For those unfamiliar with the movie, it’s a retelling of the events of the first season of the anime of the same name. Basically, they took a 13-episode anime series, and condensed it down into a movie. They seemed to do a good job at it too. They manage to hit the major plot points and even give us glimpses into parts of the backstory that had only been hinted at in the original anime, though at least one such revelation actually didn’t happen until the 3rd season, originally, if I remember correctly.

The movie was just as touching and moving to me as the original series was, so it definitely scores points there. Also, there was a scene that surprised and amused me, where Nanoha and her friends are playing Wii Sports Tennis. ;) I really didn’t expect to see them inserting that into Nanoha. Of course, it’s not directly Wii Sports, but you can tell that’s what it’s supposed to be. n.n;

Now to comment on the dialogue. I was surprised how much of the Japanese I actually understood, I guess my Japanese is improving, but I’ve still got a long way to go. ^^; The intelligent devices (IDs), as in the original series, speak completely in English. And not Engrish, either. That’s one nice thing about Lyrical Nanoha, they hired native speakers (or at least ones that sound native and have western names) for those parts. When the IDs spoke, there were Japanese subtitles at the bottom of the screen. It was interesting trying to follow the conversations, though. Nanoha perfectly understanding Raising Heart’s English, and responding in Japanese, and vice versa.

Raising Heart (yes, not Raging, Raising is the official name) also has alot more lines in this version, I think. She talks in more complete sentences. They also seem to me to be more natural English, with much less Engrish-ness to them. Also, at times she seems less mechanical, and her voice even displays emotion, whereas in the series I never really got that sense. The same applies to Bardiche, his voice sounding very much human at times. They also have a voice for Precia’s ID this time as well, at least I think it was her ID.

I wonder what’s next to be animated in the Nanoha-verse… will it be a movie version of A’s (the second season)? Or perhaps one of the offshots like Vivid? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, ne? ;)

[Image from moe.imouto.org]

花咲つぼみは花や植物が大好きな中学２年生の女の子。
ある日、つぼみは不思議な夢を見た。
大きな木に咲く美しい花。たちまち全ての花が落ちてしまう。そしてそこから妖精が飛び立っていく――
　
それから数日後。明堂学園へ転校したつぼみの前に、なんと夢で見た妖精が現れる！ 妖精はつぼみに、「伝説の戦士プリキュアになって、≪こころの大樹≫を守って！みんなの≪こころの花≫を咲かせて！」と頼む。 自分にそんなことはムリ……と断るつぼみ。
だが突然謎の敵が襲ってきて、新しいクラスメート・来海えりかの≪こころの花≫を奪ってしまう。えりかの心を救うには、プリキュアになって戦うしかない！
つぼみは勇気を出してプリキュアに変身する!!

Translation:

Tsubomi Hanasaki is 2nd year middle school student that loves flowers and plants. One day, Tsubomi had a mysterious dream. There were flowers that bloomed on a great tree. Suddenly, all the flowers wilted and fell off. And then, because of that, the sprites took off.

Fast forward several days. After Tsubomi transferred to Myodou Academy[A1], the sprites that she saw in that dream appeared before her! The sprites begged Tsubomi, “Become the legendary warrior Pretty Cure and defend the Great Heart Tree! Make everyone’s Heart Flowers bloom!” Tsubomi refused, saying that such a thing was impossible for her to do alone.

However, a sudden attack from a mysterious enemy came, and the Heart Flower of her new classmate, Erika Kurumi, was stolen. To save Erika’s heart, she had no choice but to become Pretty Cure and fight!

Tsubomi summoned her courage and transformed into Pretty Cure!

Translation notes:
[A1] This is an educated guess at the reading of the kanji for the school’s name, 明堂学園.

ハートキャッチプリキュア！ 新シリーズ来春スタート！ (Toei Animation)
[Image: Precure Wikia]

Well, the last end-of-the-year NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen was good, wasn’t it? As for me, when all is said and done, I was especially impressed by Nana Mizuki’s appearance on stage as the first seiyuu to do so. Anime Songs, Anison for short, certainly have been featured on TV recently, but, spots on the people who sing them have, save a few exceptions, been non-existent. Ms. Mizuki was featured in the [January] 13th evening paper’s “popstyle”!

As noted in the article, for New Year’s Eve, I watched Mizuki’s singing from within the Tokyo area via 1-seg on my cell phone, while at the same time our music reporter (Makoto) was covering the event on-site, capturing the sights and sounds.

In the main interview, which was done last year, a part that was not included in the article, that was impressive, was the story that a lot of fan mail came from abroad. Because Kouhaku Uta Gassen was relayed overseas, people were able to see and enjoy it, gathering together from various places such as South Korea, China, the United States, France, Brazil, etc. Mizuki herself has said, that because she has never been abroad to sing, that she definitely wants to go.

So, what I was most suprised about coming into this new year was the news that in the new program “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!” which starts broadcasting on February 7th, Mizuki was chosen to play the part of the voice one of the protagonists, Cure Blossom. Speaking of the 8:30 AM slot in TV Asahi’s Sunday morning block, this is the 7th series in the long running “Pretty Cure” franchise targeted at girls. Personally, I remember how the original “Futari wa Pretty Cure” tempestuously strode onto the scene, and has continued forward as such, with especially strong feelings.

Shifting production staff, it was anounced that Nagamine Tatsuya would be the series director, Kuriyama Midori series organizer, and Yoshihiko Umakoshi character designer. Ladies and gentlemen, as these are the same people who excitedly brought us the series “Ojamajo Doremi” which broadcast in this same slot previously, I look forward to the start of broadcasting of this series, wondering if they’ll give us a Pretty Cure with a taste of Doremi this time.

It certainly will be interesting to see what this team’s take on Pretty Cure will be. They’ve got some big shoes to fill in some aspects. ;)

今週のＡＬＬ　ＡＢＯＵＴは水樹奈々さんです！ (Daily Yomiuri Pop Style Blog)
[Image shamelessly ripped from that same article. ;) ]

No, that’s not a hamburger patty, from what I understand, it’s supposed to be some kind of cookie. Going to be looking for these when they go on sale on the 13th of January for the price of 120 yen each. Here we see the mouth area cut out of the bun to expose the innards of it. Looks delish!

Source: 30周年を記念した中華まん「パックまん」発売 (ITmedia) via Twitter via Kotaku. (Pics from there, too.)

Keeping in mind that I’ve only seen the first few episodes of Baccano, the opening sequence for Durarara does seem as frenetic as Baccano’s, with each character of the main cast having their own little introduction with them being isolated in the frame while their name is splashed up on the screen in handwritten kanji I can’t read. ;) The art style in Durarara is also quite interesting, in that only the characters you are meant to focus on. In other words, the main characters, are rendered in color. Everyone else is black and white.

(SPOILER ALERT: Review continues after the jump. Though there’s not much to spoil considering this is the first episode.)

The action all seems to take place in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. One of the characters, who from how he acts and reacts, is not from that area, meets up with his childhood friend at Ikebukuro station. I was pleased to see that they did their research and had the same signs you see everywhere in the stations in Tokyo nowdays, with both Japanese and English. I didn’t go to Ikebukuro, but I’m guessing they had the stores in the background in the same locations that they are actually in in the real Ikebukuro… which makes me wish I’d gone there, because if that’s right there’s a Wendy’s not a stone’s throw away from the station along the main road, and I’ve been hankering for a Frosty something fierce, but I dunno where they are in Osaka (I’d be surprised if there was one in Hirakata itself)… and they’re probably gone by now, what with all Wendy’s closing down in Japan.

But I digress…. In Durarara, you have your unsavory characters too, such as this trio that kidnaps this girl (not exactly sure why, however). But they meet up with the local urban legend, the rider of a black motorcycle, who knocks one of them out by doing a wheelie and running over his face with her bike. Then proceeding to beat the tar out of the second, then chasing after the third. During the chase, the guy suddenly stops, causing the biker to crash. The guy comes out of the car, brandishing a knife, and approaches her… and stops short because…. she has no head. Her helmet has been knocked off, and there’s just a black mist coming out of her neck. Despite being headless, she stands up and kicks the guy’s butt. Yeah… This looks interesting. n.n

Anyway, it’s late and I’m tired, and there may be something I’m missing in this summary, but basically the episode ends with that new guy and his friend seeing the local legend streak across the road in front of them. I think I’ll try and follow this series and see where it goes. n.n

[Pic from the Durarara!! official site.]

以前からプリキュアシリーズの大ファンで、ずっと子供向けのアニメをやりたかったので、キュアブロッサム役に決定して最高にうれしいです！！多くの子供たちが見ている「ハートキャッチプリキュア！」に出演できてとても幸せです。いつか私も子供達から、「プリキュアのお姉ちゃん」と呼んでもらえる日がくるのかなと、想像するだけでうれしくてついつい微笑んでしまいます（笑）。
（プリキュアは）どのシリーズを通しても友情や絆がテーマに描かれていて、夢を与えてくれる作品です。内容も可愛いだけじゃなく、泣けるお話もあったり、深いストーリーが多いので、「ハートキャッチプリキュア！」ではどんな物語が展開されるのか楽しみです。

Translation:

Because I’ve been a huge fan of the Pretty Cure series for some time, and I’ve always wanted to try doing [voice work for] children’s anime, I’m extremely happy to be chosen for the part of Cure Blossom!! I’m very happy to be able to perform in “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!” that so many children will be watching. When I think that sometime the day may come when kids call me “Ms. Pretty Cure,” even if it’s just my imagination, it brings an unconscious smile to my lips (lol).
(Pretty Cure is) the kind of series that continues to depict things like friendship and other such bonds, and a work that grants dreams. It’s not just about cute things; there’s stories that move you to tears, and numerous profound stories; the development of such a story in “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!” will be fun.

The second is from Fumie Mizusawa (水沢史絵), who is voicing Cure Marine/Erika (キュアマリン／来海えりか).

キュアマリン役に決定したときは、うれしくて1人で大騒ぎしちゃいました（笑）。小躍りするってこういうことかなって（笑）。ウキウキしています。
以前「ふたりはプリキュアMaxHeart」（2005年2月～放送）で、主人公のプリキュアの一人・雪城ほのかに憧れる後輩役（加賀山美風）を演じたので、今回キュアマリン役に決まって、「ついに憧れのプリキュアになれた！」と思いました。何年越しかの思いを果たせてうれしいです！
「ハートキャッチプリキュア！」を、今見てくれている子供達が、２０年先でも思い出してくれるような心に残る作品にしていきたいと思っています。

Translation:

When they chose me for the part of Cure Marine, I was happy and singularly making a huge ruckus (lol). I was jumping for joy like this (lol). I was exuberant.
Since I voiced an underclassman that admired the protagonist Honoka Yukishiro (Miwa Kagayama[B1]) in “Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart” (which premiered in February of 2005), when I was chosen to play Cure Marine, I thought, “Finally, the Pretty Cure role I’ve longed for!” The thought that I’ve been able to accomplish that after many years makes me happy!
With “Heartcatch Pretty Cure!” I think I’d like to go and make the kind of work that kids can watch now, and still remember fondly 20 years later.

Translation notes:
[B1] I had the hardest time tracking down these kanji: 加賀山美風. What I found on the Japanese Wikipedia was this: 加賀山美羽, which they had Miu Kagayama as the reading for. However, the English Wikipedia entry for Fumie Mizusawa has the reading Miwa Kagayama. I’m not sure which is correct. ^^;

Source: Message from the Heartcatch Precure seiyuu. (Asahi TV’s official Heartcatch Pretty Cure Site)
[Image: Precure Wikia]

ai sp@ce Update Information

The 2009/12/15 update information is is as follows:

“New elements”
- Shop: the following items have been added to the shops
→ Short Coat (Red) ♀ [Nico points] (Moonscape)
→ Short Coat (Green) ♀ [Dere] (Moonscape)
→ Halter-neck One-piece (Black) ♀ [Nico points] (Moonscape)
→ Hot Pants (Green) ♀ [Nico points] (Moonscape)
→ Hot Pants (Blue) ♀ [Dere] (Moonscape)
→ Laced Knee-High Boots (White) ♀ [Nico points] (Anything Shoes)
→ Pumps (Black) ♀ [Nico points] (Anything Shoes)
→ Long Lace Gloves (Black) ♀ [Nico points] (General Store)
→ Checkered Scarf (Blue) ♀ [Nico points] (General Store)
→ Checkered Scarf (Beige) ♂ [Nico Points] (General Store)
→ Checkered Scarf (Blue) ♂ [Dere] (General Store)
→ Pearl Necklace (Black) ♀ [Nico points] (Amethyst)
→ Flower Katyusha (Black) ♀ [Nico points] (Amethyst)

“Changes”
※ No updates today.

“Bug fixes”
※ No updates today.

For reference:
エニシングＳｈｏｅｓ = Anything Shoes
雑貨店 = General Store

Source: “ai sp@ceアップデート情報”

Well, the author of the original video has created another one that ups the ante a bit. Without spoiling too much, lets just say you get 4x the the Mario you did before. ;) This one isn’t a medley, but is instead only the opening theme for the Key game “Little Busters!.” Video from Youtube after the jump.

And for those who wish to see the original “Automatic Mario” video I mentioned earlier, you can find that below as well. In three different flavors.

Vocal (there are people actually singing the songs in this one):

Instrumental:

No music (only the Mario sound effects):

(Little Busters! picture from Safebooru.)

There’s also a mention that there was a known issue with downloading the latest patch, but, if I’m translating it right, it should be working now. If it failed for you earlier, just try downloading it again.


And now for the update information.

New Items:

• Shop: The following items added
• 無地ハイソックス(白)♀【ニコポ】 — Plain knee socks (white) female [Nico Point]: Every store
• 無地ハイソックス(紺)♀【ニコポ】 — Plain knee socks (navy blue) female [Nico Point]: Every store
• ボーダーセーター（ブラウン）♀【ニコポ】 — Border sweater (brown) female [Nico Point]: Ｍｏｏｎｓｃａｐｅ各店
• チュニック（赤柄）♀【ニコポ】 — Tunic (red design) female [Nico Point]: Ｍｏｏｎｓｃａｐｅ各店
• ロングTシャツ（黒）♀【ニコポ】– Long t-shirt (black) female [Nico Point]: Ｍｏｏｎｓｃａｐｅ各店

Changes:
End of the 2nd public watergun shooting test.
Others: 「紅葉ａｉぽん」 (Fall color ai-pon) removal.

Bugfixes:
None for this update.

ai sp@ceアップデート情報 and パッチが正常にダウンロードできない件について (ai sp@ce website)
Konata and Kagami shopping pic from Safebooru.

Anyone who logs in during that period can participate in the game. However, there will be some stats reset after the end of the test. There’s also a couple of warnings/caveats, and announcement of a gift for testers. Further details after the jump.


The following stats and related data will be reset/deleted:

• Parameter initialization
• Level
• Experience points
• Base parameters
• Cosplay data deletion
• Cosplay level
• Cosplay experience points
• Skill deletion
• Acquired skills
• Item deletion
• Mission drop items (Cure kit, tank, all kinds of boosts)
• Rental cosplay items (doggirl version, miko version, female teacher version)
• Mission data deletion
• Mission clear rank
• ai-palette [aiぱれっと] data deletion
• Deletion of any ai-palette sets

Not exactly sure what aiぱれっと is supposed to be, so I likely missed something in an update somewhere. n.n; Ah well.

Anyway, they also give a couple of notes of caution to the players. Advising them they can find someone to give them cosplay clothes outside of the gate. Probably still in the lobby like last time, will have to check it out again. They also mention that any cosplay clothes that you might have acquired by some other means than the girls handing out the cosplay at the gate won’t work for the cosplay mechanic in the game. Again, I’ll just repeat that for clarification, you have to use the cosplay clothing they will give you in the lobby to have cosplay effects in-game.

They also mention they have plans for a special item for those who participate in the public test. I think you could have participated in either test and they’ll give you the item, but I’m not certain I’m translating that part correctly. ;)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this next test, as I didn’t get much opportunity to play in the last one, because of school. ^^; Hopefully I’ll be able to catch it a bit more and record some gameplay video.

第2回水鉄砲シューティング公開テスト実施のお知らせ (ai sp@ce)
(Miku-chan pic from Safebooru.)