Mega Megane Moé

Survey of an Otaku’s Heart (i.e. look it’s about love and sex)

canon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:01:03 +0000

Along with a couple friends, I started wondering a bit too hard about those kinds of topics.

And in the end, I decided the best way to rest our wandering minds, would be to collect stories from real people, to dispel or reinforce the many stereotypes about otaku.

Whether they were romantically – and sexually – hopeless, or active.
Whether they were wild perverts, or hard-line purists, or maybe neither.
Whether anime fandom was the one substance they breathed,
or really whether they cared about any of this at all.

http://tinyurl.com/otaku-heart
So, there is a survey now. It talks a lot about love and sex, a bit about ideology, and even has a page about shipping and cosplay.

If you’re at all curious, I ask of you to take the time to fill it out yourself, so that we can all find out, perhaps new things. You might even learn about yourself.

And most importantly of all, spread the word! The more people who know about this, the better!

Thank you!
CCY

Anime Expo Exposition 2010

canon — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:15:30 +0000

(some pics by Doll_Judgement)
One thing that I can never state enough, is how central to me the people are at anime conventions.

I’m not talking about the guests of honors; the seiyuu, the idols, the mangaka. But the -people-. The cosplayers. Anibloggers. Gamers. Everyday people, like you and I. Getting to be with them is what really makes my weekend.

It seems silly of course, to spend upwards of $200 to hang out with a bunch of everyday people. But, it’s not to say this goal is exclusive from the other, traditional goals of an anime convention – whether it be seeing famous people, going shopping, or otherwise enjoying the amenities.

After all, even if I just aim to spend a weekend hanging out with friends, I think it’s a fair price to pay, for a weekend raving with friends, shopping with friends, hanging at the arcade with friends, walking with friends, singing with friends, and so on.

If you consider all the different social opportunities AX provides, even if the cost is a little steep compared to the cost of similar entertainment (even in expensive places like Japan), it’s worth my dollars. People, are worth my dollars.

(Maybe I can also survive it because my money is so often spent on or with people, rather than on goods directly.)

Since it’s not just about enjoying what Anime Expo provides, but it’s also about enjoying the company of the people I’ve had the blessing to meet. Sometimes these two occasions overlapped this weekend. Sometimes they didn’t.

While toying with this post, I considered a bunch of different formats. Organizing it by day was too simple, and it felt like too much of a dry recap. Telling the story of AX by each and every event I enjoyed, seemed a bit scattershot.

Now, staring down the gun at this theme of ‘people’, it all seems a bit masturbatory. (Any jokes as to whether this is fitting for a post about anime conventions may direct their way to the comments box at the bottom)

Focusing on the people seems a bit strange, especially for those of you who I am bound to forget, and it’s still a bit disorganized, but it’s as much organization as this post will get.

I tried hard – you know this, knowing how much of a passion I have for anime – to not care about people, but damn it, I like people.

(“S-stupid 3D, it’s not like I care about you or anything,” natch.

And for those of you who are bound to scan the post looking for your name [I know the feeling!], I apologize! I plan to speak mostly in vague terms here, in terms of groups, since those involved will know who they are. They don’t need their name dropped to get a warm fuzzy feeling.)

Something about the way that I didn’t realize until 2 AM – twice! – that I hadn’t had dinner, had been up for 20 hours, and didn’t frankly care, made me consider something like this. There’s just a certain energy I derive from being around friends, one way or another.

Certainly the way in which I planned this AX may have contributed to this; since many of my college and high school friends were not attending, partially or completely (although I still did meet up with a few!), I was left to digging for rooms amongst my internet circle, something which is intimidating yet intriguing, both because of the prospects of having to deal with new people.

I ended up staying with a group of Touhou cosplayers that I knew from cons and meetups past to varying degrees, in a 5-person room. It seemed to be a nice, manageable size.

The time seems to pass quickly with them, somehow. It’s a nice thing, even though time is of the essence at a convention. Something about the manner in which one can begin packing while conversing in a lazy manner at midnight, and not feel tired at 3 AM, is rather pleasant.

There were of course the slightly more frustrating and bizarre episodes, such as the search for an umbrella that resulted in me just barely missing the candid shot of 5 Touhou girls (to varying extent of ‘girl’) walking in a Macy’s inside a shopping mall. It drags on a bit, but in the end, being able to walk around 1) in cosplay and 2) with people you very rarely get to meet, is something that can be appreciated anywhere, not just within the convention center.

I’m glad that we seemed to get along as all of them are very dedicated, passionate people in their various interests, from singing to drawing to books about symbolism that resemble the print form of TVTropes. (And certainly Touhou.)

And most of the time they are also relaxed, pleasant people to be around. (“Most of the time” is all that a majority of humans, myself included, can shoot for, I believe, so it’s not backhanded in intention.) And that’s nice. I always hear about cosplay drama and con drama, and I’m always glad to not be part of it. Certainly I’d be more than glad to hang out with them again, as with pretty much anyone I’m going to mention in this post.

Of course, that wasn’t by a long shot the end-all of Touhou for Anime Expo. I spent a large part of the first half of the con and some of the second immersing myself in the ever-large meta-expanse of a fandom that is Touhou.

One of the points I still feel I have to work on regarding anime conventions is cosplay meetups; this is my first year cosplaying, so perhaps it is natural, but the sheer size of most Touhou groups remains intimidating to me, such that I find it difficult to talk to people I’m unfamiliar with at these things.

Whether it’s because many of these cosplayers are too adorable or too unknown, who knows, but it’s sort of a shame, since as I’ve proved repeatedly, most of the people at these meets are really quite enjoyable to be around.

Maybe it’s the size, since many hours afterward when most of the people had dispersed and there only remained a few stragglers, I managed to meet a few interesting people. The element of the Touhou cosplay is a universal icebreaker, no matter where you are in the con. Even though I didn’t manage to talk to them much, who knows if the winds of Fanime and AX will blow our paths across again.

Still, cosplaying is something that I think I’d like to continue doing in the future. It really does lend itself to chance meetings somehow, if only because the image of a six-foot-tall guy in a dress, blue wig, and giant Touhou bento box hat is hard to forget. And even if I’m not a 100% diehard fan of Touhou and anime much these days, except in the meta sense, it’s still a nice way to wear your heart on your sleeve and remind people that you have the same interests as them.

And, there are random moments that still make you smile. Such as a person who asked if I was the same Keine from Fanime earlier in the summer; apparently I had been kind to their friend (who was not attending) then and they were under strict orders to say hi to any Keine they saw. Even if it’s a simple gesture that more popular cosplayers may be used to, it still surprised me and warmed my heart really too much. Little things, you know.

The blue hair and dress weren’t strictly necessary for meeting with all the people I knew from Twitter and the otakusphere, although I’m sure it left more of an impression on them, in one way or the other.

I hope so, anyway, as I almost wish to apologize for not spending a lot of time with most of them. On Saturday, I spent a lot of time walking ‘just one more block’ with a few of them, and it was pretty chill. I don’t know what I’d do if I were given more time. But I’m sure it would be pretty manly. For definitions of manly meaning ‘good times’.

Luckily I managed to extend my dinner with the aniblogger group a bit longer, mainly due to my inability to eat a $2 container of rice despite only consuming a Poptart the entire day. (Although that considers the 5 AM dinner as on the previous day – said dinner a result of Hardcore Synergy, detailed below.)

I think I’m in a pretty unique perspective in the otakusphere, and so it’s definitely fun to meet my aniblogger peers, who all come from different backgrounds than I. Whether they be fansubber, industry buff, seiyuu fan, or super-pro-at-Japanese-guy, the diversity contributes to a lot of discussions (and occasional wanking about blogging, of course!). You learn things! About how getting press badges is useful and easy, about the life on the other side of the subtitles, and on the longest autograph line in the history of time.

(Although that paled in comparison to the longest line for artist drawings on shikishi – something that I only barely managed to taste while admist a shopping mission for French comrades.)

Unfortunately, we never quite did all get out our laptops and simultwit / blog, as joked about.

I ended up departing their gathering a bit early to attend another gathering very very late, termed Nihongo de OK, a little-publicized offkai mainly for Japanese speakers at AX. A friend and I hit it up in an effort to renshuu our nihongo (if you’ll excuse my lack of Japanese support on WordPress). Perhaps it failed a bit miserably, but it was still a good time, as we walked away with the realization that some Japanese are much better at English than we are at Japanese, along with a vague desire to watch PreCure. Worth noting.

Returning to Touhou cosplay, it is also amusing to wear, while in the front in the crowd during Hardcore Synergy. You haven’t danced (or banged your head, or fist-pumped, or whatever you do to hardcore) until you’ve done it in a full-on dress and wig to REDALiCE spinning Touhou tunes. (As my friend put it, “I think [all the Touhou cosplayers at Hardcore Synergy] became REDALiCE fangirls [that day]“. Myself definitely included.)

Well, I hadn’t before I did that, at least. And it was a great time, although I definitely spent a lot of time learning my tastes. But the raw energy out there in the crowd was some amazing stuff. And the music more often than not was a foot-stomper. Or a fist-pumper. Or whatever you’d term it!

And definitely, music was the thing that dominated the back half of my Fanime, with one simple word: Technika.

DJ MAX Technika is something that, if you’ve followed me on Twitter, I’m sure you’re aware slots in somewhere between Shiori Misaka and Eriko Futami on my list of impossibly deep crushes.

It’s a touchscreen rhythm game that can best be described as “ouendan / osu! if it were more linear”; it has a popular following among anime fans because of it’s heavily anime-inspired visuals and soundtrack that is mostly pop and trance, and it has an incredibly devoted community.

And well, when that community all shows up at this convention, you know there are good times in store. All in all, about 20 people, from Northern California, Southern California, the East Coast, and a few places in between managed to make the trip, enough to warrant a de facto meetup.

You would think this would make the game a bit crowded to play, and in fact you’re right, but thanks to a few things it was still an incredibly memorable time in the arcade.

Even when it was crowded with up to 10 people in line to play, the community is just really supportive and entertaining, and made the game enjoyable whether you’re playing or watching. The skill level varies enough – among newcomers at AX as well – such that you always see different things, whether a beginner playing for the first time, to a novice stepping up to the next level. And, for the regulars, some intense freestyling or gimmick playing, even some doubles teamwork which was impressive.

And, when you’re up there on the machine, you know someone’s back there rooting for you. I know I was, even just looking to see my friend pass one of the hardest songs on normal difficulty for the first time (Blythe PP, for those in the know – nailed it second time!)

Of course, these all paled in comparison to the roulettes – in layman’s term, a sort of group play where everyone participates – that went down at the meetup. It’s already something that encourages a sort of group spirit, as everyone plays their part towards completing a set, but seeing the energy of everyone together, as they dance, clap, sing horribly off-pitch – is just amazing. You can feel the passion for Technika, and I can’t wait for the sequel to be released in the States.

Lest I have to book a trip to Korea any time soon, as that will run me even more than this con.

Of course, the only thing that could top one roulette was three, as there was also the regional Technika event, where the crowd was broken up into 3 groups of 6 by location, and pitted against each other in a battle of rhythm and coordination. This brought out the competitive spirit as well, and was definitely a very hot-blooded moment, even if in the end our team finished last. (But with the better song!)

Away from the machine the Technika crew was very kind as well, as I had the chance to enjoying my last con meal with them; and even if we did babble so much about Technika and anime, it gives you a reminder that people are equally cool when away from their number one passion; as goes with many people this weekend.

(Even if I do somehow always return to Touhou and Technika.)

This was proven in probably, the final thing I should touch on, the one panel attended this year – the behemoth only describable as the MangaGamer translator-comedy-slash-press-conference-slash-idol-live-slash-raffle.

I came in expecting some Q&A with eroge company artists and leaders, as well as a few game announcements, and what I got was so much more, one way or another.

One has to hold some respect for the MC of the panel, who kept a sharp wit (even hanging a lampshade on the faceless male trope) amongst the various translation gaffes; and therefore, even more props to the woman from the crowd who stood up and translated the panel properly. Truly, fansubbed panels are the future.

And while the idol performances weren’t initially interesting, being able to witness wotagei for the first-time, with some of my friends leading the charge to bring a dull event to life, with that unbridled enthusiasm that I can only hope to apply. Although to other things, perhaps.

And to cap it all, they raffled off a cardboard box that the guests up front hastily signed. (Among other actual goods.) I’m now convinced that every panel should have bumbling translators, enthusastic idol fans, a crowd that demands free stuff, and five people sitting in a row constantly updating Twitter with constant updates.

All in all, 4 days and I’m left with 2500 words, a gaping expanse where all but $5 in my wallet used to be, and one hell of an awesome experience. I only hope that I can match it in cons to come, and meet everyone again someday ~

CCY

\(‘o’ )/<3

When you have guests over …

canon — Mon, 17 May 2010 08:05:42 +0000

… it’s good to prepare the house a little bit, isn’t it?

Welcome, visitors from the Aniblog Tourney, Anime Nano, Google image search, who knows what. You’ve happened to stumble here one way or the other, on a day where I not so coincidentally have decided to make a post summarizing a few key points about my blog, Mega Megane Moé.

As I coyly state in my About page, my name is CCY, I’m likely a person and more likely a writhing ball of abstract humor, pretention, and sarcasm. My roots are very strongly in visual-novel adaptations and other harem-alike, although I have diversified to become a general Touhou addict, Saimoe obsessee, so on, so forth.

I write an aniblog because I have feelings, and occasionally, thoughts, and I express these by writing about them. And, I guess it’s an aniblog because my feelings and thoughts are generally about anime and anime-related substance.

I enjoy writing, and if you enjoy reading as a result, I am happy.

Flipping back and forth among random categories in my blog, I’m sure you can see the shifts in style over the three or so years I’ve been around.

In the beginning, I was an episodic-style blogger, writing the posts to keep a bi-daily schedule going. And, as we get closer and closer to the present, the posts get longer and longer, more analytic, and more serious. Or less serious. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, with a post like the three-part series recounting all the girls I would most like as my two-dimensional bride. (Or three-dimension, if you’re willing to go there.)

In between there are the random datawanks on the International Saimoe League, the amount of Touhou H in existance, and a bunch of arbitrary things. If you’re looking for some indicative writing, I’ve always found my 12 Days posts (where I count down the 12 Days of Christmas every year, with a list of some of my favorite moments in anime / fandom) to be among some of my most well-written and/or passionate.

Most of my more in-depth posts end up in Analysis, so I’d encourage you to poke around if the above hasn’t satiated your taste already.

I’d rather let my writing speak for me, than my meta-writing. (Although my meta-meta-writing, of which I know I have a few posts, is quite fantastic, if I do say so myself.) So poke around some of the more interesting topics or categories, get a feel for things.

So, please! Have a look around! I am the butler here, or maybe the chef, preparing content (warmly) to the best of their ability, and you are my guest. So, let me know how I may be of service to you ~ and please enjoy your stays here, whenever and whyever they may be!

-CCY

P.S. If you are visiting from the Aniblog Tourney, do remember to also check out Mecha Guignol, my opponent for this match.

I am proud to report that the Aniblog Tourney is doing its job in exposing people to new blogs, as I had not heard of Landon until a few weeks ago, but, I must say that I am very much enjoying his writing as well.

So, I would urge you to give the both of us a fair evaluation, and vote for whichever you enjoy more. I think I can be proud of the result either way, whether out of respect for a fellow aniblogger, or out of selfish pride.

So, here’s to you Landon, let’s have a good one today (slash however long this event is open) ~

2 AM Investigative Journalism: Perversions of Gensokyo

canon — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:14:03 +0000

(image: kuronekonero)

Touhou. There’s a lot of it.
P*rn. (H*ntai, whatever.) There’s also a lot of it.

Two facts of the internet you’re always aware of, but never quite that intimate with until … you come across a certain spreadsheet on the internet, that does a rather impressive job of cataloging what I imagine must be at least a large portion of the Touhou erotica out there.

Faced with such a mind-boggling compendium of stats, I was only left with one choice. Analyze it.

There were tags for character, artist, genre, and content, among others that interested; the first and the third will be the ones I concern myself with tonight. The fourth one produced some interesting, but not mind-safe results, so I shall refrain from looking at those for now.

So why don’t you come along with me for a little tonight, into the sleazy underworld – or perhaps overworld – of the Touhou fandom. And let’s see who our most popular ladies are …

(Also, don’t mind the censorship, I’m trying to avoid gratuitous hits from searches for … the wrong things. Also, note this post is not graphic in context and so is vaguely safe for work, as far as reading an aniblog at work goes.)

Of the 995 total doujins,
301 of them contained futan*ri material.

The genre breakdown went as followed:
412 Yuri
357 Straight
137 G*ngbang
66 Tentacl*s
57 Orgy
40 Solo
28 Light
Proving that Gensokyo is probably the only place in the world which isn’t dominated by faceless males (and Rinnosuke).

A brief summary of the character counts goes as follows:
Reimu leads the pack with appearances in 147 doujins, followed closely by Marisa with 140.

There is a sharp drop-off then to the SDM trio of Sakuya, Remilia, and Patchy rounding off the top 5, all in the low 100s.

The gradient from thereon is pretty smooth, with 41 girls having at least 10 doujins to their name, and a total of 72 girls listed.

Overall, characters popular as ‘boobinites’ in the Touhou fanon seem to enjoy a healthy following here, citing Yukari, Reisen, Aya, and Yuyuko who encompass almost all of the rest of the top 10 (with Alice grabbing the 6th spot).

Not to say that they are the only popular ones, with the next block of five holding Flandre, Youmu, and Tenshi, popular washboards. Not to mention some of the top 5 themselves. Overall, I’d call it a pretty fair split, although you have to wonder if certain characters got their popularity inflated by inflated chests.

In general, there is a sensible trend of age (series-wise), with characters that have been around longer tending to place higher; they have had more time to establish a fanon personality, and more time to actually have doujins drawn about them, naturally.

However, the few exceptions go to show the marked popularity of some newer characters – famed ‘good girl’ Sanae is 11th, while Tenshi is in 15th. (And of course, Aya has already been noted) There are only two other girls from Mountain of Faith and later (Satori, Suwako, and Kanako) in the top 30.

Other interesting notes that mark the fandom’s choices include Tewi and Koakuma, both in the top 20 and enjoying an astronomical H-doujins-per-line-of-canon-dialogue ratio. (Well, Tewi had PoFV, but still.)

There do in fact exist Shanghai, Lily Black, and Reisen II doujins, apparently. There’s also one tagged Rinnosuke. I wonder if that’s a genderswap, or aimed at women.

The full breakdown follows. I hope you’ve enjoyed this adventure into the dark minds of the Touhou fandom. This is about as far as I can stand to dive into the rabbit hole.

No innuendo intended. Well, don’t tire yourself out reading this post.

There may be more, there may be less out there, it’s tough to tell in a field that grows as quickly as this, but it is sure a curious approximation, at least …

Complete Character Count:
Show ▼

- CCY
(thanks to Mysterio006 for putting this spreadsheet together)

oh, i guess i should tell you guys to vote

canon — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:11:29 +0000

For Shiori.

Because, y’know, Shior – no wait what do you mean she’s not in ISML this year

OK, fine, Hanyuu.

Since like, she’s 0-12 in ISML, and that’s just like, not cool, seriously, I mean, she’s the only winless girl that isn’t from Saki. And Rika only has one win herself. I mean come on ~

Isumi is also an acceptable vote choice.

That is all.

oh also like my blog is three years old today now, but I’m going to put that in a separate post today if I get around to it. So don’t congratulate me yet, or I’ll delete your comment and vote against you in that aniblog tournament that I bet you thought I was pimping myself in, from the title of this post.

Yeah.

Did I mention Shiori?

CCY

(tags: not an indicative post, bringing my average word count down by a couple hundred words)

It is a story of the “Will”.

canon — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:47:40 +0000

One more time, one more chance.

Until the end, you have to fight, don’t you?

Despite the fact that few will listen, you have to fight, don’t you?

Even though it looks like God is playing with you, you have to fight, don’t you?

Even though it looks like it is hopeless, you have to fight, don’t you?

Because it looks like it is hopeless, you have to fight.

Because you want to meet again, you have to fight.

Because, in the end, you can’t deny those feelings,
you must fight,
you must reach out,
you have to do everything,
anything, in your power,
just to make that sliver of a chance fractionally larger
so that in your deepest dreams
you can even consider

grasping that miracle … !!!

And that is why, I cannot help but plea for your help, your vote in International Saimoe League, one last time, one last chance, for Yuuko Amamiya.

One vote. One minute. One passion. If anything in this post has moved you …

-CCY

A Mathematical Study of Touhou Character Correlation

canon — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:54:27 +0000

Well, I needed somewhere to put this, so spontaneous blog post it is. I ought to put something up in the 11 non-December months of the year.

After some discussion with Fang-tan, I became determined to hammer the hell out of Danbooru, to figure out some of the correlations between the characters in Gensokyo.

All of them.

Well, what I really wanted was to see what the most popular pairings in the Touhou fandom were, but I don’t think that’s strictly possible, at least not in an hour of programming. I have been able to figure out, however, what characters are correlated to each other, defined by ‘who appears in pictures with each other’. However, do note these -are not- mutually exclusive, i.e. not limited to only these two girls in a picture.

Yay, stats?

Raw popularity: (how many images each girl has)
Show ▼

Pairings (as defined above), most popular to least. The numbers are a bit flawed; as you can see, I am getting double results for pairings backwards, for some of them, and also, since the numbers were stored in a map by pairing count, if two pairing collides (i.e. with the same amount of images), only one will show up. Hopefully this will not be a huge issue, but keep in mind… (shown is the image count for the given girl plus the other girl)
Show ▼

And for each girl’s individual correlation, sorted by girl: (shown is the image count for the given girl plus the other girl)
ALICE_MARGATROID Show ▼

ALICE_MARGATROID_(YOUNG) Show ▼

ASAKURA_RIKAKO Show ▼

CHEN Show ▼

CIRNO Show ▼

DAIYOUSEI Show ▼

ELLY Show ▼

EX-KEINE Show ▼

FLANDRE_SCARLET Show ▼

FUJIWARA_NO_MOKOU Show ▼

HAKUREI_REIMU Show ▼

HAKUREI_REIMU_(CLASSIC) Show ▼

HIEDA_NO_AKYUU Show ▼

HIJIRI_BYAKUREN Show ▼

HINANAWI_TENSHI Show ▼

HONG_MEILING Show ▼

HOSHIGUMA_YUUGI Show ▼

HOUJUU_NUE Show ▼

HOURAISAN_KAGUYA Show ▼

IBUKI_SUIKA Show ▼

INABA_TEWI Show ▼

INUBASHIRI_MOMIJI Show ▼

IZAYOI_SAKUYA Show ▼

KAENBYOU_RIN Show ▼

KAGIYAMA_HINA Show ▼

KAMISHIRASAWA_KEINE Show ▼

KANA_ANABERAL Show ▼

KAWASHIRO_NITORI Show ▼

KAZAMI_YUUKA Show ▼

KAZAMI_YUUKA_(CLASSIC) Show ▼

KIRISAME_MARISA Show ▼

KISUME Show ▼

KITASHIRAKAWA_CHIYURI Show ▼

KOAKUMA Show ▼

KOCHIYA_SANAE Show ▼

KOMEIJI_KOISHI Show ▼

KOMEIJI_SATORI Show ▼

KONPAKU_YOUMU Show ▼

KUMOI_ICHIRIN Show ▼

KURODANI_YAMAME Show ▼

LETTY_WHITEROCK Show ▼

LILY_BLACK Show ▼

LILY_WHITE Show ▼

LUNA_CHILD Show ▼

LUNASA_PRISMRIVER Show ▼

LYRICA_PRISMRIVER Show ▼

MAI_(TOUHOU) Show ▼

MARIBEL_HAN Show ▼

MAYBELL Show ▼

MEDICINE_MELANCHOLY Show ▼

MERLIN_PRISMRIVER Show ▼

MIMA Show ▼

MIZUHASHI_PARSEE Show ▼

MORICHIKA_RINNOSUKE Show ▼

MORIYA_SUWAKO Show ▼

MURASA_MINAMITSU Show ▼

MYSTIA_LORELEI Show ▼

NAGAE_IKU Show ▼

NAZRIN Show ▼

OKAZAKI_YUMEMI Show ▼

ONOZUKA_KOMACHI Show ▼

ORANGE_(TOUHOU) Show ▼

PATCHOULI_KNOWLEDGE Show ▼

REISEN_UDONGEIN_INABA Show ▼

REIUJI_UTSUHO Show ▼

REMILIA_SCARLET Show ▼

RUMIA Show ▼

SAIGYOUJI_YUYUKO Show ▼

SHAMEIMARU_AYA Show ▼

SHANGHAI Show ▼

SHIKIEIKI_YAMAXANADU Show ▼

SHINKI Show ▼

STAR_SAPPHIRE Show ▼

SUNNY_MILK Show ▼

TATARA_KOGASA Show ▼

TORAMARU_SHOU Show ▼

USAMI_RENKO Show ▼

VIVIT Show ▼

WATATSUKI_NO_TOYOHIME Show ▼

WATATSUKI_NO_YORIHIME Show ▼

WRIGGLE_NIGHTBUG Show ▼

YAGOKORO_EIRIN Show ▼

YAKUMO_RAN Show ▼

YAKUMO_YUKARI Show ▼

YASAKA_KANAKO Show ▼

YUKI_(TOUHOU) Show ▼

YUMEKO Show ▼

-CCY

Yuuko can do it – We can help.

canon — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:39 +0000

Brought to you by the Moe Depot.

The Saimoe Depot.
The International Saimoe League Depot, to be precise.

In any case, if you’ve clicked on this because you are a die-hard ef fan, or maybe just a casual one, or maybe just someone who likes reading my posts for some reason, you know what duty comes next.

This is the miracle we can pull off. The one that we can bring together with our own hands. The first round has proven it.

Yuuko Amamiya was contending up there with the best of them in the Group 13 of the ISML 2010 prelims in the first round yesterday. And now, I’m firmly convinced that with that extra push, we can bring her into that future that so many of us wish for. That moe – that beautiful character – that we all believe in.

(There are a thousand of us at least, apparently!)

It won’t be easy. But it wouldn’t be as rewarding any other way. We can shape this outcome. We can make this ISML a more brilliant ISML than last year.

It is a story of the “Will”.

Never forget.

You’re not alone.

Carve your confident footsteps into the ground, transcend the seasons, and look up towards the sky.

Even without wings, you’ll make it…

Whether for Yuuko, for ef, for me even, let’s bond together and bring Yuuko to that dream we saw one day, that dream of a future, overflowing with light … with this vote!

-CCY
ROUND 2 – GROUP 13 – Yuuko Amamiya

Thanks for your time – and please, spread the word! Every vote counts!

Isumi Saimoe League 2010: too lost to lose?

canon — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:00:07 +0000

(As you surmise, the tl;dr of this is Vote For Isumi, but I would encourage you to read the entire article to get a better sense of why.)

The date is Sunday, January 31st, 2010.
The time, 2:00 AM. (Although by the time you read this, maybe closer to 7:00 AM.)
The place, my dorm room, my face lit only by the dim glow of a computer screen and the burning flame inside my heart. A flame that won’t die out. Not for the next nine months.

I sit, and await the dawn.

Not the occurrence every 24 hours, of the glowing orb we call the sun hoisting itself fervently into the sky, but rather, a metaphorical dawn.

The wheels of fate were already turning. Maybe you had already seen it coming.

The forty girls who had already been waiting, certainly had. On the 10th of January, they were joined by the eighty-six hoisted up by the people. Some, veterans. Others, hot-shots.

The long-haired and the short, the mature and the blob-like, the round and the DFC, the young and the … slightly less young.

Beginning now, is the start, of their journey. For some of them, it may be a road they’ve traveled already; others, unfamiliar territory.

But no matter whom, it was clear, that the golden road to the 2010 International Saimoe League would be harder than ever before.

And so, a vehicle must be constructed to traverse this road, a machine powered by passion itself.

I shall endeavor to become its mechanic.

INTERNATIONAL SAIMOE LEAGUE 2010: PRELIMINARY ROUND I
“My turn … where is it?”
Campaign A: Isumi Saginomiya

I always dislike introducing myself into the crude campaign posts I write. The girl, not the writer, should be the target of the paean, should it not?

The more that can be focused on the virtue of the character, the better, and it is better not to have any impure motives of the 3D author behind it at, muddling it up.

But it seems all but a necessity, as otherwise quite the paradox is created. The character may create the fanbase, but the fanbase cannot be driven by anyone but a fan itself.

Rather, objectivity is a difficult task. There have been far more, far more eloquent posts written on how to identify a ‘good’ character alone, not to mention a ‘moe’ one, a task that seems to elude even the best of us, at least in terms of creating a unifying definition.

And I would be perfectly fine with accepting that task as impossible. It’s only natural that ‘moe’ is a highly personal topic, and so trying to convince another that their character is more ‘moe’ than the other is something that I imagine is very difficult.

It’s something that counteracts the whole idea of campaigning itself, as it seems as if the pleas will fall on deaf ears. It is difficult, without the canonical characterization that an anime or manga can provide, to change one’s opinion on a character.

So why do we campaign in spite of this difficulty?
Or, is it, we campaign because of this difficulty?

Because, while maybe 90% of people have made up their minds, there is still the 10%. Those who are ambivalent. Whether it is an equal tie between the characters, or because they are unfamiliar, or maybe not even aware of ISML at all. These are the people that we seek out, more than anyone. It’s the same as political campaigning in the real world, right?

“Because, if I can even affect one vote, that can change everything.”

Of course, that’s faulty logic, right? The exact opposite of “my vote doesn’t matter”. Which one wins out in the end?

I still cannot say for sure. But, for me, I cannot believe anything other than the former. Not just because I cannot let those whom I care for down without a fight, but because I believe in the power of numbers.

I am but one person. But together, you as readers, total in the hundreds. (Well, on a good post day.)

And, I know, if I can affect even just a handful of readers, if those handful vote, and if they are inspired enough to spread the word themselves, a beautiful chain of events will occur.

It is that miracle that a seek. Maybe it was a miracle that I dragged out once before, for last year? I cannot say for sure whether it was my effect or not. And personally, I do not care. This is not my battle.

This time, it is Isumi Saginomiya’s. For her banner, is the one I plan to fight under first and foremost, in this first preliminary round.

Perhaps that statement may surprise some of you. Certainly, there is another girl who my heart belongs to even more. But, I shall show that side of me when the time is right. It is important, not only to know why to fight, and how to fight, but when to fight.

And for Isumi, that time is now. She can bring victory in the first preliminary round. I will guarantee that much. And all I ask is that you believe, and help create the truth behind that guarantee.

There are things that draw me to Isumi. Maybe it is the same for you.

Her personality, which can be lightly described as ‘air-headed’, the adorably clueless girl who can read the atmosphere of a room just about as well as she can read a map (which incidentally, is not at all).

Or maybe the contrast of her more serious side, the exorcist who, despite her sense of direction and balance’s strongest attempts to intervene, always tries to bring peace to those she purifies, with an unchallenged determination.

Maybe it’s just the fact that she can be tooth-shattering in a maid outfit, enhanced by her personality and character’s mismatch with such a thing.

Or her character design in general, the beautiful, flowing dark hair over a traditional kimono that could be described in any number of words. Refined? Delicate? Cute? Your pick.

I believe there is plenty. Not just from the attractiveness of such a girl, but from my own empathy as a clumsy, air-headed person. Something that internalized that sort of emotion, and created a stronger feeling.

That is the passion, I want to express, more than anything. (And perhaps the reason why I have gone on slightly longer than I wanted.)

The passion, that I would hope, drives every one of you.

The passion that, perhaps you sympathize with. Not necessarily for Isumi, but for some person, pastime, or otherwise. 2D? 3D? Somewhere in between? Whatever it may be.

I find that without the ability to understand this passion, without the willingness to let it drive you crazy at 2:30 in the morning, without the acceptance of this emotion in yourself, without that, life wouldn’t be very exciting.

And so, maybe I may consider myself a bit ambitious here, to ask you to understand my passion here, with, if you are not inclined otherwise, a few votes in the prelims of ISML 2010.

Because, even if it is not something that concerns you most drastically, it is the smallest of time lost for you, and the most of happiness gained for myself, and other like-minded people.

Everyone has something that drives them. This is what drives me. So, won’t you help Isumi move a bit closer towards the start line for ISML 2010 … ? Whether it is by voting or otherwise…

Thank you for your time.
(Incidentally, some administrative trivia: in order to advance to the next round, a character must perform the best out of a group of 9, in 4 three-way matches to be held over the next week or so.

So if you do feel convinced to lend Isumi a hand, please do note that the effect will be greatest if you vote in all four matches. There will be follow-up posts notifying of these matches, when the day comes.)

CCY

Twelve Memories of Anime 2009 #01: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

canon — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:00:01 +0000

(For more love-remembering et al. in the 12 Days project, see: otou-san, schneider, doctordazza, Gargron, Scamp, zaon47, kevo, rabbitpoets, drmchsr0, Pontifus, ghostlightning, 53RG10, Vii, Seinime, _ETERNAL, FuyuMaiden, Eater-of-All, Shinmaru, calaggie, yumeka, Nazarielle, Cuchlann, Jinx, Janette, stringedsonata, animewriter, prototype27, and probably more in the days to come~)

Action?
Mystery?

Life?
Death?

Love?
Hate?

Logic?
Irrationality?

Witches?
Humans?

Chess?
Roulette?

Red?
Blue?

Umineko.

12 Memories of Anime 2009 #1
(This post contains no ‘hard’ spoilers, but does name-drop a few characters that don’t show up until later in the third and fourth arcs. No events are explicitly spoiled in Umineko, although I could consider there to be Higurashi spoilers.)

Oh, those two weeks in November, were simply incredible. If it wasn’t for the fear that another bender would completely trash my academic life, I’d totally be lost in the world of visual novels again. Sometimes I just think I got lucky, that the one day I decide to read through 75% of Arc 4 in one sitting (it took about 9 hours), I had no homework due the next day.

But more and more, I wonder how much of my anime career is defined by visual novels. It’s getting to the point where I wonder if comparing visual novels and anime is really apples to oranges at times, since pretty much every VN I’ve read has completely blown me away.

Of course, the subset of full-length VNs I’ve read is small. Tsukihime, the work that got kickstarted my passion for anime again, and its sequel, Kagetsu Tohya. And Umineko, which broke me beyond belief, leaving me to an endless repetition of veiled references, colored text, and psuedo-logical arguments. (As long as I keep shouting “Devil’s Proof”, it’ll be OK, right…?)

There are other ones which have been less incredibly affecting, emotionally, but equally entertaining or important from some other perspective, such as Narcissu, or … uh … me-senpai wa 17sai. Yeah.

But looking down the barrel of what I have left on my list, such critically- and fan-acclaimed works as Ever17, Clannad, Kanon, ef (when it’s released), and F/SN, all I can imagine is a wide swath of destruction heading my way. And if I pace myself, it’ll provide an incredible supply of awesomeness.

And if I don’t, I’ll probably be reduced to a smoldering, moe, teary wreck one spring or winter break.

But, moving back on topic, Umineko! Somehow, I don’t feel bad saying that the VN pretty much it devastates nearly every other series from the last 11 Days. And let me prove it now!

The thrilling action and intrigue, the mystical atmosphere, of a Kara no Kyoukai? One look down the barrel of Kyrie’s gun in arc 3 should be enough to prove it. The fight back by the Ushiromiyas – whether the very, very serious one in arc 3, or the very, very silly one in arc 4 – should leave no blood cell empty of adrenaline. And don’t begin to believe for one moment, that Umineko isn’t a thinker. Since you can’t even take this action lying down, without beginning to wonder what’s -really- happening.

The adorability of a Hatsukoi Limited or a Toradora? George x Shannon was so disgustingly adorable, so disgustingly right, so beautifully perfect, that it made me drop Haruka’s Secret as it seemed absolutely pitiful in comparison. This is the OTP dreams are made of – two characters that are high-class on their own, fusing to form something god-tier.

The referential comedy of a Hayate the Combat Butler? From tsurupettan to ni-pah~ to the aformentioned Loser Flag Wanking War, Umineko knows when to throw in a few choice comedy moments between all the stabbing and the Phoenix Wrighting.

The incredible intricacy, the beautiful unfolding of events as in Zero Requiem or Onani Master Kurosawa? Umineko plays it with style, mixing up truth and fiction in a sea of red and blue text, only occasionally cutting through it to show that, yes, there is some logical following to the events, and you -can- figure at least some of it out. But first, you must start by determining what is reality and what is delusion. But I have no doubt that there is an order to this madness, deep below … !

Plus, I have to say, bitchin’ monocle butler Ronove absolutely trounces an unshaven Hei in the looks department.

(Yes, I haven’t refuted Eden of the East, which is just an impressive all-rounder. So consider it refuted by parts, in all of the above.)

And, you think Endless Eight was trolling? Those of you who have gotten far enough in either the visual novel or the anime know EXACTLY why Endless Eight is weaksauce. Not just because Endless Nine is one higher, but because of what resulted shortly after that …

Whether I am trolling or not, I don’t know, but there’s something for sure about Umineko the visual novel that, whether it can be compared to anime or not, makes it not just an incredible evolution of Higurashi, but a stunning work in its own right.

Probably, what intrigues me the most about it, is how, unlike Higurashi, it actively challenges you to solve the mysteries behind Rokkenjima. While in Higurashi, you see the time loop over and over, trying to figure out the consistencies between them all by yourself, in Umineko, Beato herself will come down and bait Battler, and by extension, you, into figuring out what is going on.

Certain murders, certain actions, will be brought to light. Theories will be actively refuted, with the closest thing to ‘absolute truth’ in Umineko. And all the while, you will be searching for this ‘absolute truth’, wondering whether it really exists, whether this case is as clean cut as ‘witches’ or ‘humans’.

You choose what you want to believe. Who you want to trust. Maybe Umineko, in that regard, reflects a bit on the reader. Are you a Battler, believing in people even if they were once – or still are – your enemies? Or are you an Ange, always trusting yourself above anyone else and never putting faith in anyone else?

Certainly, something like this will influence your view of Umineko as a whole, and makes debates about the ‘truth’ (although, as Umineko states, such a word is an oxymoron) that much more intriguing. Can you believe that there was any ‘truth’ to the magical events – the danmaku battles, the gunfights with the stakes, the powerlevel wars – or is that all a delusion? Can you believe that Beatrice can be a ‘friend’? Do you believe in witches – their feelings, their hearts, or their existence?

Or is Battler the only one you can trust?

Perhaps it is my experience from Higurashi tainting me, but I would be very expectant of the series to take a slightly different twist in the four arcs to come. In Higurashi, there was no such thing as ‘absolute evil’. So of course, when you have something ‘absolute evil’ in Umineko, you have to wonder whether you can believe in it, right?

Maybe I’m a fool for leaving some of my heart with Beato, for still believing that witches have at least some place – but it’s the same in Higurashi, is it not? Oyashiro-sama “exists”, but Oyashiro-sama doesn’t exist. She is a god, but not a vengeful one. Similarly, couldn’t witches be the same here … ?

Beatrice is a witch, therefore Beatrice cannot be trusted.

Such a statement, I couldn’t believe in it…

(Not even to mention, those of you who would contest the first part of that statement…)

I couldn’t believe in it, to the point where, I wonder what is the true goal of Umineko? Of course, what we are all led to believe is that, it is the solving of the epitaph, or the solving of the murder mystery, that will bring light upon Rokkenjima once again, but somehow, I think … it should be something more? It’s not just about who is ‘right’ and who is ‘wrong’ and about ‘solving’ things … but maybe, about emotions more human. More about people, than about events … since there may not be such a thing as ‘truth’ on Rokkenjima… and even if there is, is there not, something more important …?

Although I can only argue on this front, because at least two of the other three witches currently known of (not mentioning the alternate Beatrices) have completely lost me as to their intentions and purposes. If they even have such a thing …? So I can only sit and wait for their move.

And I will wait patiently for the next game board as well, as I think I can play this one for all eternity. Certainly.

So for now, sleep peacefully, my most beloved visual novel, Umineko… and sweet dreams to you as well, the reader. Thanks for participating in the 12 Days gathering, whether as a reader or a writer. It’s been a great time on both sides for me, and I hope it’s been for you as well.

CCY