As the editor in chief of Atarashii Prelude, it is with deepest regret that I hereby announce the resignation of my fellow contributor and long time confidant, Setsuna-san who felt the need to atone for his disgraceful actions the past weekend. Although he has yet to publicly apologize, during his absence in the wake of the aftermath, Setsuna was contacted by and sat down with renowned British television journalist Sir David Frost to shed light on the Waterbottlegate Scandal. The following are some exclusive excerpts of that very interview:

When discussing the legacy of a failed blogger, nothing could be more relevant, engaging or important than the series of interviews that David Frost conducted with Setsuna-san in 2009. Following a two day blogging silence from a post that drew the largest ever number of hits, this interview grants the people a tacit admission of guilt from the former contributor.

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 1 of 6: Atarashii Prelude Editor in Chief, Shin and the Lowyat forumers.

Frost: What did the people around you, at that time, tell you, during that five minute duration prior to what you did.

Setsuna: Since Shin wasn’t there, the only companions I had during that event were fellow forumers whom I had acquainted with for the past year. They were prodding and encouraging me to go ahea-

Frost: “Go for it!” and so on?

Setsuna: Well, of course. Well, you ask me what it was, my recollection was “DO IT FAGGOT!”

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 2 of 6: The Objectives.

Frost: Is there any doubt, when one reads, reading the whole post, one, you would get a insane number of hits, “I know how it could be gotten.” Two, your major objective is to troll Minorin fans. Three you wante-

Setsuna: Alright, fine, let me, let me just stop you right there. You are reading there, out of context, out of order, because I wrote this, I know it better than you do, And I should know it better because I was there.

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 3 of 6: Why Did You Post It?

Frost: Here’s the bunch of Lowyat forumers tellling you to enjoy your Minorin DNA, congratulating you and all that, I would say that you really just wanted the attention. But that’s leave that on one side for a minut-

Setsuna: I didn’t do it for the attention.

Frost: Why did you post it?

Setsuna: Because at that point, I had nothing…to..no knowledge of the fact that there were going to be so many people butthurt over it. I did it for the lulz

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 4 of 6: It Wasn’t A Kimo-Ota Activity.

Setsuna: My motive was not to induce rage. I didn’t believe that I was engaging in any kimo-ota activities. Errr, I didn’t believe err, that what I did was disgusting. Or for that matter anyone would. I was trying to create lulz, and that’s a very different motive, from the motive of a kimo-ota. And so, there was no kimo-ota activity of any kind, that was not my motive.

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 5 of 6: And The Whole Thing Could Have Gotten Bigger.

Setsuna: I didn’t think of it as a troll. I didn’t intended to troll. Let me say, if I intended to troll, believe me, I would have done it. You know how I could have done it? So easily… I could have done it immediately after taking that photo, simply by using a proxy and posting it on 2ch, and the whole thing would have been a bigger shitstorm.

Frost Setsuna Interview Excerpt 6 of 6: I Gave Them A Sword, And They Stuck It In.

Setsuna: I don’t go with the idea that what brought me down, were a few moralfags, that guy who leaked it to Sankaku Complex, et cetera, et cetera. Errr, I brought myself down. I gave them a sword. And they S-S-S-STUCK IT IN… and they twisted it with relish. And I guess if I had been in their position, I’d had done the same.

Audacious And Insightful ★★★★★ -The New York Times

The Greatest Interview Of The 21st Century - The Sun

Made the one my dad had with Frost look like a date - Patricia Nixon

Frost/Setsuna is available in stores now.

The hall before the storm.

The Prelude:

At around 2pm or so there was a catastrophic communications breakdown of sorts as the lights went out across the hall for the stage preparations to take place. I heard from a source that the vendors and doujin groups attending the event raised all sorts of hell for the organizers. Some vendors actually began packing up and left the hall to my amazement. Wonder why didn’t they stick around for a bit? I also met tj_han, Owen_S, and DarkMirage today. Sadly, I couldn’t have a good chat with them due to time constraints.

The Climax:

At around 3.30p.m. The ticket holders were seated and I was rather pleased that the organizers provided the fans with some glow sticks for us to wave around in unison during the concert. Good one guys! Chihara Minori performed a grand total of 10+3 songs, which was totally awesome on her part for willing to sing quite a few extra songs for her fans. I was impressed by her stage presence as well as her voice during the live. It was quite a sight to behold seeing her strutting her stuff on the stage. Sadly, I only knew two of the songs she sang which were “Yuki Muon, Madobe Nite” and “Paradise Lost”. I knew I should have attended a crash course in Minoriism before the event. To make things even better, she donned a baju kebaya that showed off her extremely sexy curves. The roar from the crowd when she appeared on stage with the baju kebaya shredded my eardrums. I am now looking for donors who have eardrums to spare. While I’m at it, my legs are dead from all the jumping and cheering.

Special thanks goes out to the Minori fanclub who flew in here from Japan for preparing the AWSM flags and for leading the glow stick movements. I think they are either rich or extremely dedicated to even go overseas to attend a live by her in an event in a far-flung place like Cyberjaya.

The Curtain Call:

And so, the curtain falls on one of the best live performances that I have been to. I got to get up close with Minorin, get her signature, go berserk at her live, among other stuff.

The following moments can be described as either my crowning moment of awesome or my height of stupidity. But what’s done is done and I do not regret it for a single moment.

After Minori’s performance was over, I sneaked up onto the stage and took the bottle of mineral water from which she drank to refresh herself during the live. I couldn’t resist, it was sitting there on the table waiting to be taken by someone. After some prodding, brainwashing, and adrenaline-induced mania I did it. There is no proof that I was the one who did it because I don’t think anyone got a photo of me jumping off the stage with the bottle in my hands, Toki wo kakeru Shoujo style, but here are some photos of the holy grail of sorts.

This is a bottle of Evian mineral water. There are many like it but this one was Minorin’s

Why is it empty?

Because I drank from it.

I’m dead tired, lazy, and about to fall asleep on my feet. A few photos of Minori after the skip. Also, AWSM signature.

You might notice that there isn’t much of a variation of poses here because I am only allowed to take photos of her during the Q and A session when she is sitting down. Still I can’t complain since it is much much better than not being allowed to take photos at all like some other events.

Brb, going to an AWSM event.

Daicon as some of you guys already know is a major anime and manga event held in Malaysia and is the first (I think) event which will feature a concert performed by a seiyuu/idol in Malaysia. The star attraction in question is none other than Chihara Minori which I think I highlighted in a post some months ago. I already got myself an AWSM ticket to go for her signature session too but sadly due to the usual Japanese stance on photography I won’t be allowed to take photos of her (think AFA 08).

Apart from attending the concert I will of course be on the prowl for cosplayers and merchandise as usual so you could expect a barrage of photos after the event. KKnM will also be setting up shop at the event which will most definitely be a health hazard to my wallet.

Other than that I will also be taking part in the Weiss Schwarz card battle organized by the folks at WS@NK-DS in the hope of winning myself some nice prizes.

Thats it for now. Will be back with loot and pics after the event.

P.S. Going to events just won’t feel the same anymore without Shin.

The fourth wall has been breached! Having Index’s seiyuu actually bring that up in her normal speaking voice totally killed me. Seven minutes and thirteen seconds of this has been better than everything that’s currently airing right now. Also, speaking of blogs; Mamiko Noto HNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

The most unfortunate thing about this show is that they’re both girls.

A TYPE-MOON anime involving magical eyes? I sure didn’t see that coming! Thankfully, unlike the awful pun I just made which has fallen flat on its face, Canaan stands strong on its feet and has left the biggest impression on me so far this season with its exhilarating pace and memorable moments, leaving me breathless and yearning for more.

First off, I really have to express my disappointment over Canaan’s gender. More often than not, DFC characters tend to throw me off when it comes to determining their sexual identity and with the oddly shaped breasts which I noticed in Kabitzin’s summer preview, I jumped the gun and claimed Canaan as my summer husbando. What used to be appeal associated with gender ambiguity dissipates with that revelation, although Miyuki Sawashiro at the helm means that Canaan’s character is still equally as alluring despite her otherwise plain design.

A wasted opportunity for a franchise tie-in! Who else thought that this stuffed toy should have been Neko Arc? You all know by now that I’m a total referencing buff who look for little details like these to gaga over. This also has really got me pondering whether Canaan is at all related to the rest of the Nasuverse, or it an independent story seeing as how it was based on a game not made by TYPE-MOON despite its influence here.

Unlike her peers of similar endowment, and if the show’s explanations are of any indication, Canaan’s powers can be explained through Science™, and is, from what I inferred, really just her five senses being heightened beyond ordinary human boundaries, not so much as she being able to slow time down or see through solid objects and only seem that way to her and viewers. In a way, it is still retains that trademark TYPE-MOON hax, though considering its pedigree, I had hoped for those powers to be a lot more spectacular than what has been shown so far; Those that allow users to trace weapons, terminate origins and kill off gods

At first, it struck me as a bit odd for the random people in the show to be unperturbed by the commotion such as people undergoing seizures more intense than your usual party hard variety and guns a blazing, let alone the death surrounding them. Then I realized that these were Chinese people who probably inhaled too much smog to think straight Of course, the show did touch on this, but I found the whole see no evil premise rather weak, when considering the already outrageous nature of the episode thus far.

From a quick glance, Canaan to me was sort of like a palette swap of Ryougi Shiki, which was why I was surprised that it wasn’t Maaya Sakamoto voicing the former. As mentioned above, this isn’t that big an issue though it does cement the fact that all TYPE-MOON anime adaptations require her to be handling a lead role, and I definitely can’t wait to see what this smug looking character is capable of. Speaking of obligatory seiyuus, I’ve await with glee for the token Nakata Jouji-voiced character, if there is one at all.

To wrap it up, I must commend P.A. Works for once again delivering a brilliant piece of work in terms of animation, particularly during Canaan’s firefight sequence, which is quite an accomplishment, when you consider the fact that it easily rivals what ufotable has achieved with Kara no Kyoukai, with a presumably smaller budget. Perhaps at the end of the season, they will finally mature as a production company, where I too can also then move on with my life, having scorned them for making me cry true tears of rage. As for the story, it’s typical TYPE-MOON convoluted fare, which basically translates into “I don’t really know what the hell just happened, so I’ll stop pretending I actually do”, and with so many characters being introduced simultaneously, it’s difficult for me to see how they all relate to the story other than the fact it revolves around the whole Synesthesia phenomenon.

This is Fujibayashi Ryou:

-Uses her position as class representative to approach the main character.
-Cannot shuffle cards.
-Explains everything off as “maiden’s inspiration.”
-Even though she might not even be a virgin.
-When she tells your fortune with cards, everything turns out the exact opposite.
-Likes the same person her older sister likes.
-Consults her sister about this even though she knows her sister likes him.
-Uses her sister and manipulates her into playing cupid.
-Her cooking can be considered a harmful substance to mammals.
-Her fashion sense is bad.
-Makes the main character go to her favorite shio tonkatsu ramen place instead of her sister’s tonkatsu.
-When she realizes that she has lost, she quickly plays good and tries to help her sister.
-She will suddenly drop her feelings for the first guy and start going out with someone she has only met once in the past.
-Even though they hadn’t discussed having children yet, she pretends to be pregnant and tricks her boyfriend.
-She may have the popular knee socks attribute, but so does her sister.
-She doesn’t move around enough anyway, so there aren’t many chances for her knee socks to be seen.
-Getting with her is actually technically a BAD END; this is a message from the creators saying “don’t go out with just anyone.”
What a nice bitch. And you thought Kyou  was terrible compared to Ryou in her own route! Personally, I would have preferred that Okazaki date both sisters and perhaps impregnate them along the way, though the outcome might be less than beautiful. Excuse me while I savor this moment which I’ve waited for two long years.

❤❤❤❤❤

Just looking at the amount of tropes that Umineko and Kindaichi share has made me wonder if 07th Expansion got their inspiration from the latter. Not that it’s a bad thing of course, since, if anything we need more shows of the whodunit genre, and despite sharing similarities, I’m confident that Umineko will still be able to conjure the same brand of brick shitting moments and plot twists that made Higurashi so enjoyable.

Battler comes across to me as a mix between Phoenix Wright and Hajime Kindaichi, and like the famous amateur sleuth himself, our hero’s quite the pervert with an unfortunate penchant for large breasts. It would have been a lot less awkward too if everyone here wasn’t blood related, but hell, if any of my relatives looked remotely this attractive, there’s going be lots of inbreeding going around

I shudder with delight at the sight of scary little girls but Maria is definitely in a class of her own, with that bone-chilling grin in the OP and sinister expressions throughout the episode. What’s more, when she utters Uuuh~ for the first time, I brushed it off as just some moe moe speech pattern much like what Yui Horie has done for Hanyuu with her Hauuu~ Her pitiful wailing of Uuuh~ Uuuh! Uuuh~ definitely carried that ominous tone, and I can’t wait to find out what it really symbolizes, as hinted by her mother. I must admit however, it got too grating even for this lolicon, and I’m glad Rosa shut her up with the slap to the face.

A trappish man servant named Kanon who also dons a fabulous hat? I don’t think I need to elaborate any further…. On second thought, I should. In the first episode alone where some characters have gone from happy face to seriousing the fuck up, Kanon’s expression so far has remained constant, which Studio DEEN should have little difficulty maintaining, as QUALITY rears its ugly head once again, coupled with lazy animating in other areas. That said, it has worked to their advantage in the past, with Higurashi’s QUALITY rage faces not having its intended effect otherwise

Ah yes, that finger pointing stance, how I missed you. While no one has bought the farm just yet, Beatrice’s appearance should mean that people are going to get culled one by one, hopefully in the most horrible fashion, with Battler here pulling off that pose once he’s figured out the perpetrator. You know, after swearing upon his grandfather’s prestigious name and all that, though from the looks of it, the old man’s a craze occultist who probably set everything up in the first place

The OP itself needs special mention as its brilliant intertwining of haunting chants and soothing vocals made it an instant winner in my books, although Studio DEEN cheated with the use of Latin verses, which ups the coolness factor of any song. Just ask Nobuo Uematsu.

I’ve never been much of a Hatsune Miku fan let alone one of rhythm games due to poor hand to eye coordination skills on my part, though I felt compelled to give this title a run. I expected this to be no more than SEGA’s attempt to cash in on the VOCALOID craze, though to its credit, Project DIVA turned out to be a much better game than I had anticipated.

Unlike the other weeaboo games which I have reviewed for the PSP, the great thing about this title is that it takes little to no moonspeak skills on the player’s behalf to enjoy, although a certain portion of the game does indeed require that you know Japanese(more on that later)

From the get go, having Miku pronounce SEGA was a brilliant and nostalgic touch that paid homage to the company’s legacy over the years. SEGA doesn’t stop there as the company flexes its developer’s muscle with a CG rendition of Hatsune Miku for the introduction video that made it stand out even among the likes of the better ones I’ve seen on Nicovideo.

Suddenly, hundreds of moonrunes! Navigating the main menu is a relatively easy task, with its functions being rather self explanatory once players go about it.

With a measly 6 songs to get you started, the library expands as you clear each track even with the minimum score, though players are rewarded with better unlockables for putting in more effort in obtaining a higher ranking.

Gameplay is straightforward enough. Time button presses accordingly to visual cues, or even better yet, to the beat of the song, though it requires that players being already familiar with the the title. Personally, the former would have a lot less difficult had it not been for the the fact that these cues fly in from every direction, not to mention that some of it occasionally clashes with the background.

To be honest, other than IevanPolkka, none of the titles were familiar to me, though I found myself enjoying most of them. While SEGA had an easy time not having to compose most of these songs, they more than compensate for it with their own PVs that once again, stood out on their own when compared to the originals as it also highlights the capabilities of the graphics engine, with no signs of visible slowdown despite all the numerous effects that take place simultaneously on screen(it apparently lags on the PSP-1000).  If you find yourself not being able to savor the eye candy the first time around, you can always play the title over as a music video once you clear it. My only complain would be that SEGA eventually runs out of steam, as the later videos consist of slideshows. Come on, even Hachune Miku twirling leek for the entire IevanPolkka song would have suffice!

The amount of in-game goodies are astounding as it extends beyond alternate costumes for Miku herself. Even distant(and not so distant) relatives of the VOCALOID family make an appearance, although as expected, you still only hear Miku’s singing voice.

Having played fan targeted games of a similar vein, Miku’s Room came off as no surprise. Owners of other portable devices such as the iPod will find it familiar as well, as this is technically a glorified clock feature, where you deck out the room with items that you have painstakingly unlocked, and with a song playing in the background, players can watch and ogle at Miku idle away minding her own business. Then there’s also the clock in case you missed it. Incidentally, I have Miku in her bridal outfit, so she’s now mai waifu

Tip of the hat to SEGA for including the Edit feature which is unheard of until now for a platform like the PSP. 39 songs may seem insufficient, and for those upset over their favorite titles not being included in the final game(I’m looking at you, Black Rock Shooter), you can upload your own track and design customs stages around it. However, I’ve yet to test this feature out myself due to the game’s inability to detect my MP3s. I’ll be more than happy to try out whatever the fans churn out in the mean time while I figure it out as this also basically spells out unlimited replay value.

Speaking of the fans, a game of this nature cannot do without a gallery, which once again, works to SEGA’s advantage, as I’m pretty sure all of these originated from Pixiv Piapro, as I was told The image you see above is now my new wallpaper.

Verdict

I know a real life fanboy who pre-ordered this game, and I must say that it was money well spent, which I once joked the Puchi Nendoroid Hatsune Miku being the only good thing. As he also got his hands on this game through the same channels I did, his biased opinions wouldn’t have had an effect on me, had I not agreed with him as well With no glaring flaws that would mar the game in any way(other than the lack of auto-save function, which is strange lack of foresight on SEGA’s behalf), Project DIVA sets the bar up high for fan games with its great song selection, attention to detail and incredible replay value. 9/10.

Went to watch Transformers 2 today with some of my friends. Spoilers and some thoughts on it after the break.

I never really liked the first Transformers movie. In my opinion it had too much of humans in it and too little of mecha action. So, I could safely say that I went to the cinema to watch the sequel of it with many doubts. I am however, glad to say that I came out a much more satisfied person compared to when I went in.

So, what does this second movie has going for it? The plot is your standard cut and paste storyline, the characters are somewhat stereotypical, and to top it off Megan Fox gets way too much screen time to show off her less than alluring looks. However, it is a mecha movie and much to my delight the director seems to have remembered that and gave us a significantly increased amount of mecha action than I remembered in the last movie.

In my opinion there aren’t many mechas out there that are more awesome than Optimus Prime. He is, after all a transforming TRUCK powered by GAR (and is a better savior than Jesus). The scene where he took on Megatron, Starscream, and another Decepticon whose name I forgot to save Sam was made up of pure awesome. Imagine this, FOUR mechas churning shit up in a forest, uprooting trees and blowing them apart as they fight with bullets and missiles flying in ever conceivable direction. THEN Optimus Prime kicks things up to another level altogether when he whipped out TWO swords and goes completely berserk on the Decepticon trio, turning the brawl into a whirling storm of pure metallic death. To top it off, he does all of the above while berating the Decepticons and referring to them as scrap metal. Sheer class.

Almost all of the fight scenes between the Autobots and Decepticons were great except for the final climatic battle with The Fallen. It kind of felt like it ended way too quickly with The Fallen and Megatron getting their collective metal asses kicked by Optimus Prime in a couple or so minutes. Other than that it is safe to say that this is one movie I will be glad to go back to the cinema to rewatch for maybe half a dozen times.

Oh, and what of the humans in the movie? Lets just say that all they are good for is getting tased for the sake of hilarity.