Anime Raku

What Japanese women google when they type in husband

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:09:00 +0000

What phrases do show up when you type in 夫 (husband) in Japanese Google? It's something that will definitely displease any man. The popular phrases don't include anything like "I like my husband" or "How to make my husband happy". Japanese women, or let's say wives, are eager to find information on quite different matters.

Searches, ordered by count
I hate my husband
"Husband depressed" or "Shoot my husband"
Unemployed husband
Husband's spending
Husband's average spending
I wish my husband would die
How to call husband
Annuity after deceased husband
Husband verbal abuse
Formalities regarding husband's death

The results are definitely very pessimistic. Hatred, homicide, death, money. At least a few phrases are normal, such as "how to call my husband", "formalities regarding husband's death", and though "husband verbal abuse" isn't something you could call normal, it's not something one can blame them for.

And what do men search when they type in 妻 (wife)? Well, there are a few abominable phrases too, but at least they are not on the top.

Present for wife
Wife - not yet registered
Ranking of presents for wives
"Wife depressed" or "Shoot my wife"
Birthday present for wife
Liquor for wife
Ranking of birthday presents for wives
How to call wife
Hysteric wife
Wife humble language

This proves that men try hard to find a good present for their female partners. Or you could also say that they are helpless and clueless when it comes to presents for women ^^' Either way, they show some effort at least.

The word "wife" returns more optimistic results than the word "husband". There's no doubt about it. Women are far more "dark" when they look up the word "husband" on the Internet. However, the source of their antipathy might be again the word "husband" in many cases, which would somewhat justify their feelings of repulsion.

Winter 2009/2010 Anime List

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Visual preview by Chartfag

Winter anime season is slowly approaching so we could take a look at the lineup. The number of new series is not much big so far, but there's still a lot of time for new announcements.

I know I will watch

Ookami Kakushi (alternatively Hidden God)

It's based on the same called visual novel for PSP. The script of the game is written by Ryuukishi07, whom I admire for his previous works (Higurashi, Umineko).

Is it a god (kami)? Or a wolf (ookami)? A secret law in the old part of town ... brings together dread and mystery. It is the summer of Shouwa 58, 1983. Ten stories, intertwined by the idle thoughts of people caught in repeating nightmares ... what could possibly be the truth therein!?

I'm looking forward to this very much. I don't know anything about the original, the visual novel, but I believe it's got high potential, as the story is written by a god. So everything depends on Takamoto Nobuhiro, Machida Touko, Watanabe Atsuko, and studio AIC, and how they will pull it off.

Ookami Kakushi official page

Nodame Cantabile Finale

I've enjoyed the previous seasons so I have high expectations for the upcoming one, too. Let's see how the story about promising conductor Chiaki and promising pianist Nodame will end.

Nodame Cantabile official page

SO・RA・NO・WO・TO

Set in the future on a land that, after being marred by long-lasting wars, has settled into a quiet cycle of decline. Kanata Kumika is a 15-year-old girl who fulfills her dream of enlisting in the army and joins a unit of five girls who protect a fortress that looms over a little village. The girls also play music that reverberates across the skies over towns without people and seas without fish.

Girls play music in the sky, and they look like the members of the light music club at Sakurakou High School. Alternative title for this anime might be "Sora no K-ON!" which can be translated as K-ON of the Sky. But note that this anime is not animated by KyoAni, it's by A-1 Pictures. Still, the resemblance is evident.

Director Kanbe Mamoru (Elfen Lied, Denpa Teki na Kanojo), scriptwriter Yoshino Hiroyuki (Macross Frontier, Denpa Teki na Kanojo), animator Toshifumi Akai (Kannagi) and musical composer Ooshima Michiru (Full Metal Alchemist, Hana Yori Dango).

If it doesn't entertain me at least, I will drop it later.

Dance in the Vampire Bund

After millennia in hiding, Mina Tepes, the Princess of the ancient covenant and ruler of all vampires, wants change. Using the vast wealth of the Tepes line, she has paid off the entire gross national debt of Japan and in so doing, gained the authority to create a "special district" off the coast of Japan that is to become the future haven to vampires the world over!
Now, on the eve of the landmark press conference announcing the existence of vampires to the world, terrorists and rival factions are plotting to assassinate Mina Tepes before she has a chance to make her world-changing announcement.

The plot seems to be interesting and what's more it is animated by SHAFT. I love SHAFT's style, and particularly their experimental scenes.

It is directed by Shinbou Akiyuki, who has directed all of the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei seasons, Bakemonogatari, Maria Holic, Tsukuyomi, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and so on. There's no doubt he's a man of great works.

Dance in the Vampire Bund official page

I might watch, I will check it out

Seikon no Qwaser (Qwaser of Stigmata)

The story takes place on the grounds of St. Mihailov Academy, a Japanese Eastern Orthodox school, and draws heavily on religious references from the aforementioned religion. Here it follows the trials and hardship of two of its students, Oribe Mafuyu and Tomo Yamanobe, until the encounter with a mysterious, silver-haired, Russian boy named Alexander, or Sasha for short. This pits them and the whole school in an all-out war between the Church itself and the so-called "Adepts", a sect of individuals wielding powers linked to the elements of chemistry.

A lot of ecchi and fanservice. Which is obvious as soon as you know that they use breast milk as the main source of power.

Seikon no Qwaser official page

DURARARA!

The author Narita and illustrator Yasuda Suzuhito’s “distorted love story” is set in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and revolves around an ensemble cast including street thugs, high school students, a female radio host, an underworld doctor, a young information vendor, and a headless Irish fairy.

Don't know about the storyline, I know hardly anything about it, but the trailer looks great. Watch it! The trailer, I mean.

The male cast features an awesome trio, Fukuyama Jun, Kamiya Hiroshi, and Daisuke Ono.

Durarara! official page

Ladies versus Butlers

The school romantic comedy revolves around Hino Akiharu, an ordinary high school student who unfortunately looks like a juvenile delinquent. He enrolls into an academy that was once a school for upper-class ladies, and he is placed in the school's newly established servant training department. The students there are raised to be either maids or butlers, and Akiharu finds himself in the middle of the bickering cliques.

Most likely an ordinary fanservice moe anime that uses maids as its main force of attraction. Some well-known names in the cast, such as Kugimiya Rie, and Nakahara Mai. I might give it a shot, but I will probably pass.

I can't say for sure that I won't give any other series a try. Not even K-ON! was in my roster at first. But I don't give the other series much hope at the moment.

There will be of course new OVAs as well as continuations of earlier released OVAs. Furthermore, three or four highly anticipated movies will come to cinemas. Those are The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha the MOVIE 1st, Eden of the East the Movie II, and Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works.

Hakurei Reimu Cosplay by Mizuhara Arisa

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:43:00 +0000

Another amazing cosplay by Mizuhara Arisa. This time it is the shrine maiden from Touhou Project, Hakurei Reimu.

Pure awesomeness! She makes very beautiful Reimu.

It's a beautiful scenery and Reimu fits there very well. A really good choice of photo-shoot location.

Do you like that parasol, too?

How much do you think the photos are shopped?

But I don't mind. I like them regardless of how much they are shopped.

Have a look at other Arisa's cosplays, too. Shinku, Kirisame Marisa, Pastel Ink

Many more cosplays at Arisa's cosplay gallery.

16-year-old boy bull's-eye-d by arrow by a club fellow

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

A 16-year-old boy was shot between his eyes by an arrow in a public hall in Meguro-ku, Tokyo. He has been hospitalized and is in life-threatening condition. The projectile was shot by a 17-year-old boy who belongs to the same archery club as the hit one.

The accident occurred at about 4:45 PM when the two boys were practicing alone at the archery site on the rooftop of the six-story public hall. The older boy said to police that he aimed the bow at his friend and then he accidentally released the bowstring. They also say that the 16-year-old pulled out the 70-cm long carbon arrow out of his head on his own.

Police were questioning the 17-year-old boy on suspicion of negligence resulting in injury. The 16-year-old boy was not conscious, they said.

The high school in Minato Ward said the teacher supervising the archery club was not at the Meguro hall at the time because it was voluntary practice session by the two students.

According to an official of the Meguro Ward Office in charge of the hall’s management, the two teenagers have regularly used the archery site on the rooftop of the six-story building, and they started practicing at around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

They say, "Don't aim the gun at at anything that you don't want to shoot." It obviously applies to any projectile weapons, and this case just confirms it.

Source: Japan Today

ISML 2009 Winner - Katsura Hinagiku

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

International Saimoe League 2009 is over and we know the winner. It's Katsura Hinagiku from series Hayate no Gotoku! Yay! She defeated Shana in the final round 2117 vs. 2106 votes, so it was a very close match. But Hina has won and that's what is important. Nobody will ask how big was the vote difference a year later.

We can also take a look at the vote distribution. Shana won in majority of countries, but still it wasn't enough for the total win. She came on top in Japan (56.82% of votes), Canada (50.78%), France (60.66%), Germany (59.18%), Hong Kong (57.38%), Italy (71.88%), South Korea (59.70%), Poland (69.51%), Russia (51.06%), and Mexico (56.82%). Hinagiku won in Australia (51.92%), Brazil (53.73%), China (51.87%), Malaysia (65.15%), Philippines (53.03%), Taiwan (61.19%), Thailand (62.22%), and UK (63.79%). In USA, it was a tie.

The final ISML standings:
1. Katsura Hinagiku
2. Shana
3. Sakagami Tomoyo
4. Nagato Yuki
5. Fujibayashi Kyou
6. Fate Testarossa
7. Aisaka Taiga
8. Hiiragi Kagami
9. Suzumiya Haruhi
10. Tousaka Rin
11. Asahina Mikuru
12. Suigintou
13. Horo
14. Takamachi Nanoha
15. Suiseiseki
16. Shinku

ISML 2009 nomination phase began in January, so there aren't any characters from this year's anime series. Characters such as Akiyama Mio or Senjougahara Hitagi are highly expected to make an appearance in ISML 2010. Well, there's no doubt they will.

I'm very glad that Hinagiku won and received the imaginary Heavenly Tiara. Shana is also one of my favorite characters, but I gave my vote to Hina. I felt she deserved it more, but I can't really say why. Maybe she's a bit more complicated and intriguing character than Shana. Anyways, more people thought that Hina deserved to win, and that was reflected in the result.

Mizuki Nana Ranks in Top 10 Weekly Chart for 10th Time

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Mizuki Nana's recent single Mugen, which is her 20th single, ranked #3 in top 10 singles weekly Oricon chart. It is her 10th single CD to make it into the top 10, and 9th in a row to do so. Mugen ranked best in daily rankings on October 31 when it came out on 2nd place. So far, it has sold over 45,000 copies.

Single Mugen contains 4 different songs. "Mugen", which is the opening theme from the 2nd season of anime White Album, "Tenkuu no Canaria", which is the opening from Tales of Symphonia the Animation: Tethe'alla hen, "Dream Dream", ending song for TV program Card Gakuen, and song "Stories".

If you were wondering what are the other 9 Nana's singles that ranked in the weekly Oricon top 10, they are, chronologically, Innocent Starter (MSLN OP), Eternal Blaze (MSLN A's OP), Super Generation, Justice to Believe/Aoi Iro, Secret Ambition (MSLN Strikers OP1 ), Massive Wonders (MSLN Strikers OP2), Starcamp EP (contains OP, ED from Rosario to Vampire), Trickster (contains OP, ED from Rosario to Vampire Capu2, and a great song Trickster), and Shin Ai (White Album 1st season OP).

Seitokai no Ichizon 05 - Oh, that poor Ken

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:35:00 +0000

I have really enjoyed episode 5 of Seitokai no Ichizon. It was that typical episode of ecchi anime, swimsuit episode. However, unlike in other anime, where it takes place by sea or a pool, this swimsuit episode took place in student council room, as most of Seitokai does.

Time for summer uniform came. Kurimu said she prefers summer uniform. And the reason, in the following picture.

A/C broke down on the same day that the temperature broke a record. Members of student council fortunately found some swimsuits in boxes with various equipment of various clubs and changed into them.

Ken was not allowed to take a look at the girls.

They put this mask on his face. Seriously, what's up with this strange mask? Nevertheless, every time he tried to take it off, he ended up writhing in pain due to some mysterious, acupuncture skills of Chizuru.

Ultra sexy Chizuru in ultra sexy bikini. Kurimu was quite upset by her distinctiveness. But kind Ken tried to console her:

Poor Ken, not being allowed to take a look at the girls, took a seat in a big armchair behind a wall (I bet it was a reference to something) and turned on his delusional mode.

He imagined according to the girls' talk. But their talk turned to Mafuyu's notebook with a continuation of the work "Sugisaki x Nakameguro", and Ken's wonderful delusions were shred apart in a very bitter tone.

Kurimu trying to convince Ken that she actually measures 170 cm and her size is F. Ken had a great remark that he heard her voice coming from below though. Then she stood on a big chair, so Ken said that this time it was coming from too high.

Poor Ken, I felt with him very much in this episode.

Mafuyu was brainwashed by her sister and told that Ken was her enemy. Therefore, she picked up a weapon and threw it, or rather shot it at Ken. She calculated the trajectory (it reminded me of Kotomi's calculating of baseball trajectory in Clannad AS) and on second time, she hit Ken's mask with a ruler. So... Ken got the view of heaven ^^

But then he got locked up in a locker. I felt so sorry for him.

The characters then talked about how good or bad they are with their mornings. We got to know that Chizuru's brain isn't really working in the mornings. She always spaces out and when Kurimu appears, this happens:

By lunch time, the situation changes from fawning into more mature looking feeding scenes.

I want to change places with Kurimu ^^

Ken got used to being in the locker after some time.

Next one talking about her mornings was Mafuyu.

I guess many of us have a lot of common with her.

Others asked her if she sleeps in school. She said she doesn't, she reads books at school. What kind of books?...

She was asked if she has any friends. It turned that though she has a few, they are all just her comrades in online games.

Kurimu proclaims she is not a child and that she understands all the stuff about men are women. The proof? In the following image.

Direct reference to Toradora.

That's great Kurimu, your team wins and you don't have to do anything for it. You are certainly something else.

You could figure out Ken's answer to this bold statement of Kurimu's. Yes, he said it. 699.

Others went to pool and Ken was still in the locker. However, he didn't know that Chizuru unlocked it. So when he thrust into the door, it flew open and he fell face on the floor.

Minatsu entered the room when Ken was about to leave for the pool. But with her hair down, he didn't recognize her.

What's up with this look, Ken? Did you just seriously fall for Minatsu?

Minatsu didn't want to tell Ken anything about her private life, and said that she might have a secret or two. Ken then tried guessing what that secret might be... And all the romantic feeling in the air vanished in a blink of eye.

Kurimu came back, in her swimsuit of course, and looking extremely cute.

And Ken got locked in the locker again. This time for good. Everybody left and he was only found in the evening when Mahiru-sensei was passing by the student council room.

When the girls went home after playing by the pool, Kurimu was tired and fast asleep already. And judging from Chizuru's words, she was going to play with Kurimu some more. Arrgh!! I'm sure Ken would feel very, very envious if he were to hear it. I did feel envious ^^

Top 10 Anime Characters According to Megami Readers

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Readers of Megami Magazine, a magazine providing amazing amount of ecchi stuff to their readers, have voted for their favorite characters in the character popularity rankings. The results are as follows.

1. Akiyama Mio - mai waifu

2. Fate Testarossa - mai main waifu

3. Hirasawa Yui - she was getting on my nerves sometimes

4. Katsura Hinagiku - mai tsundere waifu

5. Haramura Nodoka - haven't watched Saki yet

6. Takamachi Nanoha - the White Devil, too scared of her to make her mai waifu XD

7. Horo - the Wise Wolf, don't wanna get eaten

8. Sakurano Kurimu - I haven't made an opinion on her yet

9. Misaka Mikoto - Biribiri, I don't like electric shocks in particular, though sometimes they may be hot

10. Senjougahara Hitagi - stapler waifu

What can we tell from these results. Well, characters with big oppai are quite on par with not well developed characters. There's a lot of loli, moeblob characters such as Yui, Kurimu, or Nodoka. However, more mature looking characters are present as well, i.e. Horo, or Hitagi.

I approve of this list. Though, my top 10 would probably be a bit different. I miss there for example any characters from Clannad. And I would have to include Alice from ARIA as well as some other characters. But that would make it at least a top 20 instead of top 10. Yes, everything is very difficult when you aim for the harem ending.

Happy Halloween!

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:55:00 +0000

It's Halloween today! Day of witches, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, demons, and many others unearthly beings. After all, today is said to be the day when the border between our world and the other world is thinnest and the two worlds interact. Which means that witches and spirits appear in our world and do mischief and cause harm to people. That's why people started to wear costumes. They believed they would protect themselves if they disguised themselves as spiritual beings. Costumes have remained so far, but people wear them in order to entertain themselves. No need to fear any witches. Why? The answer is simple. Witches do not exist! And I'll deny their existence now. Repeat this, Bea- *cough* That cough of mine hasn't gone away yet.

Enjoy some Halloween-themed pictures!

And a video, too! Warning: It's gore!

And some treatment after that bloody video.

And one more, that amazing recent Touhou Shadow Art Video, Bad Apple. In case you haven't seen it yet, do watch it now! That's an order!

So, once more. Happy Halloween!

Anime Quotes Database

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:56:00 +0000

I believe there were times when you told yourself: "Oh, that XX, he had such an awesome remark. What was it again?" I bet it has happened to most of you. To me, it has. And not just once. At such times I would say that a database of anime and manga quotes would have helped. Now, one such database has been created. Check it out here!

AnimeQuotes.net database is divided into four parts, most memorable quotes, meaningful quotes, romantic quotes, and funny quotes. But you can also browse all the quotes by anime titles. The number of quotes is quite outstanding and it keeps growing, of course.

You, too, can lend a hand and contribute to the database by submitting a quote. Help it growing!

So, next time you want to remember a quote from anime and it just won't come to your mind, you can try looking at AnimeQuotes.net database.

Pettanko Thursday - Nagi, Sumi, Yunyun

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Your regular portion of pettanko characters is here again, focusing on characters voiced by Tomatsu Haruka today. This seiyuu is quite a new face in the seiyuu world, having debuted in 2007 as Corticarte Apa Lagranges in anime Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica. Born on February 4, 1990, she was about 17 at the time of her debut. Since then, she has voiced several well-known characters, mainly in ecchi animes. Fresh voice for fresh girls? ^^ In 2008, Tomatsu graduated from high school in Ichinomiya city. Now, she lives in Tokyo where she also attends a university.

She has a blog diary, which she updates quite regularly.

Probably best-known character voiced by Tomatsu Haruka is the insecure god, Nagi, from anime series based on the same named manga, Kannagi.

Nagi is a goddess who wakes up from a very long sleep, when a high school boy Jun uses a trunk from the sacred tree in which she has been enshrined as a material for a wooden sculpture. She is very angry at him that her tree was cut down, but she is quite amazed by having a body from flesh and blood at the same time.

Nagi says that she has a duty to cleanse the world of impurities. However, since her tree was cut down, her powers are diminished and it is difficult for her to eliminate the impurities on her own. Therefore, her awakener, Jun, to whom she has moved in, helps her catch the impurities, and she then exorcise them using a mahou-shoujo-themed staff she has put together.

Nagi is not troubled only by the impurities. One of her other concerns is her feeling of inferiority, at least in terms of body proportions. This feeling was aggravated when she found Jun's hidden box with health material and examined its contents. Jun's collections seemed to be full of very well endowed girls and that left a scar on Nagi's heart.

Another flat-chested character who got her voice thanks to Tomatsu Haruka is Kuroi Sumi from perverted anime Moetan. Despite her appearance, Kuroi Sumi is a 17-year-old girl. She comes from a rich family and has a very spoiled personality. Her most favorite animal are cats and she loves everything that is cat-themed.

Sumi has become a magical girl and when she transforms her hair turns red from her natural blue. She also gets a mahou-shoujo outfit. However, the elevation, or rather evenness of her chest remains unchanged of course. She is known as Tempera Sumi in her magical form.

Tomatsu Haruka lent her voice to Yunyun from anime Canaan, too. Yunyun is an energetic, young girl, who does a lot of part-time jobs. She seems to like to visually enlarge her breasts by putting various edible objects, such as watermelons or nikumans, under her shirt.

She was experimented on in the past by a terrorist organization called Snake. Snake tested the effects of so-called Ua Virus. As a result, Yunyun has to take medicaments that suppress the symptoms of the virus infection. I won't tell you more about Yunyun because I think I've spoiled just enough and anymore would be too much.

Tomatsu Haruka has voiced many more characters, many of whom were much better developed than the three above, and you can check them out here.

This is all for today. Look forward to next PT.

MSLN the Movie Double Release - figma Fate, Nendoroid Nanoha

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:34:00 +0000

Nendoroid Takamachi Nanoha, previewed yesterday, and figma Fate Testarossa are up for preorders beginning today. Retail price for Nendoroid Nanoha is 3,500 yen, and she is due to February. Figma Fate Testarossa retails at 2,800 yen and is due to January.

You can get them at Hobby Search now, Nanoha, Fate. Or you can wait and try CDJapan, Play-Asia, or HLJ later.

Nendoroid Takamachi Nanoha Preview

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Mikatan's blog has been updated with news that many people have been hoping for since long ago. Nanoha is joining the party of Nendoroids.

She has 3 interchangeable faces, standard face, serious face, and closed eyes face. Nanoha is also well equipped. Her partner, Raising Heart, comes in the battling form, the form of magical staff, and you can choose between two of its modes. Either display it in Device Mode, or in Cannon Mode.

And that's not all. There is also Nanoha's Axel Fin, those small wings she uses to dodge an attack or perform instant movement.

Yuuno-kun in his ferret form is also included in this Nendoroid release. GSC have been very generous this time.

Preorders will begin tomorrow.

Test Your Otaku Knowledge!

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:35:00 +0000

A friend of mine gave me a link to a very interesting video on Nico Nico Douga. It's a test of your otaku knowledge. Do you know those tests were they show you a picture and you have to say what you see in it? This is quite similar. It's a series of pictures and as the line in the video says: "Understanding this picture means that you are an otaku." Most of the pictures refer to some characters, but there are a few tricky pictures, so watch careful.

Try counting how many you've got right. I've got 13, so I'm quite satisfied with my result, since there was a lot of old characters I hadn't seen before. But it pissed me off that I didn't get right two pictures, which I should have got right. I suppose that you will feel the same.

Anyways, enjoy it!

You need to have a NND account in order to see the video. If you don't have one and can't make one because you can't read Japanese, check this how-to.

Chikan among Tokyo Police Anti-Chikan Troop

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:02:00 +0000

During an anti-chikan campaign carried out by Tokyo Metropolitan Police, one cop was spotted by his colleague taking up-skirt photos with his cellphone. The perpetrator broke his phone in half to destroy the evidence as soon as the other policeman approached him. Though, he later admitted to the charges, left his post and apologized. He even confessed that he had committed the same act more times in the past.

The incident occurred on September 18 on Hibiya Line in Tokyo. The charged sergeant, who served for an organized crime department, is going to be prosecuted under prefectural nuisance prevention ordinance.

Source: Japan Today

Am I a Herbivorous Man? NO!

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:14:00 +0000

I have read the article about top 10 traits that Japanese people put down to herbivorous men that appeared on Sankaku today and I have found out that I myself match all those 10 traits. So I wonder, does it make me a herbivorous man? I've never really thought about whether I'm herbivorous, or carnivorous. I am certainly somewhere in the middle, more herbivorous than carnivorous though. Nevertheless, the results of this survey somewhat differ from the picture of reality.

Let's go over the 10 traits and I will try to analyze myself. If you don't want to read it, skip to the link at the end.

1.He’s an indoor type.
Of course I am. If I were not an indoor type, I would pelt after a ball and play football (soccer) outside, in worse case hang around with some strange guys and take some addictives, instead of watching anime, browsing the Internet, reading manga online, playing visual novels, writing blog posts, follow the news about anime, games, and related merchandise industry, looking for various interesting ecchi material, and so on, and so on.

I am not the type that is reluctant to step outside of his house, not any hikikomori. I regularly attend the school, I attend my Japanese classes, I go out to a café with friends sometimes, I drop by grannie's place sometimes. But all of the things I've mentioned must be considered as being indoors. In my opinion, outdoor activities are things like jogging, doing some sports outdoors, strolling, cycling, hiking, etc. And I am not really fond of any of these. Therefore, I match the trait no.1. I am an indoor type.

2. He likes spending time in his room.
Yes, I do. Basically, I've already covered this point. In my room, I watch anime, play games, write blog posts, browse the Internet and so on. And I enjoy these activities, otherwise I wouldn't do them. Thus, I like spending time in my room.

3.His voice is quiet.
Yes, my voice is quiet. Not like that other people can hardly hear me. It's just I can't shout. If I were asked to yell, I wouldn't be able to do that. As if there was some kind of hindering device in my throat. I can raise my voice a bit only if someone else is shouting at me. But on the whole, my voice is quiet.

4. He arranges himself around his girlfriend.
Don't have a girlfriend, but if I had one I would act in an arranged way, dress tidily and behave myself. I think that it is the only way to maintain the relationship. Doing the contrary is like asking for a break-up.

5. He is weak to alcohol.
I don't like alcohol in the first place and I am weak to it. It makes me feel dizzy and that's the main reason why I dislike it.

6. He doesn’t play rough sports.
Well, I don't know where exactly is the line between rough sports and gentle sports, but I figure I don't play any of those that are considered rough. Which means, I don't play rugby, american football, box, ice-hockey, bondy-hockey, etc. Sometimes we play soccer or basketball at school, but these sports doesn't seem to be rough to me. Of course there are some injuries caused by opponents in soccer, but that is only on the professional level. When you play with friends, it's something different. Though, I admit that you can get hurt a bit. But you would have to be very unlucky to sustain a serious injury.

Nevertheless, I think I don't do any rough sports.

7. He likes flimsy pantsu.
If it means he likes to see girls wearing flimsy, revealing pantsu, then who wouldn't? Every man reading this article, can you say you don't like thin pantsu? And the answer "I don't. I prefer when girls wear nothing" doesn't count.

In case this is supposed to mean that he likes to wear then himself, then I don't meet this point. No matter how much I like sexy pantsu, there's no way I would be willing to wear it.

8. He’s a good listener.
People tell me I am. Probably, I am better at listening than at speaking.

9. He likes games.
Of course I do. No ado necessary.

10. He can’t decide what to eat at restaurants.
Yes, I have this problem. I'm very indecisive, perhaps even more when it comes to food. Whenever I'm at a restaurant, it takes me long to choose what to order. There's always more than one meal that would suit my tastes so I have trouble to decide on one of them. It's always like this: "This sounds good, I will have it. But wait, this might be good, too. Which shall I choose?... Even this must be good, there's no doubt about it... What shall I do? I can't choose one." So you see. It's quite bothersome as others have to wait until I decide. But there's just nothing I can do about it.

Okay, let's suppose that number 7 means 'he likes pantsu on girls', how many points have you scored? I've got about 9.5/10. Which means I could probably be regarded as a herbivorous man according to the results of this survey. However, the reality of what a true herbivorous man looks like is very far from this.

Strike Witches Plush Dolls

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:27:00 +0000

Aoshima Bunkai Kyouzai company has announced they are producing plush dolls of characters from anime series Strike Witches. The first three plushies will be released in January and it will be Miyafuji Yoshika, Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, and Sanya V. Litvyak. Next characters will follow and the company intends to release plush dolls of 11 characters.

The plush dolls will be 20 centimeters tall and they will be made from polyester. Each doll will be equipped with their detachable Striker Unit. Furthermore, Yoshika Miyafuji will also have her sailor hat.

The price is 3,900 yen for each.

Source: ANN

Windows 7 Whopper in Action

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Microsoft have decided to promote their new OS Windows 7 in an extraordinary way. They have joined forces together with Burger Japan, where you can get a special Windows 7 Whopper now. This Whopper has seven patties inside, it measures 13 cm, and its weight is over 800 grams. Ideal for gluttons. Windows 7 Whopper is a limited action that lasts until October 28, so it lasts for 7 days.

This post wouldn't be complete without an actual video of somebody eating this gigantic burger. YouTube hasn't let me down and supplied me with these two videos. It's quite funny how they try to fit the large burger into their mouthes. Though, it looks a bit nasty.

Source: Japanator

Pettanko Thursday - Yuki, Chiaki, Kuchinashi

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:01:00 +0000

This week's Pettanko Thursday targets characters voiced by Chihara Minori. Some info about her: She was born on November 18, 1980. Besides her seiyuu career, she also follows the path of many seiyuu and works as a singer. Her father was a baseball coach and this probably led her to join the baseball club at junior high school. She played the center fielder.

Her best known role is undoubtedly Nagato Yuki in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu. I don't think it is necessary to introduce this character, but here comes some details about her. She is a humanoid interface, or artificial human. She comes from space and is a member of an organization called Data Overmind. Her task is to observe a problematic girl, Suzumiya Haruhi, who can create enormous data quantities that could distort the entire universe from thin air.

Nagato shows some abnormal abilities, such as structural recomposition, surroundings alternation, or physical body reconstruction.

However, when it comes to social contacts with other people, Yuki falls behind. I don't remember seeing her start a conversation. And when she's prompted to speak, she does so in the succinctest possible way.

She doesn't really understand the principles of human world, social standards or backward human technology. She seems to be cold-hearted, but it is not the case. It's more accurate to say she is unable to express her feelings.

Her hobby is reading. At least it seems so. It's hard to tell how much she enjoys it, because she never changes her expression. Neither when reading a book.

Next very popular character voiced by Chihara Minori is Chiaki Minami from manga and anime Minami-ke. She comes from a family of three sisters and is the youngest of them, she attends elementary school. It's unknown to me where their parents disappeared to. I don't think it has been mentioned in the anime, and don't know what about manga version.

Despite being the youngest sister, she is the meanest of them. She often calls other people, particularly her older sister Kana, "bakayarou", which is a bit stronger form of "baka" (idiot).

Chiaki is very intelligent and it makes her look down upon her idiotic friends and sister. Her condescend aura is so significant that her classmates sometimes call her "hime" (princess).

She admires her oldest sister, Haruka, who acts as a mother for Chiaki and Kana. Haruka does basically all the chores. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, and so on. And she still manages to have excellent results at school. So it is only natural that Chiaki looks up to her.

One more thing, Chiaki's stern look can inflict a lot of psychical damage.

The last girl today is Kuchinashi from ongoing anime series Needless. Her name means gardenia in Japanese, but at the same time it can mean voiceless or mute. And Kuchinashi seems to be unable to speak, but it is not actually true. Though she first spoke in episode 13.

Her fragment (fragments give special powers) is Fragrance, which gives her the ability to control other people's brain and nervous system once they inhale the fragrance she disperses.

Shana, Kagami and Pumpkin Bread

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:44:00 +0000

It will be Halloween soon, which means the season of pumpkins. My mom has bought a gigantic monster pumpkin almost 10 kg in weight, and we've made a lot of various food from it. And there is still about a quarter left ^^ The pound cake resembling thing in the picture is actually a pumpkin bread, I think in the recipe they called it Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, and it is delicious. The spices, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove, have given it a very pleasant scent and its texture is agreeably moisty. Do you like pumpkin food? And how available are pumpkin in your area? Here, pumpkin is available only from late August until mid-November, so it is quite limited. Neither I have seen any can with pumpkin puree, so there is no way of making food from pumpkin off the season.

I did a short photo story featuring the pumpkin bread and figma Kagami and Nendo Shana. I didn't have much time so the montage didn't turn out too well, but I still hope that you will like it.

Nendoroid Megurine Luka - Final Preview, Preorders Tomorrow

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Reservations for Nendoroid Megurine Luka will open tomorrow. Finally. With this information, we have been also shown the optional faces, which remained secret up to now. So, what are we going to get besides Puchi Tako Luka that has been revealed before? Some pretty amazing stuff, I tell you.

The second face is "Singing Luka". She has closed eyes and sings her heart out. Looks very dignified, doesn't she? You can very easily perceive her mature aura when she wears this face. Simply lovely.

Her third face is the exact opposite of the stately second face. However, it's extremely adorable. Those watery eyes and wishful expression make her extraordinarily cute. This face is based upon Luka's appearance in her song Double Lariat, which I love.

You can recreate this video with Luka Nendoroid as shown in this video at Nico Nico Douga.

Luka's faces are interchangeable with other Nendoroids. Particularly the third face is very useful to make other Nendoroids look very funny and lovable. I wonder how Shana would look with this face.

Source + more photos at Mikatan's blog.

Seikon no Qwaser Anime PV Streamed

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:25:00 +0000

TV Anime adaptation of Seikon no Qwaser has got its official website and a promotional videos has been streamed there.

Seikon no Qwaser is originally a manga by Yoshino Hiroyuki and Satou Kenetsu. It takes place in Russia, at St.Mikhailov Academy and follows the actions of students, particularly of one boy called Alexander, who can manipulate with iron.

This manga puts a strong emphasis on ecchi elements and serves a lot of fanservice. But you could figure out this much if I told you that the main source of powers in this manga is breast milk.

The opening song will be performed by Faylan, who did the opening song "mind as Judgment" for CANAAN.

There are some familiar names among the seiyuu cast. For example Hirano Aya, Toyosaki Aki (Yui from K-ON, Asmodeus from Umineko), Kawasumi Ayako (Nodame from Nodame Cantabile, Kaori from Kanon, Yoshida from Shakugan no Shana) or Hikasa Youko (Mio from K-ON, Satan from Umineko).

Seikon no Qwaser is scheduled on January. The November issue of Champion RED magazine contains a Premium DVD with Seikon no Qwaser uncensored special promotional video. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it on the Internet. But it was released today, so it might take some time for it to be uploaded somewhere.

Source: Akiba Blog

Hinagiku Postcard, Hinagiku MAD Video

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:17:00 +0000

At Gamers store in Akihabara, the 21st volume of Hayate no Gotoku manga comes with a lovely Hinagiku postcard. It displays Hinagiku wearing bloomers. I find it an extremely nice bonus for those who buy it.

This info comes from Akiba Blog. I couldn't resist posting it, because it was accompanied by this Hinagiku MAD video, which I just had to share with you. Otherwise, I would feel that I am keeping something awesome to myself. Enjoy it, it's worth watching if you're at least a bit of Hinagiku fan.

Saimoe Japan '09 Final - Taiga vs. Yui

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:24:00 +0000

The final match in Saimoe Japan 2009 has turned out to become a battle between Aisaka Taiga from Toradora and Hirasawa Yui from K-ON!. Love troubled tsundere is competing with air-headed, musically talented cake lover. Which one will you root for?

As for me, it would make me a bit happier if Taiga won. I like Yui, too, of course. But I don't want her to win, because I don't want to admit that anyone from K-ON! but Mio could win Saimoe Tournarment ^^ Furthermore, who wouldn't adore that Palmtop Tiger?

UPDATE: Taiga has won! Yahoo! Great! Congratulations Taiga! I didn't have much high hopes so it pleasantly surprised me. I think she deserved it.

Pettanko Thursday - Mayumi, Setsuna, Ogiue

matteas@ymail.com (Matteas) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000

It is that day again, when we explore the vast lands where flat chested characters live and lock our viewfinder at three of them.

Mayumi Thyme from anime and eroge Shuffle!. Her most characteristic features are her eyes. She suffers from heterochromia, so the color of her eyes differ from each other. Her left eye is blue and the right is red.

In terms of bust size, none of the other characters from Shuffle! matches her in flatness. She is often a target of derision because of it. However, she is proud to have small breasts. She claims that it is better than to be average, because small breasts are a rarity and a certain group of men are interested in them.

I didn't particularly like her when I watched Shuffle!, mainly due to her excessively energetic personality. But looking back, I think that she is quite an interesting and nice character.

Kiyoura Setsuna from nice boat anime and visual novel School Days. She is always focused, calm, and her approach to others is very cold. Nobody can tell what she thinks at the moment, which adds to her creepiness. She also acts a bit condescend, probably also due to her position of president of the student council.

Not only that her breasts are small, she is also very short. So much that people mistake her for a junior high student.

She is more of an unpopular character I guess. But there's just no way somebody like her could be popular.

The last girl today is Ogiue Chika from otaku lifestyle manga and anime Genshiken. She says that she hates otaku, but herself is a very hardcore yaoi fangirl. She even draws doujinshi, of course yaoi doujinshi, and later in the series sells one at Comiket. Ogiue tends to fantasize about her potential targets of yaoi treatment and she goes as far as to draw perverse yaoi manga about boys she knows and talk with almost everyday.

Her eyesight is very bad so Ogiue wears contacts usually. When she doesn't have to speak formally, she uses Touhoku dialect. In times she is about to lose a dispute with somebody, you might see her trying to jump out of the nearest window. One American girl otaku commented her breasts with the "pettanko - status symbol" gag.

Ogiue is most certainly my favorite character from these three. Her "I hate otaku and I'm not an otaku" attitude is very entertaining, especially when you see her a moment later drawing or reading some yaoi.