ is not a lie

2009-05-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

From the newest G's magazine ... its probably vaporware, but I didn't make it up!

Orders Roundup: Anime and a special figure

2009-05-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

With a new debit card in hand, I ordered 766minutes of moe-riffic anime:

Air TV Vol. 4 - Clearance-price!
Kanon Boxset - 40% off coupon :)
ONE True Stories - The ero-OVA for ONE~to the shining season~

But those all pale to this which I've had to keep quiet (because I ordered with a friend):

Black*Rock Shooter........God, she's beautiful

Manga artist combats bootleggers - English

2009-04-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Manga artist combats bootleggers - English

I find this to be a interesting article not because of anything Rumiko Takahashi has done but because of this descriptor : "unscrupulous translators who upload low-quality manga bootlegs". This is so different to how American "fans" describe the "service" these "fan translators" do to the "community" particularly the claim that "scanlations help a series grow a fandom and sell better".

The Japanese (news and mangaka alike) sure don't seem to agree. And its their manga.

Sumomo's a star!

2009-04-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

Kind of ^^; I sent some photos in for Hobby Search (for the kimono set) and they're up. The color was degraded somewhere along the line but they can be viewed here.

Furisode & Hakama Set for 25cm Doll (Pure Neemo Orginal Costume)

2009-04-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

It is spring and time for long boring graduation ceremonies! (In Japan anyhow..) I recently acquired this beautiful furisode (long-sleeved kimono for unmarried women) and hakama set for dear Sumomo.

Fittingly, the print is of plum flowers (Sumomo's namesake).

The bag wasn't designed for Yuki-chan but he fits in it. As you can see the kimono is lined so she has the multiple collar effect (a white collar piece is in there as well). The kimono has snap buttons on the natural flaps so the back does not have unsightly Velcro seams . The obi does come open in the back but the snap buttons and seam are covered by the bow The light purple obiage (帯揚げ) can be removed also so the hakama can be worn properly (according to the instructions: I don't know how to wear a woman's hakama and evidently japanese otaku don't either). Because she does not have individual toes, her shoes are very difficult to get on (you have to remove the strap partially and then reinsert it once the foot is in place).

Ready for graduation in the rare woman's hakama.

It took me a while to get her dressed properly but I love the detail in the clothing. much better than a back-velcroed Barbie one-piece outfit. Right now she's still in the hakama set ^_^

From 着物すもも

A romance with Coca-Cola

2009-04-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Its HOT. Santa Ana has hit and it's HOT. It's time for light clothes and cold beverages. Sumomo is no exception and has shed her hot winter sweater to enjoy some of Mexico's finest export.

Ah the joys of being near the border... you can get this stuff at Costco!!! For those not in the know, Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar and is infinitely superior to the plastic-bottle High Frutose Corn Syrup version sold in the US.

This was rather impromptu as I set the bottle next to her and it was the same height. The pose looks like she's running to embrace the bottle like a long lost friend. I really need a tripod so I can do better photos.

I bought Realta Nua....

2009-04-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

So I can voice patch Fate/Stay Night. Its expensive but since it was availabile locally I went for it. I hope the voice acting is good. I played the prologue last night and enjoyed it but the music didn't impress me much so I feel voice acting could add a lot to this game. Art and plot are fun so far. :)

I paid 35+ tax at bookoff but it seems to be a completely new copy. The plastic wrap had the warning sticker and PS2 printed on it. The disc is mint. That eases the pain a bit but 35 for a voice patch hurts -__-

Domo is deciding which version to play

WITH THE LIGHT: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe

2009-04-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yen Press : WITH THE LIGHT: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe

This is one of the hidden gems of manga. A serious story about raising a disabled child that runs in a magazine aimed squarely for mothers. It has much to offer to the rest of us however, the characterization is wonderful and the price is a bargain (double to triple the size of many manga released for only a bit more money: 14.99 a volume). Sadly I haven't seen any news (like ANN >.>) coverage or other deserved attention for it. A shame really, this is not a title to miss.

Now to go find the drama at bookOff while I wait for the slooow release table.

Birthday

2009-04-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

From すももドール

For my birthday I went to Disneyland and got the aforementioned Sumomo Azone doll (not at Disneyland; for the same occasion). That about sums it up (some other manga and anime here and there).

The Pure Neemo body isn't very posable but I could get her to do a cute walking pose. I'll probably order another body for other poses. Bodies aren't expensive, the heads and clothes are but they really are well made.

Pantsu and ring. You can see how the sweater texture differs from the skirt and socks. Her sweater is adorable.

Goodies in the Mail: F/SN and Miku CDs

2009-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

My parents always hide all the packages around my birthday (Wednesday). Today they noticed two of those were actually ordered by me (not gifts).

Loot:

Fate/Stay Night (2ndhand from Rinia) with a note on adorable stationery <3
Supercell feat 初音ミク
Re:Mikus

The last two were from CDJapan way back (SAL shipping). The DVD from Supercell is ripping on the family PC as I type and I'm listening to the CD now.

iDog and Figma

2009-04-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

I got a "iDog amp'd" for my birthday. I'm not sure what makes it "amp'd" but Miku thinks its pretty rad. A natural friendship between two music lovers...

From iDogとミク

Click the link under the photo for more. Figma sure are neat.

PLANETARIAN MERCHANDISE?!?!

2009-04-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yes... there is now merchandise for Planetarian. Strangely late.... could this be to build up for an adaptation?!

God I hope soo............

The merchandise is unremarkable really... its that it EXISTS that's amazing. Could we be getting an anime soon?

Littlebusters! Girls School Uniform Mini Costume (Fashion Doll)

2009-04-06T23:53:00.000-07:00

Littlebusters! Girls School Uniform Mini Costume (Fashion Doll)

It would fit that Sumomo doll...

UPDATED: Ordered! (before I have a doll but this set is not to pass up >.>) Its Hobby Search so I have to remember to save the money to pay later.

[UPDATED] Nanatsuiro Drops - 1/6 Akihime Sumomo Hybrid Active Doll: I will make her mine

2009-04-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Nantsuiro Drops - 1/6 Akihime Sumomo Hybrid Active Doll [TL300783731] : ToysLogic, Imported Anime Toys, Gundam, Ma.K

Somehow...

Yeah anime dolls are hella expensive but Moe Moe Rabu has shown me how awesome they are. This particular Sumomo doll has a PVC head (like a figure) to look more like her anime/game counterpart. I'm really considering buying her..... (I have work scheduled for next week ^^)

Review Part A (Japanese)
Review Part B (Japanese)
Store with lots of photos

星のめぐり歌 Music Box

2009-04-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

1 year late! Planetarian fans rejoice, Finally I videotaped my "Song of the Rotating Spheres" music box (from the Kenji Miyazawa Museum) for all to enjoy....

Mac音ナナ : Vocaloid-esque mac "program"

2009-03-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

- 音声合成素材集 - Mac音ナナ［Macne nana] - Mac ソフトのことなら act2.com -

I say use program very loosely because Macne Nana needs the program Reason to run. If you already own reason then this product is probably worth the fairly low price of 30 dollars (seems to also include Macne Petit).

Macne Petit, requires only GarageBand though, since its a AIFF collection, it will likely work with other audio editors such as Audacity. Since modern Macs ship with iLife this requirement isn't high and the price is reasonable (under 10 dollars) but the amount of effort to mix different audio files for a human-like sound is difficult. I might pick it up for 10 dollars but I can't envision seriously using it.

This ain't the mac answer to Miku but the price is right.

Asahi Shinbun on Miku (subbed)

2009-03-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

Go to the YT page to view in HD with subs. I'm not sure if subs load in the embedded.

I bought SOSOSO's album from iTunes after seeing him on there. Pretty good stuff so far (am listening) and I can't argue the price. :)

I really wish my supercell CD would show up ^^; Everyone is raving about the album.

Microsoft Ads still suck

2009-03-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Meet Lauren. Shes a PC. And wow! She got a 17" laptop for 700$ dollars! Apple 17" start at 2700 so gosh what a deal! I should defenestrate my MacBook right now!

Oh wait...look at just some of the specs:

Lauren's new Laptop | Apple's basic 17"

RAM : 4GB DDR2 (speed unknown) vs. 4GB DD3 @ 1066Mhz

CPU: 2.1 AMD Turion™ X2 (dual core) vs. 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (dual core)

Display: "WXGA+ high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology" (1440 x 900) vs. 1920x1200 pixel LED-backlit display

Network: b/g wireless; 100mbs ethernet vs. b/g/n wireless gigabit ethernet and bluetooth

Case: shiny "Bronze Chrome" plastic vs. brushed unibody aluminum

Graphics: ATI RADEON HD 3200 graphics RS780M with up to 1918MB shared memory vs. an integrated Nvidia 9400M and a discrete 9600MGT with 512MB of dedicated memory

Portability: 7.9 lbs 1.9" thick vs. 6.6 lbs. and .98" thick

BATTERY: 2.5 hours vs. 8 hours guaranteed through 1000 charge cycles

You get what you pay for and leading PC sites agree.

Asian Food Online Shop Marukai e-STORE

2009-03-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Asian Food Online Shop Marukai e-STORE

From food to futons, Marukai market has gone online!

The membership based food and living stores came to San Diego (along with the 100 yen store: Daiso) and are hugely sucessful. Now those in areas with out Japanese stores can shop online.

Turns out Daiso is online too.

MacHeist Bundle!

2009-03-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

If you have a mac and enjoy this blog (or just want awesome software for super cheap!) consider purchasing 14 mac applications for 39$. 557$ in applications, 39$. The amazing Wiretap Studio? Included. Awesome cooking app? included. 3D animations? Fun games? Image editing? HTML editiors? iPhone helpers? Video Production tools? included, included, included!

http://www.macheist.com/bundle/u/212680/

Use this link and help me out if you want to buy :)

I hate oteiku. (Sakuracon 2009 ad)

2009-03-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Sadly, Its probably a great con as far as anime cons go. But what the hell is the guy with the ramune bottle saying? and the chick at 18 seconds? Those oteiku* must be driving Vic (long but cool last name I can't spell) crazy because this is crap but accurate to his fanbase**.

I love anime though. I've been watching Code Geass on ANN. "Gather around the good stuff" comes to mind.
----------
oteiku: asine anime "fans" characterized by loud voices and stupid arguements to justify thier self centered behaivors. They think otaku are the cool kids of Japan (xD) and can't pronounce the word (hence the name). They sit around the floor of Borders and sound exactly like the people in that ad.

Vic's fanbase: I chatted with him in an elevator, pretty awkwardly since I don't watch dubs, but it was a refreshingly calm and intelligent conversation... untill the doors opened. I can still hear the squeals and shouts as Vic stepped out of the elevator and headed to the parking lot (where he was headed also). One oteiku squealed "Stalk ya later~☆!" YOU CAN HEAR THE STAR.

Brass Restoration works on Wine

2009-03-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Brass Restoration

No excuses now, I need to hurry up and play and review this game:

Installer is a breeze.

Everything works perfectly fine. Music, SFX, visual effects... its is just like Windows.

This is a practically out of the box Darwine install. I did add DirectX 9 a while back through Trix but thats just a routine installer from Microsoft. Runs without a hitch and minimal lag.

So no excuses! Any one who can read this blog can run this game.

Sakura no Ame CD arrived! (Posting from Youtube fails)

2009-03-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Enjoy one of the songs with subtitles :)

Bitchy and Sexy

2009-03-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today my computer (which I still love immensely and will not trade for your foo-foo touchsmart HP piece of Vista) decided to be a bitch today. Touchpad didn't work on first boot, second boot had really high CPU temps (85C in 5 minutes? BAD) Remember, windows is always consistently nerve-wrackingly fucked up. It takes a mac to be "bitchy".

Observations:
Sexy is good.
Women are sexy.
Macs are sexy.
Women are bitchy. (yes we are!)

Conclusion:
Macs are bitchy. (but we love them)

(Tongue in cheek, please don't take me seriously: I'm just bitching....)

Klear Screen aka iKlear

2009-03-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Klear Screen - LCD & Plasma Screen Cleaner

I absolutely love this stuff. The polish is great on the screen and the body of my precious MacBook Pro and the cloths are large and lush. The Micro-fiber (terry) is the best cloth for glossy screens I've ever used and the Micro Chamois (MC) polishes aluminum and cleans keyboards like nothing seen before. Both kits come with some step 1 wet wipes (to be then dried with your cloths), step 2 "drying cloths" are not in the newer packages since real cloth is superior.

Keyboard Cover
I bought the old blue version at Fry's with a trackpad cover; for iBooks (that old!) Made of optical grade MC; really nice to keep the screen clean and free of key-dents!

Cleaning Kit
Fry's electronics is awesome and had this is stock. This is a wonderful kit of with 1 large MC, 1 travel MC, 1 travel terry, 2 oz. of apple polish and 1 anti-bacterial cloth I haven't tried yet. The large cloth is really large, twice the size of my keyboard! The aluminum unibody looks brand new once I wipe down with this kit.

For you PCs out there you can buy unbranded or DELL labeled versions of Klear Screen if you don't want to buy something with macs on it. Obviously, I bought the iKlear kits but the product is the same I believe. Its worth every cent to have a beautiful screen!

Idols: Demons and Saints :Cool Thing From J-List's Twitter

2009-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

IDOLSDEMONSSAINTS.COM

This time I posted it to the right blog!

Very cool artwork (some nudity)

桜ノ雨 : Bought another damn Miku CD

2009-03-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

桜ノ雨学園

It wouldn't hurt so much if I hadn't liked the cover art forever but never heard a good sample till two days after I ordered other CDs.

So it's been ordered separately. T_T

Goodbye Mr. Despair

2009-03-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

....is what they should have just titled the damn thing. That's the official translation given in the very book after all

As you might have guessed, I picked up the first volume of さよなら絶望先生 today; helpfully transliterated as "Sayonara, Zatsubou Sensei". Translating involves changing the words from one language to another while keeping the meaning. Retyping in roman letters in transliteration. Titles indicate something about the series if people can understand them! Alas, crappy pirate scanslators keep the "authentic" title (aka... thier lazy) so everyone wants a jumble of Japanese for the title. Del Rey at least added a subtitle "The Power of Negative Thinking" parallelling the pun that is lost in translation.

Anyhow its a very fun manga. Good art and wit make this a highly readable book. Highly reccomended and the only title worth reading among the crap being pressed out nowadays (read: this week's releases). Nice localization with pages on pages of translation notes (its one of those series). This large reliance on Japanese culture dooms it from commercial sucess but atleast we can enjoy it.

Yo-Jin-Bo Revived

2009-03-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

JLIST.com (18+)

JBOX.com (All-Ages)

Yo-Jin-Bo is a otome game localized by Hirameki (all-ages game) for Mac and Windows. Unfortunately, Hirameki died.

But YJB is back :) J-List is selling a download edition. This is thier first download edition of a non-H game if I recall correctly.

(Both pages above are the same product but the first has adult ads/links)

Make 'em Walk the Plank

2009-03-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Prosecutor, Hollywood Demand Prison for Pirate Bay Crew | Threat Level from Wired.com

These thieves are getting off easy but the site is DOWN!

Respect Artists. Don't Steal.

Damned if I do, damned if I dont, type of moment: What other language has such a mascot?

2009-03-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

This is like telling people about your birthday: your selfish sounding for doing it but if you don't people say "why didn't you tell me?!'
So there you have been told. I passed level 4 (lowest level) of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Now to study for level 3.

In other news... Erin-chan is increasingly delightful. Am I bad for feeling moe over a educational character?

Hello Kitty Temari Line is so CUTE

2009-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

shop.sanrio.com - Hello Kitty Pen Pouch: Temari

I got this and a Hello Kitty omamori (the orange thing I'm holding) at the mall Sanrio store today. So cute I was hyperventilating!!!!

Coraline

2009-03-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

Coraline: Explore a Hand-Made World

The link is to the offical movie website. I recommend reading the most-excellent source book at some point as well but the movie does not disappoint. I had no idea it was stop-motion till I saw it (I thought it was the usual crappy 3D CGI "kids" movies are made in nowadays.) very impressive work!

Ordered some Miku CDs... Its hard to choose...

2009-03-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

I really love what all of these NicoNico artists can do with Miku but buying CDs from Japan is hard. Due to availability, money, and cover art (I have to decide somehow!) this is what I ordered:

supercell<初回生産限定盤> [CD+DVD] [Limited Edition]

This was a must buy. 初めての恋が終わる時 is simply wonderful and I have been looking for more.
(Amazon.co.jp) (CDJapan.co.jp)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm5524166"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;【ニコニコ動画】初音ミクがオリジナル曲を歌ってくれたよ「初めての恋が終わる時」&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Re:Mikus
This is the second album from Livetune featuring Miku, their first being the excellent Re:Package . This one won by cover art over the also fabulous cosMo＠暴走P's new CD. Below is the excellent "Last Night, Good Night" from Re:Package.
(Amazon.co.jp) (CDJapan.co.jp)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm4141643"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;【ニコニコ動画】初音ミクがオリジナル曲を歌ってくれました「Last Night, Good Night」&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

CDs will ship at the end of March and come around my birthday (SAL shipping). I would wait but both are in the top 50 on Amazon Japan 35th for Re:Mikus and 5th (!) for Supercell LE. ^_^

Things Seen Today

2009-02-28T20:45:00.001-08:00

Happy Things....

Nagato x NanaDro .... 萌え

Scary Things....

DirectX installing on my Mac

Overlooked Things...

What does this Dock say about me? (Post below)

Little Busters! Converted Edition: Lame Name

2009-02-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

PCで発売された恋愛アドベンチャーゲームをプレイステーション2で『リトルバスターズ! コンバーティッドエディション』 - ファミ通.com

PSP and PS2 versions of Little Busters! have been announced with the title "Converted Version". Seriously. Seems to be the EX version with no ecstasy ;)

I could care sooo much less..................... I'm still crawling through the first version and I prefer computer games (and 18+ content).

Anyhow, if Key adds more CG I'll be pissed because then I'll want it XD

More on WINE, CrossOver and how to stay the hell away from Microsoft

2009-02-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

My last two posts have been on two solutions on running Windows software without Windows. Both technologies described use the WINE project as their base. WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is a very old (but active) open-source interpreter to let Windows stuff run on other systems. More on that at WineHQ

Darwine : Free (libre) Mac binaries (application) to implement WINE. No interface, you simply run set WineHelper to handle the files and run them. Everything is ran through XQuartz. Uses one big hidden "virtual C drive" in your user folder, so be prepared to enable hidden files in finder alot. Not as bad as it sounds : when it works it works and when it doesn't WineHelper makes nice long log files to stare at confused :)

CrossOver: Proprietary WINE interface with lots of help files and GUI goodness. Easy menus to choose the version of Windows you need and supports many different bottles (virtual C drives) kept in the library. Uses XQuartz but doesn't make it obvious (no dock icon/menu bar etc messiness).

Obviously, Darwine is free and that's a good thing. If you've read my posts this is the WINE solution I am experimenting with, I do not plan to buy CrossOver. It is easier for me to just muck around with free software I can download and install infinitely on any computer at any time. I like to break things and just reinstall them over and over, its like a puzzle and I learn from each step.

Since the core technology is shared, anything Darwine can do CrossOver can do. Conversly, anything CrossOver can do Darwine can do. I would never recommend Darwine to a non-power user: its just not practical. I would direct them to CrossOver. Likewise I would not tll a power user to use CrossOver I would point them to Darwine. This are different solutions.

I love the open-source ideal and the community but I also understand the incentives of proprietary works. Apple is practically the polar opposite of open-source after all, with their very closed OS and hardware, but I love Leopard and iWork and use them over Linux and OpenOffice.org .

Lastly, as most people here know, I have a dual boot Windows/Mac system in place. I do not run a single critical program exclusively on WINE. I can break things and it doesn't matter the slightest cause the same program is on a perfectly good Windows install. Most importantly, I am familar with Windows, how things are stored and called and why things would and wouldn't work. I grew up on Windows and use it almost daily (sadly). A lot of mac users aren't. Obviously the transparency of Darwine is useless to someone who does not understand Windows.

So I just want to clarify my position on these two technologies. I am not doing this to promote CrossOver. I actually just wanted to write a feedback letter for the trial (a request of thiers of every person who tries the software; quite fair) and felt it would be easiest to post my thoughts here as well.

So my conclusion is:

CrossOver for the average Joe
Darwine for the power user who's Windows-literate.

Also, CodeWeavers has fantastic customer support (I emailed them about feedback and they even posted here) and a remarkable "Truth in Advertising Approach".

Read on:
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/differences/
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/truth_in_advertising/

Found! Working Darwine builds for OS X

2009-02-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

Darwine builds for OS X
It works..... I have tried Darwine many times before to no success. After my failure with CrossOver I consulted WINEHQ again. This time I found a build that works. Definitely try this before CrossOver.
The chat windows jumps down half an inch every time you click it. Minor annoyance. Did not happen in CrossOver which uses WINE and X11/Quartz as well.
Same output as CrossOver, I'm thinking the sound issues might be part of the audio files. Obviously, fonts work now.

CrossOver Mac : Promising but One Fatal Flaw [updated]

2009-02-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Note: Some kind folk who sleep the proper number of hours per night pointed out you can launch programs from Finder (Open With) to run non-installer programs from CrossOver. I'm still sticking with Darwine but this is an important feature I missed. Bold text is new.

CrossOver is a commercial Wine implementation. Its designed to make installing and running Windows programs easy.

Installing Windows programs. NOT running them, installing them so crossover can run them. This is CrossOver's biggest issue..... it needs an installer. So all those fun doujin games: no installer no luck. That cool app from the internet? No installer no luck. Or so I thought until others told me you can use the Finder Open-With -> Choose (However, CO did not appear in the normal open-with menu for me). A menu item for this IN CrossOver would do wonders since that's where I looked first.

For installers, InstallShield seems to work great with it. Font support is practically non existent however. I have no idea how to add fonts. I could only get one application to install... a LabQuest emulator I had for science class. It would not run because it couldn't preform hardware check. I had issues with the InstallShield installer for ONE however, it might same issue that occurs when attempting to install on EN Windows or it might not; I localize my Windows for games.

Now its a slick program, supported apps like Steam, Office, Quicken... they probably work great. But its so limited by its pre-set boundries making Japanese programs or hobby programs run is flat out impossible. Window management is handled by X11/Quartz it seems and no complains there.

I was able to make Casual Romance Club run by telling CO it was an installer. Not an ideal setup and sorely in need of fonts. According to Libido, CRC doesn't need Japanese fonts unless translation is turned on. Even so, the english should display without issues but...

English text in loading screen: Squares. I quit it at this point.

Restarted: It remembered the name I gave it seems. Still no text.
Music was fine. Images were fine. No lag.

Attack of the squares. The soundtrack squeaked when I advanced the text quickly. This game only has key lines voiced. Notice, its running as in installer in CrossOver. Not ideal.

Everything works perfectly except text.

Voices are fine. If it would just let me run the program as a program (and I then I would tweak the fonts) I imagine the game would run perfectly. (see note)

Don't even look for the Japanese version of CrossOver... its 11550 yen if you can find it. Thats almost twice as much as the English version!

Obviously WINE has great potential, the CrossOver interface to it just doesn't work for these sorts of games at this point.