Lately, I've been cutting back on video games... I stopped playing Vesperia after gaining word about the PS3 version on April Fools.  These past few months have comprised of me doing 5 major things...
Seriously... I have been playing a lot of VNs lately.  Tsukihime was the start of this....but now I'm playing Fate Stay Night (with japanese voice overs thanks to Realta Nua) and Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, which has been shortening Hito's total lifespan due to how awesome it is.  From the unique characters to the impactuous music, Umineko has easily won over Hito as his favorite VN.  Its a bit hard for me since I'm not focusing TOO much on one VN. Not to mention, I have two I'm swapping between, haha.

Anyhoo!! The translation for Fate/Stay Night is completed and the translation for Umineko is ALMOST completed (considering its 4 episodes long and the team is up to chapter 9 of the 4th episode completely translated....there isn't much left until it'll be completely translated)

I highly recommend! Give 'em a shot!!

It finally feels like spring around here now with the warmer (yet still cool) weather.  So I thought I'd make a list of things I'll be doing since I've given up on searching for work for this month.

New anime I'll definitely be watching...

K-ON! - After seeing the first episode, I have high hopes for this show!  The main girl is adorable, as well as the rest of the cast. Even though I don't believe anyone in my irc channel will be watching with me, 13 eps is too short for me to care about simu-watching with irc pals at a later time.

FMA: Brotherhood - Long awaited! The first ep was magnificent...but I can't help this scratchy feeling in my throat. (no, I won't end up like Keiichi) The feeling is about the first episode and the Ice Alchemist.  Being that I know the story through the first anime....I feel quite bad for the Ice Alchemist.

I'll make another entry later if I confirm any other shows I'll be following.

I have yet again completed a awesome anime series.  Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting.  Seriously, one of the greatest anime series I have ever experienced....and its not complete.  Its burning brighter than ever before with a new season.  I have watched 76 episodes of the first series and I must say....I'm in complete awe of how unbelieveable this show is.  After watching the two movies for the first series, I plan on catching up to the second season with everyone else.  Truly an amazing series.

With that said, I have been slacking off on working out for quite a while.  The weather is still not good enough for outdoor workouts, so I'll be bingeing through some anime series I havn't finished yet.  Video games will have to wait for a while, but while I dare to mention video games I suppose I should give my thoughts on a game I was recently playing for a bit

Star Ocean 4 - The long awaited sequel (prequel) to the Star Ocean series!  Set in a time before that of the first Star Ocean, you play as Edge Maverick.  Now before I continue I would like to say a few things. First off....I have not played SO1 or SO2.  I plan on playing them in the near future.  Second, I did not finish SO4, so this review is only my first glance thoughts on the game.  I probably won't finish the game or be playing ir for some time, considering that I only borrowed it from a friend for a day and got about 5-7 hours in.  When I began playing I noticed many good and bad things about the game.  I don't want to mention about the story, I'll avoid that line of topic.

I'll start off with good things.  The overall game appeared to have brought over many of the things that made SO3 a great game.  The battle system, while similar to that of SO3, has some new refreshing features that add more depth to gameplay.  The bonus board does a much better job of what it does than what the bonus gauge of SO3 did.  I did not reach the item creation parts of the game, however I have heard many good things about it, such as the system has been fixed over certain things that were annoying in SO3.  The annoying things being failed creations.  Opening chests, harvesting ingredients and materials gains you exp points outside of battle. Its a neat touch I suppose.  You are able to speed dash in this game!!  The dash is a great way of getting from place to place compared to regular walking/running!

Now for the bad.... english voiceovers.... I was extremely turned off by the voice actors choosen for some of the characters and believe this could have been worked on a lot better.  Or better yet...they could have allowed japanese voiceovers with english subtitles.  The game difficulty feels odd.  Not odd as in the game is hard, but odd as in depending on the character you're using, the game feels really easy at times. I fought the first boss without being hit at all.  The archer, Reimi, (whose big butt seemed to be the main attention of the development team provided how many times its been focused on while I was playing) sort of made the game....easy for me.  A little too easy.  Though this was only the start off of the game, on normal mode, so my argument on difficulty doesn't hold water until I play on the hardest difficulty and see that difference for myself.

Aside from those things...I can't really say what was so great about the game or so awful either.  I suppose I should say that there aren't any alternate outfits in the game, but that might change with downloadable content in the future.  I can't say that I'll definitely buy SO4....I know some others think its GAME OF THE YEAR MATERIAL (Hito I'm looking at you...) but I couldn't see that in the game.

I suppose thats for everyone else to find out!  I won't be playing it again for a while.  Got too many other things I have to finish and look forward to.

INDEED! ISN'T IT AMAZING?!  Aside from my fixed sleep schedule (which didn't last very long before reverting back to poor sleep habits) I can begun exercising a lot more!  While I have slowly worked to regain my former glory, (winter makes me fat because of all the holiday food) I have also been watching anime and playing games at a steady pace!

I finished Cave Story (with a true end!) and have begun working on a extreme mode run for Zone of the Enders 2 Special Edition (which is entirely in moonrunes because it was never brought stateside....however Europe got a special edition....KONAMI HATES US! *cries*)

IRC is as active as ever what with 2 new members and 1 crazy bot (AI) in my channel.  One of the new members is a irl friend of mine too!  The channel's become one big happy family...slowly growing more expansive heh heh

Thanks to Hito, homebrew is now functional on my psp! A SNES/GBA/PS1 AND A PSP on the go is incredible (and it absorbs a low amount of battery life compared to a UMD loading)  Played some FF: Dissidia and gotta say....the game is actually pretty good!  I'll have to try out a bunch of other games little by little! ;)

As for work.......still unemployed! Finding work is hard.  Everywhere I've gone its always the same story.  "Sorry we're no longer hiring." "We just layed off a couple of workers and are currently not accepting anyone." "We apologize but someone just applied for our last open position."  ........yeah.  Atleast I havn't lowered myself to look for a job at somewhere say...McDonalds? I'm not THAT desperate.

Today I shall be off with a friend at forbidden planet, downtown! Yesterday I hung out with the same friend and ate sushi (eel) for the first time.....wasn't a big fan of it.  Though I enjoyed the miso soup and katsu w/ rice (yes I'm boring).  Next time I visit that restaurant, I'll try a bento box!  I probably won't try sushi again though....never was a fan of fish.

ANYHOW........HOLY CRAP I'M ALIVE!

I shall do my best to be among the first 50 players to reach lv 30!  Wish me luck! :D

Yeah....screw that first 50 players crap.  I've got too much other stuff to do with my time than play a MMO on New Years Eve for countless hours.

Well.....This is actually a few days old now but.....I finished P4 on 12/26!  160 hours of gameplay..........yeah........a little overboard on actual gaming......and very over board on idle time because I was distracted a lot while playing lol

No matter!  IT WAS INCREDIBLE!  It has my vote for Game of the Year even.  I can't think of any other game all throughout this year that has captured my heart so.  It will not be missed.....because I'm doing a 2nd run already!  Since I took the TRUE END path in the game the first time around, a lot of new features will open to me on this second playthrough.  I should now be able to create a Izanagi no Okami when I reach lv 91 on this playthrough.  I should also be getting a invitation to the secret boss battle in the late end of this 2nd playthrough! :)

I'm a little sad that you don't keep the MC's levels for the 2nd playthrough like you could in P3.....but this only makes it more like Nocturne's New Game+, so I don't mind it at all now.

To those that have not finished P4 yet.  My recommendation is to enjoy the game at your own pace.  If you feel that you should have done something else or picked something else for an S Link, reload and make the choice you felt was better!  If you feel that you're not getting enough exp from a certain dungeon and it is starting to feel like you're grinding to the next level......continue the story naturally and forget about lving.  I guarantee you the next dungeon will have monsters that will give you all the exp you wanted to lv up haha.

Lastly, when you approach the month of december......save if you plan on taking the "true end" path and consider looking at a online guide.  I'm serious.  You might end up with a BAD END for all you know.  All it takes is one little slip and you won't even be able to enjoy the normal end.

Enjoy P4! (AND MAKE A TRUMPETER!!)

http://that.animeblogger.net/2008/11/28/that-winter-2009-anime-preview/

Here are my thoughts on the Winter Anime lineup...

Akikan - I 'll try it and see if I like it.  I might need a new comedy/romance after Kannagi comes to a close. :(

Hajime No Ippo: New Challenger - YES! FRICK YES! I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED THE FIRST SERIES OF THIS SHOW BUT I'M EXCITED!  MORE REASON TO FINISH IT UP!

Kemono no Souja Erin - 50 episodes?! Gee....I dunno.  I'll try it of course!  Here is to hoping its a great show! *chugs a glass of iced tea* B-B-B-B-BRAIN FREEEEZE

Genji Monogatari Sennenki - Another I'm not sure of..... I've wanted to read Tale of Genji before...but I'm not a frequent reader of books (outside of manga) and usually just fall asleep while reading novels.  An anime adaptation?!  I'll more than likely give this a try and look into it some.

Minami-Ke Okaeri - YES! I LOVED THE FIRST SEASON BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO SEEING THE SECOND..... WILL DO SO THIS WEEK!

Kurokami the Animation - I've been reading the manga for a while now.  Knew about the anime in progress and have waited on it all this time! Will DEFINITELY be adding this to my watch list.

The Tower of Druaga ~the Sword of Uruk~ - HELL YES SUMMER OF ANU.....HOW I WAITED FOR YOU SO!  I'm surprised this is coming out so early....

Anyhow..thats all for now! If it didn't get mentioned chances are.....I won't see it or try it out.  Though this is only a first glance decision.....my thoughts of shows may change as more info, screenshots, trailers and so forth start to appear.

Dey see me droolan.....on yur negi!

Listed by priority (high to low):

SMT: Digital Devil Saga 2
Dragon Quest IV DS
Tales of Vesperia
Mother 3
Ar Tonelico
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Soulless Army (god what a long name)
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei 1&2
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2
Valkyria Chronicles
The World Ends With You
Castlevania Order of Ecclesia
Hotel Dusk Room 215
Growlanser IV Heritage of War
Chrono Trigger DS - ADDED

Mugen No Frontier - Finished...AGAIN
Dragonball Origins DS - Finished
DeadSpace - Finished
Tears of War 2 - Finished

DeadSpace had a nice end.  Mugen No Frontier was as epic as the last time I finished it.  DragonBall......was just fun to play lol.  And Tears of War 2 had be going "ANYA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" while I was always picturing Anya as the one from Code Geass.  Also......being chainsawed from the back looks VERY VERY painful. :(

ALL PLAY AND MORE PLAY MAKES, JING A PLAYFUL PLAY!

Here is my ridiculously long list of games I need to finish......preferably before Persona 4(oh lawd another one) releases.

Listed by priority (high to low):

SMT: Digital Devil Saga 2
Tales of Vesperia
Mother 3
Ar Tonelico
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Soulless Army (god what a long name)
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei 1&2
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2
Valkyria Chronicles
Mugen No Frontier (replaying)
Dragon Quest IV DS
The World Ends With You
Castlevania Order of Ecclesia
Hotel Dusk Room 215
Dragonball Origins DS
DeadSpace (xbax version)
Growlanser IV Heritage of War
Tears of War 2 (LOL I HAVEN'T BOUGHT IT YET)
SMT: Persona 4 (Not out yet....but it'll be high on this list sure enough when it does release)
Ar Tonelico 2 (Releases sometime in december-january....will be high on list)

So yeah......nice little list of things I need to finish eh?!  And I'm trying to do all of this before new years!!!.......just having even one SMT game in the list makes the list sound hilarious.....but no...I have 6 SMT games (not including P4) to finish.  Can you say "impossible"?  This this list.....I sure can! But hey....gotta try to slash off a few of those titles before Year of the Ox kicks in!

2012!!! YEAR OF THE DRAGON!!! THE WORLD ENDS WITH ME?! (lol I'm a dragon)

I was browsing gelbooru and found a comment that made me go "eh?".....its the last comment in the bottom of this screenshot.



Upon further inspection of the tags (circled it for ya)....I had a major laugh.  Poor Fuuko :(

Seeing Sarukah's LJ got me thinking to do the same.  Sorry if you consider me a copy ninja for this, Sarukah. lol I haven't updated my Animelist yet so it looks terrible at the moment.  For now, I'm certain I know what series I'll be watching for this fall and will make a list here!

Fall Season Anime Watch List:

Tales of the Abyss - (if I didn't watch this, Sarukah would probably Brooklyn Rage herself all the way here and hang me from a noose like Zetsubou Sensei......heh heh D: I'd fail major big time. LOL)

Clannad - After Story  - (I see you with that noose thur Sarukah.....put it away.....definitely watching this)

Kannagi   -  (I personally found this show charming.  I fell in love with its OP sequence and thought the characters were really cute!  Comical to a level that made me think of Chobits.  Something light hearted and relaxing to watch along with Clannad.....though Clannad does have its share of drama...and thats always welcomed to keep viewers gripped to a story, eh?)

Ga-Rei -Zero-  -  (I waited for this for quite a while now.  I hoped for it to be something awesome....and my prayers were answered!  Mysterious, action packed, and eerie!  I look forward to see how its story unfolds.)

Shikabane Hime - (Great presentation.  Action kept my eyes wide open and craving for more.  A bit curious how everything turns out for this show.)

Chaos Head   - (Recently watched the first episode today......I found the main male roles hyper aware and paranoid behavior to be rather extremely amusing.  Nitroplus' art style is amongst my favorites as well!  I found it sort of trippy when the scenes going through the main's head were shown instead of reality at certain given moments......but thats one of the fine qualities of this show!)

Toaru Majutsu no Index - (So I stopped being lazy and finally caught the 1st episode.....it was pretty darn good!  Waiting patiently for the next episode .......funny......episode 2 is out *watches*

Kuroshitsuji - (I'll admit....I had my share of doubts in this show.  Wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did! Dark humor is always welcomed!)

Soul Eater - (Continuing the awesomeness through this fall!)

Kara no Kyoukai (whenever the other movies are released I guess.....)

Shows I recently marathoned:

Gunbuster
Gunbuster 2 (Die Buster)

I remembered seeing some characters in a video of a Super Robot Wars game online and I grew curious of a few of them.  I remembered a mech doing a really awesome kick, roaring down on their foe like a blazing comet from the stars and....well....leaving their mark! (footmark that is)

While browsing Super Robot Wars fan art on random sites, I found this picture below and learned the characters performing the awesome kick move were from a Gainax anime called Gunbuster and Diebuster.  I marathoned both in a day (individually they are 6 episodes per show...a total of 12 episodes) and I must say......both really took my breath away.  I felt like I was watching the grandfather series of TTGL when I saw GunBuster1.  GunBuster2 was like the father of TTGL, because TTGL referred to Gunbuster 2 on many occasions. The crossed arm pose Simon does when the chouginga gurren-lagann formed in episode 24...the mains of Gunbuster 2 making cameo appearances during the hotsprings episode of TTGL and more I can't think of off the top of my head.

Gunbuster wasn't the only one out there that was referenced to in TTGL.  Rest assure...I plan on seeing a lot of mecha anime in the near future, because of my love for Super Robot Wars.



Remember to always "AIM FOR THE TOP"......until next update! (....dang I sure did a big update!!!!)

Thats riiiiiight~ Not that hobo over there sleeping on the bench..........I got one!

This past Saturday, I started my first day of work at Forbidden Planet!   Getting acquainted with the staff, what I had to do, and where everything is sectioned throughout the store seems a bit tough at first.  However yesterday, (sunday) on my first FULL day of work, I believe I got the complete breakdown of what I needed to do!  Its not an easy job....but its not so hard that I'd end up screaming "Oh god, why me?!" when I get back home after a hard days work.

Though....I did feel like sawing off my legs due to how tired I was.  Walking all day and helping customers find what they're looking for gets quite repetitive.  Then there are those occasions when kids knock over a shelf of comics and I put on this really kind expression that masks how I really feel at the time and say to myself "Don't worry!.....This is work experience for you to level up in life!"  And then that mask slowly fades and becomes my real face....and I find myself enjoying cleaning that mess of comics little Adam and Sarah knocked over. (most likely because I can actually site or kneel on the floor for a good 5 minutes and rest my legs at the same time haha)

Another great thing that helps a lot is the learning experience!  Slowly my mind has grown to remember certain authors and artists. (and its only been two days of work so far)  I'm learning of comic book series, I never knew of.  Some series I knew of but never knew a comic book existed for. (such as Silent Hill)

If there is any one thing I love the most about my job would be seeing all the toys and figures in stock.  I have a love for anime figures and plan on collecting quite a few in the future!  Heck, I just bought a Metal Gear Solid figure of Big Boss from MGS3 yesterday!  The other things I love about the job are the employees that work with me.  They're all quite welcoming and I feel like I'm slowly blending in.....slowly. ^_^;   And lastly.....I love the job, because I love that store. I love comics. I love helping others!.........and I also love awesome employee discounts on books and figures! haha

In short....I love my job thus far! Can't wait to work on Halloween! (since all I ever do in october is enjoy the change of weather, celebrate my B-day, and watch old horror flims with my friends and family)

Until next time....

Today's that big day.....Code Geass R2 Finale! Everyone in the IRC channels I go to are planning to wait when everyone is ready so we can all watch it together and discuss afterwards how epic everything ends....perhaps some of our predictions come true.....perhaps none will.....we shall see tonight! (...or whenever Hito comes back from work...)  I'm patient enough! >:3

*secretly sneaks a peek at episode 25* Er..umm....you weren't suppose to see me do that! D:

I went to the Anime Festival yesterday and took a nice set of pics while I was over...so check em out!

Cell Phone Pics Gallery

There were a ton more pictures taken but they were off my aunt's camera and I haven't transferred those to my computer yet.  She took the better pics most likely.....because she had an actual camera while I was just using my crappy-decent camera phone. :(  It actually takes VERY nice shots if I'm outside.....it gets nasty fuzzy if I'm indoors with little light. *sighs because he really needs to get a better camera*

Anyhow...I had an awesome time at the festival! Got lots of free stuff, bought some awesome Hatsune Miku stuff, and met a lot of nice artists.......only problems I felt with the festival were....the lack of video game content (not as much as a I hoped), the lack of maids (hardly saw any at all), and the fact that I saw that IIDX controller....it really made me upset that I couldn't buy it :(((((

Overall......Anime Festival was awesome! I'll plan on going next year....and next time I'll come prepared so I can buy cooler stuff!

Till next entry.....Driveby Miku!

This week....this week has been unbelievably lucky for me! (I hope I didn't just jinx it by saying this...) I applied for that job at Forbidden Planet.....was recommended.....was interviewed.....took the manager's "employee test" .....and passed!  l should be receiving a call saying when I can begin working and all that jazz sooner or later.... I REALLY look forward to working there as my first job.....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

The semi finale to Code Geass R2 airs today! Excited excited excited!!!  Code Geass all together....has been a great watch.  I'll miss its random "SURPRISE PLOT TWISTS"......  Next weekend is the big Anime Festival!!! I'll be sure to pick up a ticket sometime tomorrow since today I'll be a bit busy working around the house. :x

Until next entry.....Nii-Pah~

I give you.......an update!  Well..its been a little while since my last entry...so I'm guessing you already know what I mean.

Anyhow...my visit to Forbidden Planet was completely awesome!  I met the store owner, who is the brother of a high school teacher of mine, and got to talk with him a bit about getting a job at the shop.  Went to see his brother for a recommendation and received one for the job!  Now its a bit of playing the waiting game (my guess is because they probably have enough people working at the store but who knows...)......hope I get the job! >_<;

In other news, if anyone didn't know already....my 360 red ringed....so there goes me playing Tales of Vesperia at home.....  It was an old 360 (got it a few months after launch) so it was bound to happen I guess.  I'll be playing it at a friends house until my 360 gets repaired.  Even if it gets repaired...I had my eye on buying a new 360.  If that happens...It'll probably be the elite.

Disgaea 3.....still grindan!  Animu? Still watching...and waiting patiently for the last two episodes of Code Geass R2.  Things seem look a little grim.....what with spoiler spoilers happening and all the spoiler spoiler going on, ya know? lol

As of now...it may be early morning and I'm wide awake.  However my eyes have been killing me since yesterday.  I blame my wonky sleep schedule.  I'll be sure to get some proper sleep tonight.  Staying up late is turning me into a vampire....I NEED BLOOD! :[

Until next entry~