Steins;Gate 22 - The Beginning of Word War 3

Another awesome week for Steins;Gate even if I'm starting to get bored of the same gimmicky flow of every episode. They seem to like to take their time throughout the whole episode with a cliffhanger at the end. When did my anime turn into North American drama shows? This episode had only Kurisu and Ookarin for 90% of the episode which was probably why I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Usagi Drop Ep08

I found out that this series is 11 episodes long. The manga, on the other hand, has 56 chapters. While I have no idea where in the manga this episode takes place (I've been avoiding reading it), I'm aware that there's a time-skip about halfway through. So...second season?

You're being cute!

This episode featured the Obon Festival, which commemorated both a visit the late grandfather's grave and also Rin's birthday. (Unless I have it wrong and these two events didn't happen on the actual day of the festival. It was a little confusing.) A large feature of the episode, however, was Masako. Seeing her in her element instead of being yelled at by Daikichi, I got a little more understanding into her situation and, as much as I hate to say it, I don't entirely hate her anymore.

Tiger & Bunny 22 - Back in Green

Do these proportions look kind of weird to you?

I'd say that this week's installment of T&B wasn't as good as the previous, but it was still fun to watch nonetheless. When Tiger said that he had a plan, I'm pretty sure the viewers knew exactly what kind of plan he had in mind given his character. The basic flow was solving the problem with the other heroes and setting up an "epic" showdown between Tiger and Barnaby before they address Maverick.

Uta no Prince-sama Eps08-09

I just found out that this series is 13 episodes long. That's one more episode than I had expected, and I'm astoundingly agonized. Why won't it just end?!

Poor Tokiya, dealing with this daily and nightly.

This batch of episodes was an astounding waste of time, since there was really nothing new added to the story and there was very little entertainment value. Ep08 was focused on Haruka pining secretly for Tokiya, unable to stop thinking about him, and then ep09 was focused on the other boys attempting to make their moves while Haruka still pined for Tokiya. It sounds a lot more eventful than it actually was; the scenes felt like repeats of each other (with every boy just outright telling her that they named her as their partner) and Haruka's inability to do anything except stare was just maddening.

Hanasaku Iroha 22 - This Is Why I Had No Hope...

I agree, that is a very rare thing for a guy to do... There's no such thing as platonic relationships!

I prayed beyond all reason that they would play up the drama; there's nothing but despair left within me now. With only a few episodes left, it would be meaningless to drop it now. I have trudged through this anime that was clearly not meant for me. Aaro would have probably found this anime awesome, since he thinks everything is awesome. Damn his low standards.

My New Nexus S Phone + New Mobile Rendering

Last picture I'll take with that phone!

Well, after my horrid pictures, I decided to dump the old phone (that I only used for two weeks), which I got for free from the workplace. I thought it was decent, but it quite clearly wasn't. After a long and gruelling process, I settled with the Samsung/Google Nexus S, as I hate Apple with a passion and Android will be the next best OS.

My Adventures at a Cosplay Competition

My photos suck, so don't bother clicking. Follow links in the captions for better photos.

So, I decided to branch out a bit. Lately, I've noticed I've been getting increasingly bitter while writing my episodic posts, so I decided to maybe try covering something new and seeing how that goes. This is my first time going to one of these; heck, it's my first time at anything close. I'll start off by saying that my phone lied to me; supposedly, I took photos with 12Megapixels, and yet my photos still turned out like shit despite sitting in the front row. Forgive me for my shitty photos! I'll see if I can find the more "professional" photos that people were taking and replace them later. Since this event happened just today, they probably won't surface right away. Those looked like low-tech people. D:

Mayo Chiki 07-08 - Enter Punyuru

There were another two episodes fuelled by the awesome Oujo-sama. These two linked together pretty well, with their trip to the beach filled with super-hidden motives! The slight plot advancement at the end of the eighth episode was a nice twist; this rarely happens in an anime of this style, so I was pretty surprised.

Nichijou Ep21

To my commenter "karry": With the Dota2 tournament over (and potentially no more future references), you can come back now! It's always a little lonely to talk randomly.

What do you mean, "happily every after"?!

This episode of Nichijou didn't feel as funny as others; while watching it, I almost felt like time had regressed back to when I first picked up this series and didn't think too much of it. Was it the formatting? the material? I still don't know, but it just wasn't that great. The long sequences didn't intrigue me and the shorts felt quite humdrum. This episode featured an extended scene with Takasaki-sensei and Sakurai-sensei, and then a return to the fantasy land where Mio's ponytails and hairbands came from (now named as Fay Kingdom).

Penguindrum 07 - Big Wig Hunting

Why would you ever agree to that? D:

It was another slow episode, as people just wandered around talking to each other trying to find more clues - that, and Ringo's super stalker mode was on. They seemed to have used the same formula as the previous episode, with a dull overall story with a cliffhanger ending to draw people in for the next episode. This seems a bit like a gimmicky approach to hide the dullness of the episode.

Sequel to 999 (NDS Game) Trailer Subbed!

So, I just noticed today that there will be a sequel to the 999 NDS game coming out for the 3DS:



This game would be enough of a reason for me to buy the 3DS once either the translation or a localization for North America comes out. I loved the first one so much that it had two different posts about it. It's an awesome game; I could tell that it was the same makers the second I saw the drawing style, which was confirmed once I actually watched the trailer. I hope it's as awesome as the first one!

~Pearz

Yuru Yuri Eps06-07

I'm sad that it took so long to watch this anime this week; the blog work really took a lot more time than I had wanted. Meanwhile, with the visiting of relatives this week, I'm pretty much out of commission except for a few precious hours where I hide in a dark corner with my laptop.

I'm surprised that Yui isn't the "top".

This batch of episodes took the love-love to a new level, with blatant confessions from many of the characters. Of course, keeping up with the show's nature, none of them were taken seriously, thus not ruining the careful balance between the characters. Ep06 featured various past-times that the girls in the club engaged in (pictured stories, clay modelling, etc), while ep07 was a Christmas-themed episode that ended with New Year's Day.

days past our megaten lives ~v2.0 - Opinions Wanted

Welcome to our new navbar! Hopefully, things look a bit spiffier. We have a slight dispute over the way the layout is done, though.

The highlighted part is the carousel with our archives and links, which is the issue. I argue that it should be part of the main carousel, to make the front page look "cleaner", since it is no more important than the rest of the buttons. Rho argues that it should be segregated because it is a different sorting method, and that it doesn't stand out, instead blending in. I think it stands out a little too much.

Steins;Gate 21 - A Date With Mayuri

She still wasn't...

This was a pretty slow episode for one of the final ones of this anime. Considering the pacing it has been moving at as of late, I was surprised to see this episode take its time with nearly no plot development. It was a decent episode but when rated on a scale with the rest of the episodes (especially recent ones), it falls pretty low. By the way: Kurisu > Mayuri. You heard it here, folks.

Natsume Yuujinchou San Eps05-07

As I write this, I'm sitting in a slightly cramped sleeper car on a 6-hour train ride to visit Rho's extended family. I only regret the missed chance to get some McDonalds before getting on the train. I'll never forget it. (At the time of posting, though, it's been a full day. I hate not having free-time.)

Ah, so that's what spirits are scared of.

This set of episodes included a 2-episode arc that re-introduced some pretty important characters from previous seasons; it's too bad that I remember nothing about these people. Ep05 was a standalone, and had absolutely nothing to do with the Book of Friends. Eps06-07 were about the Matoba Clan, members of which Natsume had interactions with in a previous season, and the return of Natori, an exorcist/idol that Natsume was "friends" with. The story itself was interesting (though I might be biased due to my love for this anime), though I didn't like how the episodes ended with tinges of sadness. Then again, that's always been the prevalent theme of Natsume, anyway...

Hanasaku Iroha 21 - Enishing Can Happen!

The deep look of hate...

Well, things are really picking up, with the marriage between the young master and that useless girl with tons of useless ideas. It was just another episode to set up the new arc, like we have seen before so many times. I really hate arc-based stories like this; I like things flowing more smoothly. These very obvious breaks in the story really stop you from wanting to continue on.

Kamisama no Memochou Eps05-07

I tried so hard to get this done yesterday, but I just couldn't. Sadface. On the flipside, the Dota2 tournament finishing gives me back a lot of free time. (Good job, EHOME. I swear you threw that very first match against Scythe.SG, though.) Unfortunately, some rekindled blog work is now eating up my time. I'll focus on Yuru Yuri after this post; let's see if I can't get that up in the next day or so.

What comparisons...

With this batch, my interest in this anime has been rekindled. The characters have managed to grow on me; Narumi isn't weak and useless, but rather just has different strengths than I had expected. Alice, with all of her childishness and old-school style of speaking, is endearing me like none other; she's not so tsundere that it annoys me, but she's bossy enough that I seem to quite like it. This arc introduced Renji Hirasaka, the maker of the Hirasaka Group, and even in these three episodes hasn't concluded yet. Since the post was getting pretty long, I decided to break it here. While the detective-work still isn't the main focus, the story itself is keeping me pretty curious.

Tiger & Bunny 21 - Throwback Tiger

That's what I'm talkin' about! Despite a few QUALITY drawings, this was probably the most fun I've had watching T&B yet. I would argue that this episode is the best, if not the best, in the series. The atmosphere was set up very nicely and Hiroaki Hirata did really good job voice acting. It was just plain all-around fun.

Dragon Nest - Enter raindom

So, our new guild is born: raindom. Rain was taken because I am slow and didn't plan ahead, so we needed a new witty name for our guild. With my ingenuity, I came up with the new name. If you want to join, PM me on Thaze or any other random member of the guild, as they all have guild invite access at this point. You can also leave a comment on this post. I'll make a recruitment thread about actual requirements later; for now. I'll leave it open.

To new beginnings!

~Pearz

Kamisama no Memochou Ep04

My hope for today is to get through all of the Kamisama no Memochou episodes. I'll blog about the ones that are obviously arcs together, but after watching ep04 (and then seeing the preview for ep05), I wonder if I'm not just in for some stand-alones for a while...

How could I not include naked Min?

This episode seemed like "filler", since it followed a crazy plotline. It did at least use Alice's skills semi-seriously, and an important story point occurred near the end. It dealt with Min being silently "challenged" by a customer that came by frequently but would leave after barely touching his ramen (essentially telling her that it wasn't so good, no matter what he ordered) as well as a stalker/thief that kept stealing Min's sarashi (the cloth she used to bind her chest). While it was a pretty humdrum episode, I still liked it since it felt like a good change of pace.

The iDOLM@STER Ep07

For some reason, I'm ridiculously behind on Yuru Yuri and Natsume Yuujinchou San; these are both anime that I enjoy, so it's weird how I haven't been watching. I'm also backlogged with Kamisama no Memochou, but that's because I'm really not looking forward to watching it. It's kind of boring...

Iori's growing quickly as a favourite...

This episode was focused on Yayoi, with Hibiki and Iori keeping her company as "back-up characters". Despite that, I found the overall story to be weak, which doesn't bode well for Yayoi's character. The episode actually began with Iori, making me think that she would be the focus, but then I remembered that she already had an episode. Despite that, Iori really stole the thunder in this episode. A side story was about Producer's "redemption", although it was more of a confidence-building session for him than anything else.

Tiger & Bunny 20 - Not "Pinning" It Down

I know - episode 21 is going to air in a couple hours, sorry for the delay. The fall semester is right around the corner and I've been playing a little catch-up on Dragon Nest. I still have a bunch downloaded anime that I haven't gotten around to watch yet (Redline, Kamisama Dolls, a couple others). Anyway, I'll just make this post shorter, since I'll probably be writing one for the next episode the next day.

Tiger definitely has his moments.

This episode was okay, but not too much happening. I think many viewers expected things to go very similar to what happened. This pretty much sets up the whole Kotetsu vs. Sternbild kind of dilemma. Overall, it was enjoyable to watch. I bet many of you were frustrated because Kotetsu wasn't able to "pin" down a certain connection, but I found it believable.

Nichijou Ep20

I kind of lost a lot of interest in watching the Dota2 tournament for the time-being, after the sad games last night that dropped EHOME and iG to the Loser's Bracket. Yeah, there's a chance one of them will still make it to the final, but I don't really want to watch the road there. I like plays that's based heavily on analysis and specialization, and both matches with these teams last night seemed to show them choking and crashing, often running around without any kind of coordination. That just made me sad.

The perils of eating first, reading second.

This episode followed essentially just one story, with a handful of tiny shorts interlaced in between. Mio had gathered Yukko, Mai and Nano to help her out to her manga deadline, leading to all kinds of hilarity because the three of them seemed to be quite inept in various ways. I actually liked this kind of story-telling (one long scene that appeared throughout the episode), although it made me really question Mio's taste in friends...

Mawaru Penguindrum 06 - Ringo's Life Story

How did he even guess that? It could also be "M for murder". D:

So, this episode was basically about watching Ringo's life story, with some random plot development of our new "mysterious" character that's been controlling things from the background. This was probably the slowest episode of the season so far; maybe it's because I don't care much for Ringo. At least it makes her stalker-like tendencies a bit more justifiable, even if it is a bit creepy.

Usagi Drop Ep07

It feels like just yesterday that I watched ep06; I'm kind of out of it now that the Dota2 tournament takes up a large amount of my day. Though, it's not like most of the matches aren't entertaining... (Except the debacle that was EHOME vs Scythe.SG; what utter failure.)

...I want one.

This episode confirmed my previous inklings that Haruko (Daikichi's cousin) would be getting some kind of story to her, given small scenes shown of her and her in-laws. She and Reina spent a few days with Daikichi and Rin, while she pondered her options for dealing with her repressed feelings (in regards to her marital life) and Daikichi thought about marriage and what it meant to have a family. Kouki's mother made a cameo, further imbibing me with hopes that they'll end up together.

Dragon Nest - Solo Mino Nest

Since being able to solo the final boss at the moment is all the rage, I just had to make a video. Of all of the other ones, I am currently the second fastest, despite the lag. I think I can match or be extremely close to the best time for this run solo.

Enjoy:



~Pearz

Dota 2 Tournament -Day 2

Miranda, star of today's matches

I decided that if I spend 30-40 mins watching a match, might as well talk about it. So I didn't watch all the matches, the OK vs IG was suppose to be a huge upset and amazing match to watch, but I didn't catch it. Maybe I'll watch it if I have time. So for those needing link again, live stream (GMT+2, 10AM - 7 PM) with the older matches on their main site or on youtube.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Eps06-07

It turns out that my desire to watch anime is nothing in the face of my desire to watch the Dota2 tournament; that's pretty funny. Somewhere in the middle (it's not like I really want to watch the Losers Bracket matches), I managed to write about this show.

She still hasn't outgrown the "omochikaeri" phase...

This batch of episodes was not only boring but also highly annoying. While ep06 was kind of slow-paced, focusing on a photography session with Yune and Alice (and with Claude not really making any major appearances), ep07 was just one cliche on top of another, showcasing Claude's remarkable ability to be short-tempered and controlling. The only reason I'm not bashing this anime more is because I understand what "olden days" mentality was like, but that's still only barely a reason that a main character should be like this. My only hope is for some kind of redeeming quality to show up - anything - or at least an interesting character.

Uta no Prince-sama Eps06-07

With each passing week, I really look forward to seeing what kind of terrible cliche or overdone trope this anime will throw at me. Amazingly, it hasn't disappointed my eagerness even once. Each episode is just a little bit more over-the-top.

In-episode scenes make it slightly more canon.

This batch ended the "side guy of the week" series, showing the final extra (Natsuki) before diving into the main guy, Tokiya. While Natsuki's story was mildly interesting, it was also so cliche that I didn't bother too much with it. The "revelations" about Tokiya took care of the Tokiya-Haruka-Hayato love triangle, meaning that the remaining episodes will most likely focus on Tokiya and Haruka, with her "friends" (and wannabe love interests) used as fodder for plot.

First Official Dota 2 Tournament

I'm not so late to the party this time, catching the 4th live-stream game of Dota 2. For those that don't know: the first official tournament for Dota 2 is being streamed off the official website for the next couple days. None of the teams know what they are getting into and have not "tested" anything yet.  You can watch it live here. So, this is like the first live gameplay footage. You can watched archived matches of this tournament here.

From what I have seen, it looks almost identical to LoL, which is a step backwards when compared with HON. Still, the competitive scene looks good and I would still consider moving over, depending on how pricing and such goes. I noticed that all of the 3 matches I missed had Weaver in it, being my favourite hero from Dota that was not ported into HON. I am still anxious to see him in action.

The only other major issue was that their stream could not support the mass amount of viewers and the game had lag issues. This is all stuff that hopefully will be sorted out by the official release. I'm still looking forward to see how Dota 2 will look, even if I hate that huge LoL-feel that the graphics give off. I'm still in a bit of awe of watching competitive games that aren't HON. 

~Pearz

Steins;Gate 20 - I Thought FB Was Facebook

What an amazing episode with an obvious cliffhanger that has been looming over us for quite some time. This was a pretty important episode with some huge spoilers, so this is the only warning to not read this if you haven't caught up yet. I don't want to ruin the epic-ness of this episode with my crappy writing. XD

The iDOLM@STER Ep06

After getting sidetracked for hours while writing this post because Rho decided to watch the live-stream of DOTA2 next to me - how freaking distracting - here's ep06 of this anime finally.

Takane! What have they done to you?!

This episode continued with the official debut of Ryuuguu Komachi, but I don't think that's the person/people that the episode actually focused on. If I really think about it, the episode was probably mostly focused on Producer, with the other idols (especially the girls "left out") providing plot points. Sadly, this episode revealed just how much of a failure at his job this man is. I don't hesitate to be this mean at all; he's shown time and time again that, whether or not he's really taking this seriously, he's just not doing a good job. The episode ended on a high note, that perhaps Producer had learned from his mistakes - but, honestly speaking, I had thought that the previous episodes were mistakes for him to learn from already.

Hanasaku Iroha 20 - Omurice

Already eating before everyone has food; that is why they are background characters.

This was an episode dedicated to Minko's love/hate for omelet rice. I still can't tell if she really likes it. D: I mean, she claims that it was a crucial moment to her child. Most the characters had their personalities exaggerated for their arc, but I see absolutely no difference in her bitchy attitude. I guess she was that terrible of a character to begin with.

Grief Syndrome - Madoka Magica Side Scroller

So, it's kind of late to post this, but I've been busy (farming in Dragon Nest) and only had a chance to try this last night. Being tired and such, I failed pretty hard dying on the first lap with a rage quit. It's a pretty fun game nonetheless; I'll give it another shot tonight. I picked Homura, which is supposedly mediocre while Sayaka and Koyoko is easy mode. It's just what I heard; I haven't tried them yet.

Some small info about the game: it was sold for 1k yen at Comiket by fans. Have fun and pray you do better than I did. D: Nothing else much to say about it; it's a fun Madoka side scroller.

Download links: torrent, MegaUpload
Wiki link for information

~Pearz

Usagi Drop Ep06

Dungeon Siege III has gripped my attention and time for the last little bit, but I still had the schedule to watch Someday's Dreamers 2. I forced myself to sit through it. Spoiler: it sucks. So much. I should have just watched Shinryaku! Ika Musume instead, with Season 2 coming up in Fall 2011.

Daikichi just never really looks comfortable...

This episode continued just after where the previous one left off, at Rin's entrance ceremony at elementary school (with Kouki's mother helping out with the photo-taking). After following the two in their day (which included grocery shopping), a major plot point was brought upon by the talking of "commemoration trees", which are trees planted in order to commemorate a certain event. The theme was where Rin fit into the family and her place, further signifying that she's here to stay in Daikichi's life (if anyone had any doubts). Interestingly enough, despite Rin starting elementary school, the episode didn't actually have much to say about that.

Mayo Chiki 05-06 - A New Harem Edition

It's always best to hit and run!

So, these two episodes batched together nicely, with the introduction of the new character. It's another tsundere to mix in with the rest of them already in his harem. They really need to branch out on the archetypes; he is already surrounded by tsunderes. I guess that could be just what he is into; he clearly enjoys it and keeps coming back for more.

Nichijou Ep19

Finally, a Nichijou post that's relatively "on schedule". I feel surprisingly accomplished. (Still not watching Someday's Dreamers 2, if anyone is keeping track. I don't know what's wrong with that anime but I don't want to get involved.)

Daifuku causes enlightenment.

This week's episode was especially heavy on thematic parodies, beginning with a Hellvetica Standard (not a typo...) and featuring two scenes making fun of sports anime. It was also revealed that, almost as a rule, Tachibana's friends were also as strange and random as the comedy trio of Mio, Yukko and Mai. Thinking about it, though, this episode had appearances of these "main characters" in abundance; I feel almost needy to say that, even though I asked for more and more random characters, it still feels really good to pay attention to the mains every once in a while.

Usagi Drop Ep05

In the extreme heat of the Beijing summer, lounging around and watching a slow-paced anime like this one seems to really fit. (Plus, I'm avoiding the nightmare that is Someday's Dreamers 2, but that's another story all together.)

Mutual love!

This episode really cleared up what Rin and Daikichi meant to each other and how long we can expect to see them together. With the introduction of Rin's mother, it was really clear that Daikichi would be taking care of Rin for the extreme long-term, as the woman really seemed to not "all be there". The question of an adoption was raised, but Rin was against it and Daikichi wanted to go with her wishes. It was the typical type of episode, where a lot happened and a lot of information was presented, but it was truly slice-of-life at the end of it all.

Steins;Gate 19 - Moeka Overload

Not enough Kurisu...

The majority of this episode took place in a small room with Ookarin and Moeka. Maybe if I liked her character more, then I would have enjoyed this episode. She was my least favourite character, which actually was still a bit better as the antagonist. Her character just felt very weak.

The iDOLM@STER Ep05

I chose to watch this before Usagi Drop this week, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good this episode was. This anime is slowly climbing the ladder for me!

I don't even know how to comment.

This episode, as the preview suggested, was a typical beach episode. I was eager to know who the focus would be for the week, and was startled to see that there was no singular focus; rather, the episode was more about the entire cast of idols, more or less. I'm glad that an episode like this was thrown in; it's good to see the girls interacting with each other to set up the environment a little better. While the recurring story from last week (Chihaya's sadness) was not fully resolved, I was pleased that it was gently touched on (in the form of Haruka comforting her). The story development is going quite well so far.

Second Look at Dragon Nest

So, it has been quite some time since I picked up an MMO, with the last one being Allods. I guess here's some basic info first: I am currently at the level cap (24) during the open beta. I am attempting to make another character to try out a mage, since my sharpshooter will get demolished in PVP. There will also be no wipe from open beta to the actual release.

Yuru Yuri Eps04-05

Watching these two episodes back-to-back with the previous ones really increased my attachment to these characters. Seeing their growth was very interesting, since this is a comedy anime and I didn't expect such advancements.

Super fanservice, all day long.

Ep04 settled the long-forgotten competition between Ayano and Kyouko (regarding the term tests) and then turned into a beach scene with lots of fanservice. Ep05 dealt with a visit to Comiket by the older cast members, while the younger ones hung out in pairs. It ended on a sour note with me, with a "sexually violent" scene performed purely for comedic reasons. While I await resolution on that situation, I have to note that these episodes really birthed the inkling that this might be dangerously close to a real shoujo-ai anime.

Hanasaku Iroha 19 - Super Tsundere Minko

So, this episode was the start of the arc for the culture festival. It was a pretty standard boring episode all the way up until the end. Maybe if the episode started on a high note, I wouldn't be so bored watching this anime every week. For the sake of completeness, I must endure!

Yuru Yuri Eps02-03

I had initially intended to batch together eps02-04, but it turned out that I had a lot more to say. Surprisingly, I'm liking this anime a lot more than I had initially expected after watching the first episode.

Super loli!

I had previously drawn a lot of similarities to A Channel and, while most of them are still true, I have to throw in that Yuru Yuri has something that A Channel was sorely missing - comedy. The allusions to lesbianism is still in full-force with these two episodes, only getting more extreme with the introduction of characters that are honestly just fangirls. The over-the-top element is what adds to the overall hilarity; while an everyday life is depicted, these episodes add the humour that kept me going back for more. Ep02 sees the introduction of the student council (sans the president) and ep03 deals with Yui's living alone.

Mawaru Penguindrum 05 - The Storm

What does this have to do with borrowing money?

So, this episode was more of an info-dump than anything else. At least now we know a bit of the history, with the long flashback, and few more mysteries showed up. The path off the main track could signify that it would be an episode heavily-based off of a flashback, or the change in direction that they will be taking soon.

Nichijou Ep18

Sadly, the delay of Nichijou this week wasn't my fault; Doki was pretty late in releasing it. Considering I'll be keeping this series for archiving, I'd rather wait for a good copy rather than rush it.

I'm reminded of Kyouya from Ouran...

This episode reminded me a lot of ones from the previous half, partially because it returned to the format of having a few long sequences broken up by lots and lots of smaller ones. The biggest difference was that the long sequences here were continuing a concept already presented, which made the little details really pop. From Biscuit #2 (the successor to Biscuit #1, obviously) and Mr. Rust+ (after Mr. Short Circuit failed) to the fantasy world that created Mio's hairstyle, this episode really reminded me why I like Nichijou to begin with: a funny joke isn't repeated; it's the funny concept that's never discarded.

Tiger & Bunny 19 - The Not So Big Reveal

As the title may suggest, the Big Boss of Tiger & Bunny has finally been revealed. Well, it shouldn't come as a surprise, because the writers have thrown hints in here and there, in earlier episodes. The first half of this week's installment is just a bunch of angsty drama, which I don't really care for. The latter half is much more entertaining.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Eps04-05

I procrastinated a full week before even watching these two episodes. Maybe it's because I'm feverish, but it was pretty difficult to watch this anime. I think I'm losing all interest.

That's pretty quick development...

These episodes continued the "every simple day" feel presented thus far. Ep05 dealt with the appearance of Alice - who, after being introduced as a spoiled brat who would have her way no matter what, became pretty demure in the course of one episode, obviously not going to get in between Claude and Yune in any kind of malicious way. Ep06 was about Yune shedding some of her innocent trust - although, not really, since she went back to her old ways, more or less, by the end of the episode. It also showed a homeless child that'll most undoubtedly be a part of the story to come.

3DS: August/September Update

The latest news from Nintendo has me excited all over again about their near-future plans for their latest handheld.

After giving us the ability to have Netflix on our lovable 3DS, as well as Internet-access, free (short) 3D videos, downloadable games and more, Nintendo has announced the following updates.

Price Drop!
Nintendo has announced that the 3DS will be lowered to $169.99 on August 12.

Steins;Gate 18 - Mastery of Awkwardness

So, we finally got an episode focused on the trap and his ending. This episode was just brutal for me, being pretty much the horribly awkward first date. It's almost like Steins;Gate became a slice-of-life romance crap. I think it is the first time I had to pause this anime so many times in one episode.

Hanasaku Iroha 18 - A Mermaid's Dream

She looked horrible in that. The hat was the only thing tying it together.

So, it was an extremely short one-episode focus on Nakochi. I guess even the writers knew how boring this would be but felt obligated to throw it in. This episode was just brutal; watching Nako just squirm under pressure was a flimsy-as-hell plot for this episode. It was just brutal, from start to finish.

Uta no Prince-sama Eps04-05

At this point, I kind of look forward to watching this anime, because then I can see just how many tropes they've overused and then bash it. It's a weird kind of pleasure.

Wow, even I kind of want a cat-shaped cookie.

These two episodes quickly showed more of the "harem of boys", with the focus on Ren and then Sho. At least Ren's episode was music-oriented - he had yet to submit his lyrics assignment from before, due to some random emo on his part regarding his family. Sho, on the other hand, had an episode dedicated to attempting to get a small part in a movie, which made me wonder why he needed to be at a music-oriented school if his interest was acting. Idols do lots of things, but Saotome Academy is clearly for music, first and foremost. Anyway, only Natsuki is left to be focused on, after which I'm sure (or maybe just hopeful) that Tokiya and a story will get some screen-time.