YURIA has finally won me over.

This graph is actually rather misleading, as YURIA has always been awesome. Instead, the low points only indicate the time when I myself was TOO STUPID and TOO DEAF to know it was so. I have since been enlightened.

I had heard this song before when randoming through my mp3s, but I never bothered to really pay attention to the voice or who was singing. Today I randomed to it again, but thanks to Shuffle I became fully aware of this song's quality. (Thought process: "Hmm whoever sings this sounds strangely like the actress for Ama Shigure, who I really really love the voice work for. Hey this song is pretty good now that I am listening to it. And I love that voice, let's check the tags: wait..this is Yuria? Hold on, now let me check the Shuffle staff listing...*click*...AAAAAHHH YURIAAAAA!!!") Yuria really is at her best when she does the whiny, ditzy, yet somehow mind-meltingly cute high pitched voice. She also seems to have slight pronounciation quirk on certain consonants and vowels that I can't pin down or describe, but I know I can't get enough of it.

Posted by Paranda at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

Kiri fanboy support group

With Canvas 2 fans firmly divided into the Elise vs. Kiri camps, and a few fringe individuals in the Tomoko and Hagino factions, I must reaffirm my pro-Kiri loyalties and proceed to gloat over this latest victory in episode 8. Kiri x Hiroki seems almost ready to go at the moment, and Elise is thankfully being harassed by some random Shouta-kun who popped out of nowhere.

Still, having things develop so early on is both a blessing and a curse, as with 16 episodes left, this issue couldn't possibly be resolved so soon. Any amount of disasters could and likely will happen. My greatest fear is that Kiri success in the first half means definite crash & burn failure in the second. I refuse to allow this.

Heart skipping right about now..

Ohhhhh shiiiiittt...Kiri going for the kill.

THE SUSPENSE. EPISODE 9 NOW!!! HIROKI MANHOOD ON THE LINE..

Posted by Paranda at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)

Post-thanksgiving suffer time

Since I am not into this whole "Black Friday" hysteria and thus not concerned about being alert and fit to raid any stores tomorrow (real reason: I am going to work), I decided to consume my own body weight in turkey and stuffing. This is probably unhealthy, and now I can't walk due to the slightest shift in weight most likely resulting in the explosion of my distended stomach, its internal pressure delicately balanced only by outside weight of my sweater. My incapacitation is expected to last 6 - 8 hours: approximately the amount of time it will take for digestion.

 \ o /
(  .  )
  / \

Posted by Paranda at 3:17 AM | Comments (0)

Fate/Stay Night Curtain Raiser

So this came out yesterday and a copy has already been circulating around on the internet. I just watched it now, and I am pumped with anticipation..so much that I ordered this and this right after.

To stir up the crazy fanboy in me, the trailer contained many animated shots taken straight from the game including my one of my favorites..

Small caps from the DVD below:

Posted by Paranda at 12:19 AM

Rozen Maiden ~traumend~

I finally watched Rozen Maiden like I said I would, and now I'm moving on to season two and enjoying it immensely.

Hina Ichigo is an adorable darling:

Posted by Paranda at 11:11 PM | Comments (0)

It appears that I have screwed myself.

I stupidly filled all my general requirements and major prerequisites last year really really fast without choosing any electives for a minor, and I don't have enough credits for junior standing so I can't select more of the advanced courses for my major until next year. So...what the hell do I do now for the spring semester? I can't work on furthering my major, so I HAVE to work on a minor, or just not minor at all but taking random classes would be a total waste. Course registration opens tomorrow, so have one day to decide on my minor else risk waitlist and shitty scheduling..and once I decide, I must take three classes related to it simultaneously (this automatically rules out any minor that forces you to take classes in a particular order). What a pleasant situation. I am an idiot.

Decisions so far:
Major: Definite: Finance & Information Systems (double major)
Minor: Boiled down to: Computer Science OR Math OR Economics.

At Stern if you plan your classes exactly right with absolutely no excess and no wasting of classes, you can cram exactly two majors and one minor into 128 credits. I plan on cramming this even further by taking advantage of maxing out on credits per semester and graduating early. Because I am a masochist and that's what masochists do. Only I accidentally made it even worse by shoving my 3/4ths of my minor into one semester.

Also, I probably bombed that accounting midterm because I know I only half finished that last question which was worth TWENTY GODDAMN POINTS. It seemed hard enough even though I studied, so maybe I'm not alone. Go go curve! PLEASEEEE!

Posted by Paranda at 3:41 AM | Comments (0)

Red Hat Momoi

Here is a picture of Momoi wearing a red hat during a TV interview this Monday. Maybe she can advertise for Linux.

Posted by Paranda at 9:33 PM | Comments (1)

Midterm week, part 2

And to make it worse, I have to get up at 5AM and bus over to the school for each test. Being a commuter sucks. I just have to survive until the end of this year, and then..never again. I'd rather just piss away money in a dorm on campus. College PROTIP: Don't commute!

Posted by Paranda at 10:57 PM | Comments (1)

Canvas 2 is annoying

Why is it annoying? Because it could be a great cutesy "everybody falls in love with the protagonist" mindless feel-good anime based on a dating game were it not for Elise. Worst character ever!

A staple of formulaic cutesy anime has been the imouto complex, and boy does it piss me off. If I hear the word oniichan again I am going to throw up. Recently there are two branches of this complex that have been catered to in animation: Bend-over-backwards cutesy or spine-shudderingly creepy. The first type is what I will think is the ideal imouto complex, and I actually don't mind it too much when executed properly. It can be pretty heartwarming like Aishiteruze Baby or evoke intense emotions of care such as Grave of the Fireflies. Unfortunately, Canvas 2 deals with the second branch, and it is almost enough to ruin the show entirely. Technically Elise is not really the main character's sister, but his cousin. But that doesn't stop the oniichan verbal assault, arm hugging, and various other clingy shit. Please Elise, do not exploit the blood relationship with your cousin to further your romantic relationship with him. I hate this. Elise is so bad, she managed to destroy my love for the woman who voiced Chiriri!

Childhood friends on the other hand...I love that cliche. If Kamikura doesn't end up going after Kiri and falls into the incest trap I will be VERY DISAPPOINTED. Come on man she has only been in love with you since forever!?

Posted by Paranda at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

Mami Kawada is unstoppable.

Mami Kawada is probably the only I'VE singer other than KOTOKO that I follow with invested interest. To most people, they sound rather similar and often indistinguishable (usually to Mami's disadvantage - I can't tell you how many times I've seen the Onegai Teacher and Twins ending themes miscredited to KOTOKO), but I vouch that after repeated listenings, it becomes very easy to notice the unique and very ear-soothing inflection in Mami's voice. In fact, I would go so far as to say that she is now a better singer than KOTOKO. Her earlier songs simply weren't catchy enough to gain any sort of attention, and were often relegated to features for games, or used as anime ending themes.

That is quickly changing, and this year is a particularly good year for her. Like KOTOKO, she signed on with Geneon and started getting more attention, from both fans and her own composers. Her first release under Geneon was Radiance, the opening theme for Starship Operators. Radiance totally blew me away, and contains what I believe to be the most addictive intro sequence ever in anime song history. At the time, I considered Radiance to so ridiculously awesome that I instantly declared it the pinnacle of her musical career.

Apparently I was wrong, because her new single, Hishoku no Sora, is even better. It is by far the best opening theme this season, for the highly promising Shakugan no Shana animation. She is now 2/2 for hits, and headed in a great direction with Geneon supporting her. As of now, Mami Kawada is unstoppable. I am almost afraid of hearing her next song; will I be able to handle it?

Posted by Paranda at 1:25 PM | Comments (1)

Wonder Momoi 1st Press Hidden Bonus

I got my CDs in yesterday in a suspiciously large box. Imagine my surprise when..OMG GIANT WONDER MOMOI POSTER INCLUDED WITH PURCHASE!! An excellent bonus indeed. This revelation was followed by several minutes of frantic screaming and praises of Nakid, and possibly a backflip (which I never knew I could do). This is most likely a limited offering though, so if you're feeling lucky, order it now and maybe you'll get a poster too. Or not. Once again emphasizing the importance of always preordering.

Update: camera fixed, image uploaded:

Posted by Paranda at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)

Wonder Momoi tour kicks off

A schedule of performances and locations can be found here.

Posted by Paranda at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)