I chose stinking hot over freezing cold by flying to my parents', but managed to lose my driver's license at the airport orz. Yesterday we had to put up with the grumpiest old woman in the INS office. Since she didn't know how to deal with the green card that I paid for but never got, she resorted to blaming and insulting me. I tried very hard to resist strangling her... This morning we went to the only liqueur store open near our home for some booze! XD

Instead of a celebratory picture, I post the last installment of the exceedingly awesome Sengoku Basara x Gintama fan animated clips:
This one mostly parodies Gintama ep48's sauna scene. Yukimura's phrases used here are just PERFECT! I rofl-ed for a very very long time...

So FF13 is released and everyone who owns a PS3 has brought it. I've decided to jump on the bandwagon as well... but there's no way I'm paying for the full price. I feel confident with the Japanese version, since I do possess RPG-level understanding of the language... anyways, I'll wait for the craze to calm down before getting a used copy. With prelim in next semester, I'm gonna have trouble squeezing out game time. =_=

( last loot of 2009: calendar, books, and DVD )

I just took the finals to what I hope to be the last lecture course of my grad life. Alas, the stinking degree is still a long way off. >.< For now...

( screencaps and thoughts part 2 )

EDIT: oh crap, my layout was messed up... I think I fixed it now

They are on nico (original uploader) and youtube!

This time most characters share clips with each other, so their stories feel really connected into a grand tale of the sengoku period. XD Like the last game, not everyone has a happy ending.

( screencaps and thoughts part 1 )

Just spent a whole afternoon ordering gifts, so exhausting =_=

I'll be stuck at my parents' home for the week of winter break, so I can't work on costume/props. -_-;; But since it's the only break I can get until next winter, I want to hang out with my old friends.

Anyways I do have a few projects that are almost done. I have no idea which ones to take for Katsucon... most likely the ones that get done orz

( In-progress projects )

( Future projects )

It's out leaked... along with the last new character Mouri Motonari. So out of the new characters, my fav is obviously Kato Kiyomasa. <3 Old man Hojo Ujiyasu and Takenaka Hanbei are nice additions too. The new outfits for existing characters are generally less detailed than the last version, so I'm not motivated to cosplay any of them. I really like Chosokabe Motochika's new outfit though.

Anyways, sample vid of Kiyomasa:


can't wait til this gets ported to PS2~

I'm currently at my parents' place for Thanksgiving. They are also dog-sitting (an energetic corgi) for my rommie. The best reason to visit them is actually to pig-out at the nearby Japanese restaurants. After all, there's no good eatery like Hiro's Yakko-San at where I live.

Anyways, I started watching the "time-slip medical history drama" JIN and quickly got addicted to it. Quiet a refreshing premise and very entertaining story, not to mention skilled actors too. It's got the grand historical feel of a taiga drama but more interesting with Jin performing surgeries and tackling infectious diseases. Oh, the prostitutes of Yoshiwara and Ryoma Sakamoto are in it too~ XD



Lastly, do want the drool-worthy Hakuouki 2010 calendar which features Kazuki Yone's brand new illustrations. Also want Assassin's Creed II on PS3.

Last weekend, I finally practiced kitsuke with my tennyo tsukesage. Tennyo is the trademark image of the artist Yasuhiro Chiji who drew this kimono, and I can't be happier to own this piece. <3

Step for proper kimono dressing goes like this:
1. sew the date-eri on the kimono collar
2. wear the tabi, waist padding, and hada-juban
3. fix hair, put on the kimono juban
4. put on the kimono and line panels correctly
5. position collar and ohashori
6. put on mae-ita board for obi
7. pre-fold the obi and secure with clips
8. position the obi makura and obi-age
9. put on the obi (I did the niju-daiko musubi)
10. tie the obi-age and obi-jime

Kitsuke is very much heavy on the details and sloppy dressing is usually evident on the amateurs. Even the common Japanese people aren't knowledgeable about it. I was looking through my copies of Cosmode. Not surprisingly, almost all of the kimono-wearing cosplayers dressed in the wrong way. So I was motivated to learn and practice kitsuke. Now, I'm just a beginner, so there's plenty of improvements that I plan to work on in the future.

(click image for larger resolution)


( moar large photos )

The popularity ranking arc just ended... and my stomach needs time to heal from all the lol's and rofl's. Episode 183 had a major Fist of the Northern Star parody and QUALITY opening animation by a 4-yrs-old:



Then this episode was all kinds of 4th-wall-breakage with hilarious showdowns amongst the main cast. Behold the blatant Sengoku Basara reference!




Lastly, the CR subs are right on~ lol

Ugh, I finished his route a while ago but wasn't so motivated to write about it. In fact, the story is so mediocre that even the gorgeous art can't keep my interest up in playing. So this is gonna go on the back burner as I would rather work on Little Anchor first.

The story is pretty badly written with all 5 guys' routes repeating in the same time line. It doesn't help that the time line is awfully short. Basically, main characters are trapped in a dream that's split into 2 worlds: Miftaf and school. Miftaf is sustained by the power of love *I kid you not*. Most of the time was devoted to relationship-building with bits of events that has nothing to do with the overall plot. Sariya randomly started acting strangely, got captured, and then escaped. Suddenly time runs out and Miftaf started to collapse. Then the main girl Miku's long-lost dad randomly shows up and fills her in as to what she's in for, finally Miku and her chosen partner takes on the "god" of Miftaf: Iburis. Here's when Sariya magically re-appears and help the couple defeat Iburis, thus waking them up from the dream.

As for Tooya the hopelessly tsundere type, he appears all cool and dashing but crashes horribly around the girl he likes. It's so frustrating to see Miku warming up to him (mind you, I hate most tsundere characters, with the exception of Megu from Tenshi na konamaiki). He didn't do much at all in his route, only contributing in the battle against Iburis (and that was won with the help of Sariya lol). Overall a very forgettable character. =/

The overall feeling of this game is light-hearted (but not humorous) which I also find irritating. There's not a lot of dialogue choices and they are easy/boring. I was rather annoyed by the fact that the choices all depict Miku's feelings instead of physical actions. I'm currently in Rihito's route and bored to death. But for the sake of unlocking Sariya's route, I will go on... very slowly...

such a waste of gorgeous art though *sigh and drool*

Apparently Koei has a site up for a new Harukanaru toki no naka de 3 anime and I didn't know about it until now? Instead of focusing on Masaomi in the special that aired awhile ago, this original storyline entitled "Endless Destiny" will focus on Kurou (Yoshitsune) and will even get to the Battle of Yashima in the process. XD So, this looks like another special... meh, I'll take what I can get, especially when the website said that this would be the last Harutoki3 anime being made. ;_;

Click for website:


==================================

Also, I have decided on a layout for my homepage. I was really surprised to find this flower growing on our campus.

I'm quiet content with last month's spending. My kimono-buying rage disappeared and the only fandom-related purchase was a set of Last Exile DVDs (the thinpaks with Range Murata drawn covers). I now have funds for more DVDs (Chevalier, Honey and Clover) that I've been thinking of getting for a couple of months, although I'm always tempted to splurge on clothing instead XD. In fact, I've found a place to commission a gorgeous Chinese period dress, alas it doesn't come cheap, so I might want to save up for it.

Getting to otome game news that I randomly dug up: Mirai's 18+ series Hoshi no Oujo is getting a new installment with the temporary title of "Hoshi no Oujo ~ Oiran". As the title suggest, the main lady is a high ranking prostitute (no kidding lol) in the Bakumatsu period and the story revolves around her affairs with various famous activists such as the two confirmed guys: Ryoma Sakamoto and Kogoro Katsura. The lady is called Yunagi-tayu (tayu is the title of highest ranking courtesans) and appears to be very pretty. Actually the colorful character designs look attractive in general. I'm getting the feeling that Mirai wants to ride on the success of Hakuoki without overusing the Shinsengumi... Nevertheless, I'm very interested (not to mention I did play the last HNO title). Mirai's site didn't have any news on it, but here's a scan from B's Log:


Lastly, since Gintama's new movie is announced to be a remake of the Benizakura arc, here's a nice MAD on it:

In this week:

- The celebrated discount hobby shop AmiAmi opens an English site that ships internationally. If only Animate would do the same and drill an endless hole in my wallet...


- The booklet for recently-released Gintama Jump Festa DVD contains 2 amusing parodies of popular games Ryu ga gotoku and The Idolmaster. Click for a bigger image (scan courtesy of... somebody else).




- Sengoku Musou 3 reveals more new character designs and more importantly a new drama PV with an awesome Gackt ballad:


It shows off the 3 main story lines and the representative characters in them, a lot of juicy cutscenes to look forward to~

Episode 5-6 of Saint Seiya ~ The Lost Canvas OVA totally got me hooked on the manga. Unlike most fighting shows like Bleach and Naruto, this one is not afraid to kill off the good guys. In fact, it's all about them fighting valiantly as underdogs and dying a manly death. Since the OVA will only cover around 6 volumes of the manga, I looked ahead to volume 14 to find almost all of the likable characters dead! >< Even if the attacks have ridiculous Engrish names (all pronounced with funny Japanese accents to boot), the battles are pretty intense and bloody. But I digress... I'll have to talk about the manga in a separate post.

Anyways, this set of episodes features Pisces saint Albafica vs. Griffon specter Minos. Albafica is voiced by Hiroshi "Zetsubou Sensei" Kamiya and Minos by Takahiro Sakurai (who can NEVER sound evil no matter how hard he tries *sigh*)

The gold saints aren't just Athena's slaves. The each have complex personality and reasons for fighting. Albafica is supposed to be the last defense for Athena, but he single-handedly protected the sanctuary against the first wave of invading specters... with the ultimate goal of protecting the defenseless people that got involved in the battle. Even when he purposely remains a loner for fear of his poisonous blood killing others, Albafica is full of kindness and strong resolve. His appearances are beautiful, and his heart can never be tainted. With all of his bones broken, he died taking out a formidable enemy and saving a little girl - that's manly.



( 2 more caps for good measure )

Ah, my weekly dose of Gintama...

The fighting between Gin-san and Jiraiya was not as impressive as the black and white style that it was done in. Even the short short flashback is in black and white:


Gin-san's serious face is back


Overall, the relationship between disciple and master is the central theme of this arc. Since it only focused on 3 characters, it was appropriately short and sweet. I especially like the cute moment when Gin-san and Zenzou each reflect on their master. But this show still needs moar Tsukuyo~~~

Next episode is the usual comedic epilogue and I'm totally shipping Gin-san x Tsukuyo!!!

After much struggling with CSS, I put out a rough version of the new homepage, still gotta change the graphics though. At least the gallery is working fine. (I still love singapore!) Over 500 of the CGs for Crimson Empire are up. The ones that I didn't upload are just duplicates. Hoshi no Oujo ~ Yoshitsune is also up... The Garnet Cradle ones are all over the net so I don't think I need to put them up. Maybe later I'll add some screencaps. Now back to reading boring research articles...

- Finally, I brought a new domain after losing my old one. It's related to a flower that I saw on my campus a few weeks ago. I wanted a new name but dreaded changing links. After deciding to give my home a new lay-out, I made up my mind. If I didn't mess up at the registration, it should start working in a few days. Now, about that nonexistent lay-out... I've already chosen the main graphics: scanned from my Aquarion artbook. XD

I might as well bring back some galleries first since they don't require much effort. The CGs for HnO ~ Yoshitsune and Crimson Empire should be up. No more Pinky:St mods though.

- Garnet Cradle: Order of routes I decided are: Touya -> Kiichirou -> Rihito -> Sou -> Sariya (who must be last). I DO NOT like the extremely tsundere Touya, but decided to go with the "normal" guys first lol. I mean, Rihito is a dark scheming freak and Sou is not human.

- Received the two kimono that I reluctantly brought. They are so weird that my love for them is growing day by day. The western architecture one turned out to be depicting a famous Danish amusement park. Unfortunately last weekend had horrible weather, and the temp is still in single digits (celcius), so I couldn't take photos nor dress up. Maybe next weekend, I'll try on the Heian hime furisode.

Garnet Cradle is only the 4th otome game that I tackled. It's been released for quiet a while now and I've suppressed my growing urge to check out other people's review of it. Right now I'm just going slowly on it while doing lab work. The character art is consistently beautiful (background is a bit fuzzy though) and the voice acting pleasant to listen to. I actually like the very few female voices better than the main male ones. ^^

The story seems to be fantasy oriented with the protagonist Miku living the normal campus life by day and "dreaming" in an Arabian-like kingdom by night as the priestess who must choose a king. But underneath all the "hime-miko" shenanigans, it's just a romantic tale surrounding this girl who has never tasted love. The fact that the plot revolves around her 24/7 when she's not even that proactive bothers me somewhat. It also doesn't help that she doesn't show much of a personality. =/ And yes, the plot is painfully similar to Hanasakeru Seishonen.

As for the king bachelor candidates, Saliya and Tooya totally does not know how to talk to girls (Tooya is by far the more childish and loud one). Smooth Rihito already has a crush on Miku, Sou is the loyal servant type, and Kiichirou didn't get much screen time... which means that I don't like any of them. lol

The level of language difficulty for this game is somewhere in the middle: harder than Harutoki 3 and easier than Crimson Empire.

Funds have become tight so I was getting rid of some junk to pay for these stuff:

- Ordered from yet another Rakuten shop Sweet Angel which is a kyabajou-style kimono shop. They have a ginormous selection of cheap obi-age/obi-jime sets, from which I ordered 3. Their response and shipping time was fast too~

- Ordered a cheap polyester ro juban (for next summer) and extra long obi makura from Kimono Sendaiya 2. Their response time was pretty slow: a week later than Sweet Angel.

- Got volume 2 of Adekan: my crappy Japanese is not doing well with the complicated text. @.@