Moonlight Blues

Macross Frontier Ep 20 - Diamond Crevasse

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:35:00 +0000

Beautiful. I love this episode. Not often do you see an anime or even an episode with so much emotions in it. The last time I ever felt so was since Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny. Comparing the latest Gundam series or even Code Geass R2, they are like a joke. These are the things that I look for in animes; emotions that can put you to your tears. Be it mundane spice of life type or futuristic mecha shows.

Macross Frontier is not the usual mecha shows you find on the shelf. Instead of focusing on the awesomeness of mechas and crazy shooting battles, it develops slowly and smoothly on the characters, each and every one of them, and the plot of the story gets more intense as the story progresses. Intense not in the sense of battles and life threatening scenes (although it is as well), but in the sense of character development and connections. The show does not mystify you from the beginning with a sense of curiosity and confusion(slightly, yes) but instead unfolds itself nicely into a well planned story.

Cool mechas they have, but Macross Frontier was never about mechas~

I remember the first Macross show I watched was more than 10 years ago, and only one episode into it (when I was a kid). Thereafter, I did not catch on any Macross shows, until the recent Macross Frontier. Apparently, the Macross universe has a unique style of battle - utilizing music(Deculture! anyone?). It comes without a doubt that you will be experiencing alot of great composition from the anime. And true to the essence, Macross Frontier has some of the greatest music and compositions since Tsubasa Chronicles.

(This is Saotome Alto - the loser. Although he's better in recent episodes, he's still a loser :p)

"You can't give up singing yet. If you did, how would your songs reach all those people?" Saotome Alto

(I know the picture arrangement here is abit weird. But looking at the subtitle in both the pictures, I can't really separate them -.-)

I love all the songs by Sheryl Nome (vocal - May Nakabayashi). Heck, I love Sheryl Nome the character as well. In the beginning, she is portrayed as an arrogant singer with the world at her feet - dubbed the Fairy of Galaxy (Galaxy here probably meant Macross Galaxy, a ship, not tHe galaxy per se). However as her fortunes befall her, she is not just the all-talk-no-action girl. A strong spirited girl indeed, she truly shines in this episode Diamond Crevase, where she decided that if Ranka is the songstress of hope, then she'll be singing amidst despair.

Sheryl performing "Diamond Crevasse" (ダイアモンドクレバス) in the shelter during the Vajra attack. She truly shines!

Really, instead of putting up screenshots, I'd love to put up the songs instead. Some of the songs I really really like is Diamond Crevasse, the new opening theme - Lion (ライオン), and Ranka's Aimo (アイモ). But I guess I have no choice eh~

Michael Blanc - confessing his feelings during the last moments of his life
A charismatic character;
Its always sad when someone has to die.

See You Next Deculture! ;)

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Code Geass R2 - episode 21

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:07:00 +0000

The Black Rebellion, Order of the Black Knights, Zero, Knights of Round. I loved Code Geass Season 1. Alot of expectations was put into its season 2 direct sequel, however, I must say the least I wasn't too satisfied with what has happened so far. While Season 1 talks about the King in the making, Season 2 emphasizes more on the secrets of the Geass, particularly the theme "Geass is the power of the lone King", that everyone around Lelouch would soon leave or die. Shirley's death is pretty much proof of this idea which lead me to expect that Nunnally too will die as well. (Interestingly enough, Kallen cannot die - she is the antithesis to Suzaku).

The whole of season 2, up until episode 21 had been a roller coaster ride. Almost every episode ends with a cliff hanger, and a new "surprise" awaits at the beginning of next episode. Personally, I didn't like the idea of Lelouch losing almost every battle in this new season. I'd miss those times when Lelouch could calculate his victory and lead himself into a strong force of support. Furthermore, we see alot of Deus ex Machina here rather than a controlled situation like what we see in the first season.
Oh yah, did I mention that R2 became quite the show off of Knightmare Frames ala Gundam style? I guess they were desperate to market their R2 merchandises.

The progression of the story is... weird. With the story having so many twists and turns - with nothing one would expect ordinarily, I wouldn't say that it is more interesting than the previous season nor did the production staffs did a bad job either.
Another thing is that I didn't quite get what they were doing at times - the objectives of the Emperor, C.C, V2, Sword of Akasha? etc; naturally, alot of loopholes as well. Nonetheless, overall I would see that R2 is introducing us to get a closer look to Lelouch's personal life and thoughts.

Wonders how 2 pile of poos can slay the god...
And when we thought the matter with the Charles would end here with the Sword of Akasha in episode 21...

All hail Lelouch, the 99th Emperor of Britannia!!
The staffs are leading us back to Lelouch vs Schneizel; with Lelouch leading the throne whilst Schneizel as the rebel. (Yes! Code Geass never stop amazes us with their plot twists!) What can I say other than the word: weird!

Anyway, lets expect more interesting stuffs ahead!

What's better than a one-eyed Geass... its a TWO-eyed geass!!

P.S. A friend linked me to this. I guess there's where the inconsistencies lie when we tried to catch back up from season 1.
P.S.2 - check this out http://otakuism.animeblogger.net/2008/08/code-geass-r2-20-can-i-get-a-collective-what/... funny shit!

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Cabal Online: The Revolution of Action

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:22:00 +0000

Cabal Online, brought into the South-East Asia region by AsiaSoft. This is the third MMORPG that got me addicted enough to train a character above the average level and left me playing more than... 3 months! (Yes, MMOs don't last me longer than 3 weeks usually...); Made alot of great friends and as usual, cross alot of b@5t@rds as well. It has really nice graphic and special effects, and typical with any MMO I like - its FREE!

Graphics - 3.5/5
It should came to be unsurprising that MMOs nowadays spot great graphics. Just look at the newer games on the shelves, from the likes of World of Warcraft, to Guild Wars, to Granado Espada, and to some-not-so-famous MMOs as well. Comparing to those, I wouldn't say that Cabal offers exceptional graphics but still it pleasants the eye, scores a mark above the average MMOs you find on the net. Coupled with special effects such as lightings, shadows, water effects, spell effects, distortions, it really pulls off to be quite a fluent flow of graphic. There really isn't anything not to like in it.

Look at the water effects. Gives off a very nice reflection.

A great day at the beach.

Music - 4/5
The other element that caught my attention was the music playing in the background. Browsing through the game's forum, it was said that the music was taken from songs and modified into the game. But anyway, its one of those elements that you take note of, and wouldn't trade it away for your personal Windows Media Player (Ok, atleast before you got bored of listening to the music over and over and over and over again).
Sound effect wise, its pretty cool, not anything unbearable except for certain mobs (ok, I lied.. most mobs!) which makes you feel like stop hitting them (I was in Ruina Station hitting buffaloes, that I thought my speakers was gonna burst due to the high squeaking noise made by them every time I hit them!). However, the sound effects from spells are cool!

Special Effects - 4/5
They make really nice skill effects for every class. One of the reasons you are grinding so hard is really just to see that skill in action - albeit it wouldn't be a useful skill (in particular, classes like Force Blader and Force Archer).

Force Shielder's Shield Break skill

Blader's Blade Scud skill

Gameplay - 4/5
I remembered when I invited my friend to join me in Cabal, he said he didn't want to and only wished me "Good Luck in leveling". Well, Cabal is one of those games where you wouldn't need to spend hours of grinding on mobs and yet you don't see any progress. I would say Cabal is one of the easiest MMO around to train a high leveled character. Nonetheless, Cabal is not really a system of Level, but that of Skill Level. Grinding on Skill Level... is a different story all together.
The other interesting element of Cabal is the slightly out of ordinary quest system. You still go by killing X amount of monsters, or collecting X amount of items, but mixed in are quests that requires interactions with NPCs and place explorations. The quests are nicely fit in for first timers to learn enough about the monsters, environment and sufficient exploration into the area to recognize it. (However, the second time doing it, might be boring but lucky enough, certain quests can be skipped)

The amount of detail on the Character goes far even to the underwear~ o.0

Oh did I forget to mention an interesting element in this game? Its the Combo Mode not seen in any other MMOs before. It is pretty much like some dancing/music games, where a meter bar will come out, starts filling up to a certain point and you need to hit the skill. This shortens cast times, enabling you to cast more skills/spells and guarantees 100% hit. Definitely a system more fun than just standing there keep hitting the same skills all the time with no excitement added to it.

The combo gauge. Really hard to continue after the 11th Combo.

26 combo is the best I could do...

Story - 4/5
Who would talk about a storyline in MMOs. Cabal is the first MMO ever that I take note of the story line. You learn about the storyline when doing compulsary quests. Yes, some do put you through alot of texts and dialogues but eventually you do take note of what is happening instead of just clicking "next". In the course of time you get to be fond of NPCs by their names... and dramatic when some of them dies near the end of the story. They even have ending scrolls/credits when you finish certain chapters of the story. Nonetheless, the story does end (quite short actually) and you'd be asking for more. Not the most epic/dramatic story, but the 4/5 score is for MMO, not the typical platform RPGs.

Dramatic when one of the story character dies...

Latency - 4.5/5
As with all the MMOs that I'm fond of, is the idea of zero lag!! Yes, its a server based in Singapore, for the SEA region. With 3 servers and 32 Channels around, you don't see overcrowded places (except for Trade Channels) and definitely negligible lag and delays.

Conclusion - 3.5/5
This is one of those MMOs that I'd stick by and play for a long time (3 months is definitely long for me). However a huge drawback with the game is the really small world/places it has. After playing for 3 months at level 130+ (currently capped at lvl 170), you'll only be frequenting that same 5 places you started the game with.
A great experience nonetheless. Go try it!!

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Almost a year

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:58:00 +0000

Wow, its been almost a year since I last updated this blog. Previously I was busy with my finals, and boy am I glad that its finally over(no puns intended). I've been awarded with a 2nd Class Honours(Lower Division); although a bit disappointing (I was expecting better results), but I do get to continue on to the next stage (guess I should be glad and thankful anyway~) - the dreaded CLP!

Anyway, enough with all these academic stuffs. While I was away (from this blog), I've completed Season 1 of the Tower of Druaga: Aegis of Uruk. It was a nice anime; To begin with, it started out as a whacky comedious type of anime, but later turns out to be quite an interesting plot. Except for the really short span of episodes which sees everything rushed and crumpled into one short season, its really quite a good show to say the least.

Animes aside, I dropped DotA for quite some time (8-9 months I think)... picked up Counter Strike 1.6 and was addicted to it for the last 8-9 months (obviously... =.=). But things come and go, so does games. Now I'm suddenly picking back up interest in DotA again.
Cabal SEA (for South East Asia) - the mmorpg that got me addicted since middle May (during my Finals!!!). Beautiful graphics, awesome story (hell yeah, no one would talk about "story" in MMOs, but Cabal's story is really awesome) - with interesting-at-first-boring-later Quests, and Great gameplay, I'd really recommend any MMO-ers to try this game out. The only drawback... it has really very very few places to explore; after months of gaming, you'll still be seeing the same old place where you started.

I'll stop here - screenshots? I'll save it for later.

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PSP Toshiba?

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:43:00 +0000

Good things come in doubles... or at least in my case. Finally I bought my long awaited PSP Slim and Lite, and its Felicia Blue!! I love the colour. Then a few days later, I got a Toshiba Satelite A200 from my mom (Yay!!!). This whole week had been a busy one. So many ~~games~~ things to do, yet so little time. Addicted to Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions now, although its a game I've played numerous times on the PSone already. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 looks cool, but certainly lacks storyline; mayhap its merits only shine in ad-hoc mode with other players. Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core totally awes me. Too bad its in Japanese; may play it sometime later.

No screeny here. A bit busy nowadays with ~~games~~ college assignments and a lot of study catch-ups to do.

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IE sucks!

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:13:00 +0000

My comp broke down. I'd have to resort to using my mom's office lappie; thus stucked with IE. If anyone hadn't noticed yet, I was using FireFox and loved it! The lucky thing about this is that I finished watching Gundam 00 before the comp broke down later in the day.

I don't know whether its just me, or is it that Blogger dislike IE. It had been fine so far when I was blogging with FireFox. When I was about to upload a few pictures onto the blog, the IE timed out on me... not once, not twice, but every single time! I had to upload the pictures one by one instead (was uploading 5 at once prior to that). Not only that, I did it quite a few times on the same picture as everytime I cut (ctrl+c), I couldn't paste it anymore (ctrl-v)! Even redo (ctrl-z) couldn't do the trick. This happens as well whenever I accidentally deleted the pictures with a backspace or delete button. (How this would happen, I'd explain below). Thus, having me uploading the same pictures a few time!! zzZ...

The second problem: There's something wrong with the formatting, after having placing the pictures at the spots I wanted to. Every enter I press, it goes down a line, just like how everything would work. The problem is, the line/space that appears/goes down is not instantly below the blinking cursor, its either higher up or lower down in the paragraph. Don't get what I mean? Dont worry: basically, its just freaking screwed!!! (and screwing me upside down!!!). This is the reason whenever I backspace a space that is created by the "enter", there is a chance I will backspace the uploaded picture!!! Talk about frustration!!! Just trying to put the formats in order took more than half an hour; more than the time I took to type the whole thing.

Final words: IE Sucks!!!

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Gundam 00

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:22:00 +0000

"Gundam 00 : Episode 01 - Celestial Being"

The new Gundam series just aired last Saturday. Its kind of a good timing since Claymore just ended and I was about to "run" out of animes (that I would like) to catch up on. Many people like to compare Gundam Seed with this new series. Of course, who wouldn't, especially Gundam Seed was such a big hit, as if its THE series, which of course I couldn't disagree at all.

Gundam Seed's opening was classic; comparing it with the new series would not be doing justice to Gundam 00 at all. Without making comparisons, I'd say the opening sequence is pretty good (just not darn good), showing briefly Setsuna's childhood. Nothing less would be expected from Sunrise; the graphics and sound were great.

"There is no God in this world"

If anyone watched Gundam Wing before, you would have noticed how the first episode (or the start of Gundam 00 series) bears resemblance to how Gundam Wing was introduced. The producers decided to have the show less dramatic (as in Gundam Seed). 4 youngsters (teenagers) were introduced as Gundam Meisters, the pilots of Gundams, which belongs to a private army, the Celestial Being, to thwart any flames of war. Their roles together with their Gundams; Exia, Dynames, Kyrios, and Virtue were introduced in the old fashioned way.

Gundam Exia

Gundam Dynames

Gundam Kyrios

Gundam Virtue

A good point is that they noted the contradicting idea of using a stronger army force to prevent war between other countries. Looks like the series will get only better with their plot from here on.

"We are Gundam Meisters"

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End of Claymore

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:43:00 +0000

Sayonara, Claymore fans. "I won't say when. But let us meet again" (Miria)

Claymore finally ended at episode 26. I really liked the whole series and wished that it wouldn't have ended so early. That said, it is only the end of season 1. Many people complained how it deviates from the manga since episode 20, and it turned out very bad and boring. I didn't read the manga at all, so I shall not compare the two (perhaps they really were true, but...). From my point of view, it wasn't the best ending I've seen so far, but certainly not a bad one. The conclusion of many main characters' plot were satisfying, though many others were left out; but hey, its only season 1, what more could we expect!? Even this last episode delivers a very nicely directed and planned ending, not just any crash course ones we'd see in many typical anime. The fight with Priscilla was not ended too quick nor too dragged on... (ok, maybe the whole North campaign thing was a bit long winded, from the fights with the 3 Awakened Being, to Rigardo, and then back to Priscilla, thus giving me the feeling "it should end by now~").

Final showdown between Clare (above) and Priscilla (bottom).

Nonetheless, the final blow by Clare is slightly off the scale. The almighty Priscilla was surprisingly caught by Clare's sudden counter attack... and the whole fight is over. If we follow the story closely, there is certainly no way Clare is anywhere near Priscilla's level, let alone the 'fully awakened' Priscilla (for no apparent reason at all). This did not appeals how strong Clare is, only how weak Priscilla had became (makes me wonder how strong is Number 1, 2 and 3). Nothing like what we've seen in the whole series. And, yes, Raki is there again to pull Clare back to her senses. Through out the series, what started as a dark themed anime, loses out its tension at the very last (be it for the better or worse).

Almost every episode promises a suspense, and the suspense is broken with often unexpected conclusions. This is what makes the whole thing so much enjoyable and addictive. This is the reason I insisted not to read the manga or even read any spoilers (and boo-ed manga readers who talked too much about it)!! But the final scenes just screams otherwise. No one could've guessed wrongly how the last episode would have ended. Clare will somehow overpower Priscilla, Raki will get Clare back to her senses again, and everyone just goes back home merrily. However, I must clarify that I did enjoyed the final episode (although it could've been better).

Jeanne returning Clare's favor by saving her. I really liked Jeanne, why does she have to die!!? (just like Teresa...)

Raki and Clare reunited at last.

I still must emphasize that Claymore (the anime) is really beautifully made. I love the characters, the plots, the fights, the theme, the colours, the music, the sound effect... everything about it is just great! Can't wait for the next season of it (if there really is...).

Farewell by Teresa. "Live as a human."

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Long time~

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:16:00 +0000

Ah, has been almost 2 months since I last updated my blog. Feeling guilty for being lazy and not continue or even end what I started. Was hooked on the "outdated" game of Ragnarok Online: TrinityRO (yes, its a private server) in the month of August, and then stucked onto Pirate King Online (game addict, tsk tsk...) in Sept. Not to mention that I am still grinding on the dramas Drive of Life and Steps.

Pirate King Online (http://www.piratekingonline.com/): Enniesse@Server Engine

Claymore is nearing its end (ok, season 1 ended at episode 26, but I haven't get to watch it yet!), Naruto manga getting a bit more interesting(?), Heroes is out with season 2, Gundam oo is premiering soon, and... College started!! New semester, new subjects, bad results (previously) equals more hard work this year(hopefully), and definitely more pressure (being the final year and all~).

I am planning to get the new PSP slim, still scouting around for prices and good offers though. Definitely, definitely looking forward to FF7 Crisis Core and FFTactics: The Lion's War!! Any good games to recommend, drop by a comment please. :) Other than that, I'm thinking of Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Ace Combat X (I'm an AC freak!), MGS Portable ops, Jeanne D'Arc, and probably Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth though it'll be a replay of the PSOne version.

Oh btw, the two themes for Sony Ericsson w810i (or k750i or whichever compatible) I made few months ago had been uploaded to lasyk.net. Feel free to check it out:

1. Suzumiya Haruhi
2. FFX2 Yuna

p.s.: Naruto - The theory of the Uchiha Clan: Trust me, read this if you haven't!!! http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=106576

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Code Geass 24 & 25 (Season Finale)

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:49:00 +0000

Finally got to watch Code Geass' season 1 finale after such a long wait. Impression? As usual, the story progression begs for more surprises (albeit not shocking ones). The invasion plan of the Order of the Black Knights gone haywire right after Lelouch decided to turn tails and chase after his sister Nunnally who was captured by V2 (correct me if I'm wrong...). This really shows the importance of the morale of an army. Although Toudo is just as good a strategist as Lelouch (or the other way round perhaps), but the situation turned ugly not because of their strategy failing, but the confidence and morale of the army dropped largely (Diethard commended on the same thing as well). The whole season still ends in a cliff hanger after such a long wait, and the episodes wasn't anything more spectacular than the usual. Seriously, I didn't think it'd make a big difference now with or without episode 24 and 25. However, I do concur that if the series went straight up to 25 (without stopping for the long wait), then it'd be a tid bit more significant, giving a proper season ending for all the main characters, Lelouch, Suzaku, C.C., V.V., Nunnally, Karen, and the likes.

With 24 and 25 wrapping up the whole season, lets see what are the more memorable scenes:
Straight from my mind, I'd think the most memorable one is the existence of Mao, appearing in the episode Geass v Geass (episode 14). His Geass of mind reading which is the biggest advantage of the genius Lelouch is intriguing. A resemblance of Death Note's L vs Kira(Light/Raito) perhaps; both trying to outwit each other. Although Mao's arc main objective is to introduce to Lelouch the danger of overusing his/her Geass, and the fact that there is actually more than 1 Geass user like himself.

My favourite skirmish scene is of course the first battle Lelouch confronted. Lelouch had only used his Geass to obtain a Sutherland. The rest of the battle was fought with his wit and strategy against the Britannian Empire! Of course the rest of the battles that follows through the whole season is great, but there is too much a use of his Geass to impress me. The second most commendable one would definitely be the battle at Narita where the Order of the Black Knights guise their attempt to trap Cornelia by defending the stronghold at Narita.

Battle scene? The thing about Code Geass that separates it from the likes of Gundam and many other mecha animes is their little focus on mecha battles. Most of the battles were short, with most emphasis on their war-scale strategies. Any fight scene between the two aces, Suzaku of the Britannian and Karen of the Black Knights is great. Other than that, a good fight scene would be at episode 24, Cornelia vs Gawain. This fight really shows off to us that Lelouch despite his great planning strategies is a weak combat fighter, even with the Gawain, he stands no chance against Cornelia's Gloucester.

Code Geass is certainly a great anime, one which I would definitely rank it above Suzumiya Haruhi, on par with Claymore. Looking forward to season 2!

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Naruto Manga Chapter 364

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:10:00 +0000

The Naruto Shippuuden arc of the manga had always been a bit lame and uninteresting (IMO); The story plot sees little progression of the characters. Naruto had gone back to becoming weak again (for the purpose of more character development in the future?). Sasuke's power is even further apart now from Naruto who fought as equal during the fight at the waterfall (3 years ago?).

Furthermore, the almighty Akatsuki when first introduced seems strong enough to take down even the most powerful jounins like eating bread; with their level of power at no less than a -Kage's level. However, 4 already fallen like the leaves in Autumn. Sasori's fight, being the first death of the Akatsuki was commendable. The same could be said to Shikimaru's fight with Hidan; all brains with little brawns. However Kakuzu's fate seems a bit down-played, the seemingly immortal Kakuzu is taken down easily by Kakashi and Naruto. He should've been more experienced (considering the fact that he even got the first Hokage's heart!!) to even be touched by Naruto, let alone a killing blow which takes away 2 hearts of his. Deidara's one was laughable! Although we all expected Sasuke to win, but honestly, looking at how he fought, just gives you the feeling that mangaka Masashi Kishimoto got a bit lazy thinking of a better ending for him. Oh, and don't forget how the all mighty and powerful Orochimaru lost to Sasuke (in spite of being sick and all that...) just like that.

Moreover, Akatsuki's objective of world domination seems very childish to me. When their objective was first announced, I thought it must've been some form of a joke; maybe Masashi Kishimoto really got bored of thinking for a better reason for Akatsuki to exist. Seriously, I stopped chasing up closely for the latest chapters of Naruto already, only downloading and reading a few chapters at a time when I'm free/remember to do so. However Chapter 364 begs to differ.

If any speculation was right, it would perhaps be that Uchiha Itachi was really a good person, joining Akatsuki just to be an undercover to discover their real true purpose. Pain, the leader of Akatsuki does looks really a lot like the 4th Hokage, but for the few dots in the middle of his face. Luckily, the pathetic purpose of world domination is really just for show (how glad!!). There ~~seems to be another purpose~~ IS definitely a conspiracy behind Akatsuki. As expected (again), the seemingly carefree and childish Tobi (who did nothing but running away from enemy so far) is strong, possibly the strongest in Akatsuki. And, Tobi (Ok, he didn't die when Deidara exploded! Yippee!!) is actually the real black hand of the Akatsuki. With his eye that shouts Sharingan, he is actually Uchiha Madara (if you would recall, when Sasuke entered Naruto's vision with the Kyuubi, the Kyuubi did mention Madara's name...). It really seems that the fateful night of Uchiha's clan is the doing of Madara instead of Itachi after all.

I guess the story plot could only be more interesting from now on. This chapter really spices up the whole Naruto Shippuuden since it first published! I really look forward to the continuation of it!

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Byousoku 5 centimeter - Episode 1: Okasho

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:27:00 +0000

Byousoku 5 cm is a short drama series/story centered on a boy named Takaki Tono. Literally, the title translates to 5 centimeter per second, referring to the speed at which the petals of Sakura (Cherry Blossom) falls. It consists of only 3 episodes; Episode 1: Okasho (Cherry Blossom Extract), Episode 2: Cosmonaut, and Episode 3: Byosoku 5 Centimeters. I could only get a hold of Episode 1, and as the film is licensed, it is difficult to get the remaining episodes of it from the net.

The movie is set in present time Japan. Although it is centered on high schoolboy Takaki, I wouldn't say that this is the regular laugh out loud high school genre anime. In fact, quite the opposite. Taking the point of view of Takaki, the drama guides us through the struggles one faces against time and people and even distances in the real world. It is the problems everyone faces in their everyday life. A melancholic, sentimental theme I would put it.

Takaki Tono is just an ordinary high school boy. The first episode introduces us to his relationship with a childhood friend Akari Shinohara. Both of them met often in the school library and eventually got very close together. However, after finishing elementary school, they couldn't get into the same junior school and was forced to part ways with each other. The continue to write to each other until one day Takaki found out that he has to move away to another town, now even further away from Akari. Thus he decided to meet with Akari once (and maybe the last time) before moving.

The graphics are certainly beautiful, being a short series meant to be a theater movie, one would expect nothing less. However, I would dare to say that the movie is anything but exciting. It was not meant to be. Nonetheless, it IS a quality one as the movie does not capture the hearts of audiences through its comedies or actions, but one which captures the realities and ordinaries of life (that's why it is a Drama), sentimental and touching (one could not deny). By looking through the eyes of Takaki alone, I wouldn't be surprised you'd be moved till a tear accidentally slipped past your eyes. The directing and narration of the film was very good from the start until the very end. Although the story is simple, it captured every essence of a good animation and story telling. It packed a lot of meanings in it provided you could appreciate it.

A definite must watch if u are a fan of dramas. But if you are not the type that can stand slow paced story telling, then stay out.

I just hope I could get a hold of the remaining 2 episodes of it.

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Gundam 00 (Double O)

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:23:00 +0000

Finally finished Disgaea 2. While I was browsing through the net, I stumbled upon a new trailer of Gundam 00. Gundam 00 is set to premiere in October this year. 4 Gundams: Gundam Exia, Gundam Dynames, Gundam Kyrios, Gundam Virtue. I must say, the names are definitely weird.

An older trailer of Gundam 00.

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My Love Will Get You Home - Christine Glass

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:40:00 +0000

No, it is not Rebuild of Evangelion's theme song by Utada Hikaru. Its just an old English song I heard from some TVB dramas. My Love Will Get You Home by Christine Glass. Its a very simple but beautiful song. So I searched for the song and featured it in my blog. I first heard the song in the drama The Last Breakthrough 天涯俠醫 (if I'm not mistaken) and again in Heart of Greed 溏心風暴.

If you wander off too far, my love will get you home.
If you follow the wrong star, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.

If the bright lights blind your eyes, my love will get you home.
If your troubles break your stride, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.

If you ever feel ashame, my love will get you home.
When there's only you to blame, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.

-End of post-

Lets get Blue~

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 03:43:00 +0000

I've just changed the background colour to navy blue; since my blog's named Moonlight Blues, I thought I should use colours that fits the theme to the very least. Other than that, I haven't made much updates here. Mainly because I haven't been watching any new animes lately, still stucked on Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, and scouring through episodes of a chinese drama from TVB named Heart of Greed (溏心風暴). The latest anime I've watched is of course Claymore 14... and episode 15 should be out by now... lets search for the torrent later.

I am surprised by how Irene gave up her arm to Clare just like that, being the right arm her only arm left (no pun intended). I thought Irene would have at least participated in a battle with Clare against maybe Orphelia or some other Yoma/Claymore and gave her arm up in the midst of losing. Anyway, the only logical explanation would have been Irene already knew that another Claymore has got a hold of her location and she would be executed due to her being a traitor to the organization.

Another surprise is how Clare suddenly became so strong; strong enough to defeat Awakened Orphelia, where she doesn't even stand a chance against Claymore Orphelia who haven't used any of her Yoma powers yet. Yet another logical explaination (:P) is that Orphelia upon finding herself being an awakened being, desired to die instead. Thus she left her resolve of killing the one-horned Awakened - Priscilla to Clare.

Clare cutting through Orphelia's serpent like body; as a test by Orphelia to measure Clare's capability of avenging her - by killing Priscilla.

Devoid of anime/game news updates, I've only knew about Suzumiya Haruhi's second season through other bloggers'. The news was speculated to be announced in the official website, however, being totally illiterate in japanese, I couldn't read about it in the official website anyway :P. The release date? Not mentioned, but speculated to be released in spring 2008 (?).
Other than that, is of course the Suzumiya Haruhi game on PS2, PSP and Wii.. (which I'm not too interested).

Another great news is the release of episode 24 and 25 of Code Geass on the 28th of July. Now, I just wonder when will season 2 be coming out.

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Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:05:00 +0000

Recently I've been playing Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories. Presented by Nippon Ichi Software, the game play is very similar to its predecessor Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Both not only being a tactical-RPG(SLG?), I would say the battles are coded in exactly the same way without any notable differences (perhaps only the character classes). Disgaea 2 revolves around the story of Adell, the only human left in the human world (as all other humans were cursed by a powerful Overlord and became demons), who strives to defeat Overlord Zenon to release the humans of the curse. He is joined by Rozalin, the daughter of Zenon whom were accidentally summoned by Adell's mother. Rozalin journeys with Adell to return to her home, where in the journey she tries mischievously to kill/defeat Adell before Adell could meet with her father. However, she slowly finds good in Adell and changed her perceptions towards him.

The game would actually be a bit childish, however, I still enjoy playing it as it is really entertaining and I love tactical-RPGS (starting from Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission, Hoshigami, etc). I forgot why I stopped the first Disgaea, but it is definitely not because I didn't like it. In fact, I actually prefer playing Laharl than Adell. The game although looks simple, it can actually be very expansive, leveling up to 9999 levels (no kidding), multiple endings for replayability sake and the "item world" - a series of battle stages to upgrade your items (the more stages you clear, the more upgrade the item gets). I would recommend this to all Disgaea fans (If you haven't already finished playing it ;) !!)

Since I didn't finish the first Disgaea, I was thinking of watching the anime, Makai Senki Disgaea, instead... Or maybe just replay the whole game, but I'm a bit lazy now :p

I've dropped Dawn of Mana, despite being developed by SquareEnix. Action RPGs really aren't my type. The only one I've ever finished is Brave Fencer Musashi (Yes, I didn't finish both Kingdom Hearts I and II and/or .//Hack (only finished 2/4 part) for that matter).
I actually looked forward to Suikoden V, but I couldn't find it in the shelves of any shops I went to. Guess I was out of luck.

Can anyone recommend me any good games that came out recently on the PS2?

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Anime Fest @ Taylor's University College Subang Jaya

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:44:00 +0000

Finally, a break from my addiction to Rakion SEA. Went to the AnimeFest at Taylor's College Subang Jaya organized by the Taylor's Anime Club. This is the first time I've been to an Anime Fest, but I must admit I was slightly disappointed the moment I step foot into their multi-purpose hall which house the event. It was smaller than expected, with only a few booths, some selling stuffs, only one displaying figures. However, the only real regret would be not bringing my camera (so have to stick to crappy pictures with my w810i). . . And, of course I missed the opening part with the club members doing the Lucky Star dance!!

Pretty much the size of the whole hall/event.

The event was held from 10.00am until 6.00pm, but I only went there at 12.00pm and left at 2.30pm (which was why I missed the Lucky Star dance). They had Cosplay contest (the main reason I went there), fanart contest, karaoke contest (never stay long enough to watch it), and Naruto Shippuuden PS2 battle tournament.

There were quite a number of cosplayers there. All of them dressed amazingly (although I couldn't recognize some of them >.<), but I'm more amazed with the equipments they carried notably Ichigo's Zangetsu from Bleach and Sora's Kingdom Key from Kingdom Hearts. Some of the shots, in no particular order(please bear with the crappy pictures):

Tenten from Naruto (I'd vote her for best cosplayer^^).

Tenten has many weapons!!*

The cloth scroll looks heavy?*

Tenten and ... ok, I admit I forgot his name!! :(

Konoha ninjas.

Akatsuki with light saber (xD). Although I don't know which member he is, I think he resembles Sasori of the Red Sand with his hat on.

One Piece, Bleach and Naruto's gathering?

L and Misa-misa. L looks amazingly similar despite the simple outfit which many tried to imitate.

Ichigo and Zangetsu. I can assure you, the Zangetsu is Heavy.*

Bleach's Shinji Hirako and Urahara Kisuke.

The charismatic Aizen-sama.*

Roxas and Namine from Kingdom Hearts 2.

Kingdom Hearts 2 gang.*

D-Gray man gang.

From D-Gray man (I havent watch the anime yet, but she definitely looks Very cool!!).

Another strikingly cool pose! Maybe I'll be picking up the anime soon!!*

Typical Rinoa from FF8. You wouldn't miss her in any cosplays.

And the shots on the only figure booth (from thefiguremall.com and various bloggers):

(starred * pictures are courtesy of cryorazor)

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Last Exile

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:25:00 +0000

Claus Valca is a mere vanship pilot from the Vanship Union(?) who freelances missions(cargo deliveries) to earn money and make ends meet. Together with his good friend Lavie Head who also acts as his navigator, they accidentally stumbled upon a dying pilot from a dangerous mission when they were in the middle of a race. Conveniently, they accepted the dying pilot's request to finish the mission for him and ended up being caught in the middle of a war. (Sounds familiar? think Gundam Seed and Eureka 7). The starting plot of the story is indeed a bit outdated. The fact that Claus is the good-hearted-heroic-naive-type of person doesn't help at all other than making the story more mundane and predictable. However, I've only watched 7 episodes of it, and is yet to see how the anime turns out. One thing is certain though... Although I am not too fond of the typical story plot, it doesn't deter me from liking the anime as a whole. I love the dogfighting and flight scenes they offer. The vanship graphics are spectacular(emphasis added), great flight scene choreographies.

Claus is the typical naive kid who got himself involved in the story plot conveniently. He starts with very good vanship piloting skills matching those of the war aces. However, he still lacks real combat experiences. His naive(and childish) attitude does nothing to make me like him at all.

Lavie is Claus's good friend (I thought they were siblings in the start). She is the typical tomboyish girl-next-door. She acts not only as Claus's navigator in his vanship, but also a close friend who cooks and take care of Claus (That's why I thought they were siblings) at all times. Though she is afraid of dangerous missions and often tried convince Claus to back out from dangerous things, she still attaches herself closely to Claus. I'd think she's more 'real' compared to Claus who would accept deadly mission from a stranger, participate in combats without any experience/training, and pulls off real dangerous stunts as if he already knew he was the hero of the anime and would never die or fail.

Alvis Hamilton. The 'cargo' that Claus was suppose to deliver, which in turn ended up being caught in a one of a lifetime adventure. There might be more secrets to her but not that I am that far yet into the anime to know about it (xD). One thing for certain, she is definitely cute.

Tatiana Wisla, the ace pilot of the Silvana (neutral battleship). She pilots a red vanship which is probably one of the deadliest forces in the skies. Matched only(probably) by the newcomer Claus. She has a quiet and cool/cold character. A girl with an attitude!

Alex Row, the captain of the dreaded battleship Silvana. Has a very cold and quiet character.

What is this? Its the vanship!! The flying vehicle in the world of Lost Exile. Despite its appearance, it is capable of great maneuvers which enticed me to the anime. Perfectly crafted in CG animations, it looks way cooler in the anime than one would appreciate. Before watching the anime, I've always thought the 'thin' end was the 'head', since the cockpit is positioned near there. However, it was actually the other way around (=.=). Probably designed to look like the cars in the older days(of our world), since the anime was also set in such a time period (supposingly).

A good anime (though not one of the best), I am looking forward to seeing though the whole series of it.

-End of post-

Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Country of Birdcages

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:08:00 +0000

The movie was released in Japanese theaters somewhere in August 2005, but I've only watched it just now. Syaoran and friends ended up in the Country of Birdcages. As usual, the evil king of the country got a hold of Sakura's feather and became all-powerful all of a sudden. The King plots to seal the country with a magical (and huge) birdcage forever in eternal darkness. To do so, the King has to utilize the power of the original princess of the country who went hiding in the villages (and was subsequently captured). Syaoran and friends have to rescue the princess and reclaim Sakura's feather...

Ok, honestly, the movie is downright disappointing. I wouldn't say the story is good or bad. However, they could have made it much better if they did not cramp everything into 34 minutes. The story progresses way too fast for anyone to appreciate why, how and what is happening. I would seriously think the filler episodes(i.e. not in the manga) are much better than this. Perhaps it would've been better if they had not made the movie at all and prepare a good one in the near future.

Luckily, xxxHolic the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream delivers more than satisfactory results; in fact xxxHolic fans definitely would not want to miss it.

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xxxHolic

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:38:00 +0000

I am recently catching up with xxxHolic although it is not a new anime (anymore). As with most people, subconsciously I had linked this anime with Tsubasa Chronicles. How wrong was I to think so. xxxHolic is a great anime by its own, which offers a completely different setting and theme from all other CLAMP's anime/manga. Perhaps the only similarity is Yuuko's crossover appearance in other anime and manga. xxxHolic is a light-hearted and humorous anime about the mysteries and supernatural events in Japan. The anime is a case by case series, each episode offering (or explaining) a new case of mystery.

The main protagonist here is Watanuki Kimihiro who since birth, is able to see (and was bothered by) what others couldn't: souls and spirits. One fateful day, Watanuki stumbled upon Yuuko's shop accidentally (however, according to Yuuko, it was not an accident but instead hitsuzen (必然) - inevitability) . Yuuko entered into an agreement with Watanuki to grant him a wish - to get rid of his ability to see souls and spirits - with a price; to work part-time in Yuuko's shop until he is able to clear his debt! As a result, Watanuki found himself performing household chores for the lady.

Watanuki Kimihiro - a good soul (but a loser, haha!! xD)

Yuuko is the owner of the shop (that grant wishes), a seemingly powerful and all-knowing witch. In reference to Tsubasa Chronicles, she is known as the Dimensional Witch, but the name was never mentioned even once in xxxHolic (atleast until episode 15- which is where I am now). She is quite the joker especially in front of Watanuki, but could have her serious side when she gets down to business. And a definite alcoholic (thus xxxholic??? xD). I've also noticed that she almost always have different clothes in every episode.

Yuuko is a one-of-a-kind character; one who almost always have different clothes in every episode.

Along with Watanuki is his classmate Doumeki Shizuka. Doumeki is the total opposite character of Watanuki, always keeping his cool and calm, but could be quite a sarcastic person towards Watanuki. He has a passive ability to ward off and exorcise evil spirits, thus making him very compatible with Watanuki and had in fact saved Watanuki a number of times.

Doumeki Shizuka - seems to have deep understanding of Japanese folklores.

We shall not forget Watanuki's love interest as well, Himawari Kunogi. She is a sweet and cheerful girl and is very friendly towards Watanuki and Doumeki. Thus, we will be seeing the three of them hanging out together quite often. However, it does seems like she often brings bad luck to Watanuki (and possibly to other people as well), as mentioned in the earlier episodes by Yuuko.

The cheerful and friendly Himawari that makes Watanuki goes crazy everytime she smiles.

All in all, this is a very nice and interesting anime. Anyone ready for storytelling time? ^^

-End of post-

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:37:00 +0000

Being oblivious to updates on games, I've only noticed recently that the latest installment of the No.1 flight simulation game is on the XBox 360. I had been an ardent fan of the Ace Combat series since its first release in the Playstation many years ago. Unlocking new crafts and mastering dog-fighting techniques, I've replayed every single one of them at least once. However, I am slightly disappointed this time that Namco announces its latest installment on the Xbox 360. No, I wasn't expecting it to be on the PS3, but hoping (finger crossed) that it will remain on the PS2 (Ah! no cash to get the PS3 yet...). Namco would probably roll in the AC6 into the PS3 later. Lets just hope that I could afford the PS3 that time.

Being on the Xbox 360, it certainly promises photo-realistic graphics with magnificent views. The quality of it alone is reason enough to buy it. Although the story lands on the mundane "unknown enemy attacking homeland" scenario as with all the previous installment, this does not deter it being the greatest flight simulation game ever.

he game introduces 20 licensed jets, inter alia the F-15 E Strike Eagle, the F-22 Raptor, the A-10 Warthog, and Tornado.

In AC5, Namco introduces commanding options to control 3 of your wingman. ACZero gave you a partner to do skirmishes. This latest installment allows for allied support, mobilizing air, ground and naval units to do your bidding.

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Ikea Detolf and Yuki Nagato + Suzaku gashapon

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 02:54:00 +0000

The main agenda was to get my long awaited Detolf. Before going to the Ikea at Damansara, I was at MidValley. There, I tried my luck on the gashapon machine. One from the Code Geass Lelouch Swing gashapon machine and the other from Hare Hare Swing 2 Gashapon. The Code Geass one offers Lelouch, Lelouch with Geass, Karen, C.C. and Suzaku. All of them looks nice, however... I crossed my fingers, hoping never to get Suzaku. 2 tokens in, tab twisted, 'egg' rolled down. To my disappointment, Suzaku (ah!!) came out.

Hare Hare Swing offers Yuki Nagato in wizard clothes, 2 Mikuru in Bunny suit (one red and another white), Suzumiya Haruhi, Asakura Ryoko, and Koizumi Itsuki (I was surprised it wasn't Kyon). Anyway, despite being unlucky with the Code Geass machine, I got Yuki Nagato here (My favorite!! woohoo!!).

My brother got Lelouch with Geass (envious!!!) and Mikuru in white bunny suit. Whilst cryorazor(why do we sounds like Konata's gang? ... -.-"") got Karen(looks nice) and Mikuru in red bunny suit (amazingly none of us got the same one).Lelouch with Geass (look at his left eye!)!! It looks way too cool. Envious!!

The Hare Hare Swing Gasphapon comes with the SOSBrigade emblem.

Anyway, at Ikea we bought 2 Detolf (one mine, the other cryorazor's). The funny thing is we stood at the car park for atleast half an hour figuring how to fit 2 Detolf into the Hyundai Matrix!! Should've taken a picture of it in the car. I was cramping at the front sit without any place to move around. Amazingly, I survived back to my house (XD).

The Detolf is not particularly huge, but it is certainly long and heavy. Assembly alone would require atleast 2 people.

I thought the space would be larger. But it could only house a Gundam on each compartment. Perhaps retracting the wings could cramp 2 together.

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Dragon Quest: Dai no Daiboken

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:41:00 +0000

I stumbled upon this 16 year old anime in crunchyroll. The first episode was re-released (and subbed) by Frenchies-Subs (13/6/2007). My first reaction was OHMYGOD!! This certainly brings back memories; nostalgic indeed! I couldn't remember when I first read the manga (more or less 10 years ago), it was ran together with the all-time famous Dragon Ball manga. However, I loved this manga many times more than Dragon Ball. It is based on medieval RPG adventure storyline. The graphics(in the manga) were definitely top-notch in spite of the fact that it was created almost 20 years ago. The storyline is the main catch; very very well written with suspense, adventure, mysteries, romance, and some well-fit humor. I would think this is one of the best(if not the best) RPG adventure story(of its kind) ever written. Some of the scenes could even move me to tears, where each character has a well developed story. Seriously, you don't find these (storyline) anymore. Game producers only focuses on technology with graphics and game engines, whilst anime/manga writers go for guys who goes crazy over japanese school lolitas or coolness factor in terms of choreographs and whatnots. Nothing beats old-schools! What is it about?

It is hard for me to write a summary on such a great anime/manga. But here goes: The story is mainly about a young kid named Dai, who (typically) lives in a secluded island where only monsters exists. The monsters were remnants of an archaic evil Demon Lord, Hadlar, who were defeated by a Hero - Avan, 10 years ago. After the defeat of Hadlar, all the monsters were free from evil will, some of them moved into the island and live in peace there. Dai was an orphan who ended up in the island accidentally and was subsequently raised by a kindly monster magician, Brass.

One fateful day, the hero Avan visited the island and took Dai in as his apprentice. Dai meets with Pop, who came alongside Avan as his apprentice and soon became best friends. The story begins when the Demon Lord Hadlar who were resurrected by a more powerful Lord, came to the island and sought to kill Avan. Avan confronted Hadlar in his weakened state. To protect his students, he used a self-sacrifice spell to rid Hadlar but to no avail. As Hadlar proceeded to get rid of his students, Dai, suddenly awakened the hidden power inside of him and fends off Hadlar. In order to seek revenge on Hadlar, thus his journey begins.

It is later learnt that Dai is actually an illegitimate decendant of Dragon Knights, as his father, a true Dragon Knight fell in love with a mortal woman, and thus gave birth to Dai (whose true name is Dino). Dragon Knights are not mortal human. Only one Dragon Knight exists in the world in every era. They were granted immense power from the Gods themselves to keep balance in the world, favoring the mortal humans. However, Dragon Knight Baran, father of Dai, were robbed of his wife and child by a human king. Out of anger, he destroyed the whole kingdom single-handedly and dwelves into the path of evil (Anakin/Darth Vader??).

The symbol of descendant on Dai's forehead. The Dragon Knight Symbol.

The interesting thing about the storyline is how each character progresses and grows. From weak pupils to strong heroes. From enemies to strong brotherhood bonds. From cowardly behavior to that of a true hero. Each character develops slowly as experience guides them through times of trials.

Foe turned friend: Hyunkel - The first apprentice of Avan. Betrayed Avan as he thought Avan was the murderer of his father. Upon knowing the truth, joins Dai in the fight against Lord Vearn.

Dai and Gome.

I truely love this manga. Hopefully, the re-release of it would continue until the end!
(due to the fact that the anime was created a very long time ago, it is hard to grasp screenshots of it. Most of the pictures here is from the manga)

-End of post-

Claymore

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:43:00 +0000

Claymore is a dark, fantasy anime that sets itself in the medieval world. Humans and monsters known as Yoma co-exists. Yoma feeds on human guts to survive, after which, they can take the form of a human to disguise themselves. No one can distinguish them from a normal human. Thus, a nameless organization created "superhumans" (only females) to deal with these Yoma. They don't have a name, however, due to the extremely big sword they carry around, the humans named them Claymores. Ok, enough with the brief summary. What I think is...

It sounds very fantasy like (or childish one might say), however, this is one show you don't want to recommend to any kids. It has a very dark tone, environment, theme, songs, everything in it (think the movie 300). If you are looking for comedy, relaxing styled anime, this is not for you. However if you can bear with gory and bloody scenes (Yoma eating humans' guts, Claymore chopping off Yoma's head, Claymore turning into Yoma, etc...) and sadistic atmospheres, then it is a great anime that would keep you watching for hours. It guarantees cool fighting scenes with big swords and a mysterious storyline waiting to be uncovered! The story too is definitely well directed/written. All in all, this is a great anime; a must watch!

The main character here is Clare. As you progress through the story, she is not just the typical Claymore, and she intends to investigate into the organization that 'created' her; their seemingly (dark) secrets. During the first episode, I wasn't too interested into girls (not babes) cutting off limbs and slashing heads off monsters (with blood spilling and splashing all over herself). The turning point that makes me want to continue watching is when she 'adopted' a normal kid, Raki in her journey. Their relationship goes from one of strangers to caring 'siblings' (?... they definitely don't looks like they will be lovers in any way!) and how Raki saved her once by supporting her emotionally.

Raki, a normal boy who tagged along during Clare's journey.

After the first few episodes, the story brought us back to the past. The number 1 Claymore named Teressa "of the faint smile". It is then learned why Clare chose to be a Claymore and what was her true objective. I really enjoyed watching Teressa's story. Too bad she had to die horribly.

Teressa of the faint smile. It is sad and pitiful to see how she was killed. (Episode 8)

Claymore vs Claymore (bringing cat-fights to a whole new level!)

Episode 11: The latest episode wasn't so much of a fighting compared to all the previous episodes; a boring one indeed. However, more of the secrets of Claymores and the organization (to a lesser extent) were revealed.

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Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

noreply@blogger.com (Foxstrifer) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:55:00 +0000

A great anime by Sunrise (also GS/GSD). I am really mesmerized by this anime. Hours of marathon watching it (finally finished) yet I am eagerly waiting for the second season (which will be airing soon, hopefully ^^). This is the story about a banished prince of Britannia starting his own rebellion against the Britannia Empire after acquiring a power known as Geass from a girl, C.C. What's really interesting about this anime is of course the storyline, mechas (known as Knightmare Frames), and how things blend together!

The main character here, is of course, Lelouch, once the Prince of Britannia, who had been banished by the King to Japan (which is now dominated by the Empire, renamed to Area 11). He is not the traditional hero (anti-hero) one would expect. His best ability is perhaps his IQ, almost unrealistic to begin with. Since small he loves playing chess, and is very good at it, never losing a single game; And now, turning the battlefield into his own chess table, moves step by step closer to taking down the whole of Britannia who dominates 1/3 of the world. Nonetheless, he is a cunning one, reminds me alot of Kira; no, not the Kira Yamato from GS/GSD. The Kira - Light Yagami from Death Note (!!) who, inter alia, a brilliant thinker, has a very high IQ, good at chess, puts on a social mask, manipulates people, battles to conceal his identity!!

He runs a secret identity known as Zero, who is the founder and leader of the underground terrorist (or "Ally of Justice" as he called himself), The Order of The Black Knights. Amazingly, his small rebellion group which started from members less than 10 people (if I recall correctly) grew into Area 11's (Japan) greatest rebellion force! (And he's still only a high school KID!!)

He has a very special power known as Geass (and hence Code Geass) granted by C.C. a mysterious girl (who loves Pizza!!). This power allows him to manipulate another, literally. "The power of absolute obedience". When activated, a bird shape sigil (as shown in the picture) appears in his left eye.

C.C. loves pizza, especially PizzaHut!! Its amazing that Code Geass features the official PizzaHut.

Of course, one of the things I love about this anime is mechas!! Although their emphasis in Code Geass is not very important (not as much as in GS/GSD), but I still love scenes with mechas. The Lancelot (picture above) is the newest prototype, 7th generation Knightmare Frames, that is still in experimentation by the Britannia. It is piloted by none other than Suzaku, Lelouch's best friend since little.

Suzaku, the pilot of Lancelot. His unrealistic skills with the Knightmare Frames matches the unrealistic IQ of Lelouch (brain vs brawn, eh?).

Lelouch, Zero, Prince of Britannia, Leader of the Order of the Black Knights, member of the Ashford Academy's student council.

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