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Winter 2013 Thoughts

Winter 2012/13 Anime Chart v2

The winter season is coming, and since every show seems to have decided not to air this week, let’s use today to take a look at what we have in store for us come January with the new year.

  • Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan – 3 minute episodes means no cover, but I’ve already seen the first episode and it’s not that much time devoted, so I might keep watching it.
  • Saki Achiga-hen – I managed to get caught up with this show, so I’ll watch (because they kept me waiting), but I won’t cover it…
  • Savanna Game – Another survival game…I tend to like those. It seems like they’ll get transferred to different worlds for each encounter, so it could be pretty cool. Time travel is fun, right?
  • Milky Holmes Alternative Two – I have yet to watch this…maybe with enough motivation.
  • Puchimas Petit Idolmaster – this looks like a dangerous show…the original Idolmaster was good, right?
  • Ai Mai Mi – I can’t tell whether they’re serious about the fighting space invaders and whatnot. If it’s standard comedy, it might be boring, but otherwise…I dunno. Looks kinda dangerous with the tentacles in the picture. I might try it.
  • AKB0048 Next Stage – there was a reason I didn’t watch the first season.
  • Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru – Looks like standard stuff to me. Might give it a shot.
  • Minami-ke Tadaima – Only watched the first season for this, so who knows?
  • Senran Kagura – this one looks dangerous…my sensors say.
  • Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman – This one looks pretty cool, but not much info about it.
  • Courtesy of Zettai Karen Children – I know nothing of this series, so I can probably skip it.
  • Senyuu – Looks like shonen to me?
  • Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT – well, it’s back.
  • Sasami-san@Ganbaranai – Interesting. Is the show about the girl or is she just a way for us to look at the world outside with this Brother Surveillance Tool? Looks like it might be worth my time.
  • Mondai-Ji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo – bunny girl in the picture looks dangerous. Approach with caution.
  • Beast Saga – Doesn’t look too interesting.
  • Hetalia – Never was interested in this series.
  • GJ-bu – looks like short episodes? Still, it doesn’t really capture my interest.
  • Da Capo III – I know nothing about this series…so yeah.
  • Chihayafuru S2 – the first season was nice. I’ll definitely watch it, but unsure whether I’ll cover it.
  • Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun – not sure what to make of this…more Sengoku era stuff? I dunno…maybe.
  • Cuticle Detective Inaba – Something about this show bothers me…If it’s actually mysteries, then I might watch it.
  • gdgd Fairies S2 – there was a first season for this show?
  • Ishida to Asakura – uhh…kinda weird. Romance show based on what I see, but not much info.
  • Tamako Market – Absolutely no information here…well, I dunno what to say, guys.
  • Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – Is this another Hagure Yuusha? Pass…
  • Ganbare Lulu Lolo – …moving on.
  • Kotoura-san – Well, psychic powers…something I might try.
  • Amnesia – this one looks pretty cool. I’ll definitely check it out.
  • Yama no Susume – Uhh…kind of a weird premise. Anything more than that? Might give it a shot, but it doesn’t look like much to me.
  • Mangirl – uhh…what is this?
  • Vividred Operation – No clue what to make of this. Mecha+girls…so…Strike Witches? I never watched that one, so I dunno what to think.
  • Love Live – it looks like a cool idea if the viewers can influence the show direction (that’s how I understood it). Might be cool to follow along even if I really can’t do anything. I wish it wasn’t about idols, though -.-
  • Train Hero – it doesn’t even have a picture…should I be scared?
  • Doki Doki Precure – pass.

Looks like we’ve also got Nekomonogatari and Kizumonogatari coming as well…and the Ao no Exorcist movie. Can’t watch those for a while, but meh. Taking a look, Savanna Game, Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, and Amnesia are the shows that look most interesting to me with the information I have so far. Thoughts?

Going to China again…

Takanashi.Rikka.full.1288353

It’s once again that time of year when I must go to China and visit my family over the break. I will be leaving on Saturday and return on January 5th. In that time, as before, my schedule is subject to change and I may be delayed on some things and quicker on others. Who knows? Just bear with me. This also means I’ll be traveling all day Saturday, so SAO will be delayed. And there are times when I’ll be without Internet, so stuff may also be delayed/dropped to compensate. Thankfully, shows are ending, so it makes things easier for me.

Summer Season 2012: The Rest

So I can’t possibly cover everything in the season…that’s just crazy talk. However, I usually do end up watching a lot of other shows (which is totally normal, right?), so let’s check up on how they’re all doing. It’ll take too much time to review all of them, so I’ll just go over them briefly.

  • Muv-Luv Alternative – Didn’t get too far with this one. I got to episode three and basically gave up. I may go back to it another time, but it’s not very high on my priorities. From what I saw, it wasn’t bad in terms of mecha battles…mass genocide was a nice touch too. It just wasn’t enough for me to commit to it with the other stuff I was watching.
  • Yuru Yuri S2 – What can I say? More of the same stuff. Which isn’t exactly a complaint. It’s why we watch this, right? They tried to give Akari the spotlight a bunch, which may have turned out a bit excessively, but all in all, I liked probably as much as I liked the first season.
  • Binbou-gami ga – I tried to cover this one, but just eventually ran out of things to say. It’s actually pretty entertaining…just hard to cover. There’s a lot of really blatant references everywhere (like a Death Note one that went a lot longer than I was expecting). I wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of “Fortune Energy” or basically liquid luck. I felt like they didn’t really get their idea across because you could always argue that Ichiko caused all of the problems that she solved with her Fortune. Still, I may give the manga a shot if time permits.
  • Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru – I swear this show was trying to troll everyone. Every arc was “oh this girl’s my sister…oh wait, no she isn’t, but I’m going to solve her problems anyway.” Eventually, they just ran out of people that it could be. They tried to throw a twist in the end, but I feel like it shouldn’t have had anyone fooled.
  • Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate – Drama, elections, chocolate…stuff like that. I wonder if maybe they tried to do too much with the elaborate espionage operation within the school. It had its moments, but not all that strong. Romantically, the ending felt like a bit of a stretch to me…I was kinda hoping for something else, but oh well.
  • Hagure Yuusha no Estetica – I totally thought this was going to be some RPG-esque story when I first saw it. Then I watched it…then I immediately stopped watching. And at someone else’s request, I continued watching. Then I was committed, so I kept watching. Sigh…
  • Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon S2 – It’s amazing they said. You already watched the first season they said. Because I totally needed to see a season with Toori naked about 80% of the time. Oh well…at least Tenzo got his moment.
  • Oda Nobuna no Yabou – Okay…this one was actually pretty cool. I delayed watching it for so long (probably due to emotional scarring from Sengoku Collection). But now I’m watching and I have no problems…although I’m only on episode 6. Still, I’d say go for this over Sengoku Collection if you want Sengoku era heroes as girls (I have a friend who is obsessed with the Sengoku era…that’s why I say this).

So yeah…that’s what I’ve been doing. For anyone reading that feels left out when I cover the other shows, now’s your chance to speak up.

Fall Season 2012 Preliminary Thoughts

Well, this season should be fun…mostly because I’ll be a grad student and hold a job…and do my usual blog posting. I hate my life. But that aside, there are a lot of anticipated titles in this season and I’m hoping it goes well. As you know, I can’t cover everything, but I certainly watch almost every show. But if you want to talk about that, you’re gonna have to find me some other way (for example, Skype or Twitter usernames marthaurion). Let’s get started. All my thoughts are based off the chart above (not big on watching previews).

  • Kyousogiga – It’s not a regularly-released show, so I won’t cover it. If someone convinces me to watch it, then I will…otherwise, I think I’m safe to ignore it.
  • Battle Spirits: Sword Eyes – No…just…no…
  • Shin Sekai Yori – Futuristic utopian society…WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Well, I wanna see…I’m intrigued. Telekinetic powers are always a plus.
  • Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun – I’ll probably give this one a try and see how it strikes me…hard to call with romance shows.
  • Kamisama Kiss – For some reason, I’ve always had a problem with anthropomorphized animal characters…As long as they don’t overdo it, I might be okay.
  • Litchi DE Hikari Club – So the premise of this show sounds pretty awesome, but the picture is kinda…much. I know there are a few shows I’ve liked despite initially being put off by the chart picture, so I have high hopes.
  • Chou Soku Henkei Gyrozetter – Transformers!! While a fun part of my childhood, I think I might do better to avoid this show.
  • Jormungand Perfect Order – More Loco Coco…I can live with that.
  • Wooser no Sono Higurashi – …moving on…
  • Monsuno – This sounds like Digimon somehow…probably gonna skip this.
  • Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai – While seemingly supernatural, this show could turn out to be very delightfully psychological. I’m really looking forward to watching it for some reason…despite how queasy the ending song makes me feel.
  • Hayate no Gotoku – Well, if by some miracle, I catch up on all other seasons of this show before the season starts next week, then maybe I’ll watch it >.>
  • Gintama – see Hayate no Gotoku
  • BTOOM – wait…stuck in a video game? Where have I seen this before? Oh well, I’ll check it out.
  • Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb – I’ll pass.
  • Busou Shinki – maybe…just maybe. The fact that they’re tiny living toys does put me off a bit.
  • Zetsuen no Tempest – The picture gives me BL vibes already…I dunno…
  • K – not much information about this show, so I’ll probably watch it just to see what it’s actually about.
  • Onii-chan Dakeko Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne – This feels like a bad idea.
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – I’ll consider this, but I never really had much interest in this series.
  • To Love-Ru Darkness – No…no further questions.
  • Bakuman 3 – Finally we get to the fun arc.
  • Haitai Nanafa – Getting a lot of magical girl vibes from this…maybe not.
  • Little Busters – I look forward to this…never did get the chance to check out the visual novel, but watching in anime form is so much more convenient (I hate collecting endings).
  • Sukitte Ii na yo – more romance…wheeeeeeee
  • Code:Breaker – I’ve read a little bit of the manga for this series…I quite enjoy it, so I look forward to this. More psychic powers!
  • Oshiri Kajiri Mushi – I refuse.
  • Cross Fight B-Daman – Nope…next.
  • Magi – I might watch this, but I feel like I’ll miss out on a lot of references, which is slightly depressing.
  • Teekyuu – Is this Softenni?
  • Ixion Saga DT – I’m getting frightening flashbacks of Shining Hearts…let’s go for it.
  • Aikatsu – What the…a card game with idols? How does that even work? I must know…
  • Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – Seems to be fairly anticipated, so let’s do it.
  • Girls und Panzer – I’m thinking…Upotte?
  • Medaka Box Abnormal – I watched the first season, so I might as well, right?
  • Psycho-Pass – Sounds pretty cool…futuristic stuff. Gives a kind of Minority Report feel…could be good.
  • Robotics;Notes – Looking forward to this one.
  • Seitokai no Ichizon – well, I watched the original…so why not?
  • Hiiro no Kakera S2 – NO…NEVER AGAIN
  • Initial D Fifth Stage – see Hayate no Gotoku
  • Aoi Sekai no Chuusin de – Nintendo Empire? Oh god…I have to do it so I can poke fun…I just have to…

Yup…this looks promising. A quick touch on the movie side, I’m going to go see the first two Madoka movies being aired in America…I know they’re recap, but it’ll still be cool, right? Hope I don’t get tainted by all the other crazy people there (looking at you, Feal). Thoughts? Disagreements? What’s your list?

Returning to China

Awesome Berserker pic has nothing to do with the post. Why is it here? Because I can.

The time has come once again for me to embark upon the arduous journey to China in order to visit my family. I’ll be leaving on Wednesday and will be staying for a month in Shanghai. For added fun, my brother and I will be stopping in Japan for three days. So far, my plan consists of: Akihabara. Sounds pretty solid (HELP ME!!!). While this sounds all fun and whatnot for me, what does it mean for you as a reader?

Well, my posting pattern will likely change. I can’t say for sure because I don’t know how my situation will be in China, but what will likely happen is that most things will be pushed back a day or two. It’s also possible that I drop shows to help with time. That’s just how it is with the Great Firewall of China. It’s not that I won’t be able to access my blog…more that I might have troubles with downloading the anime.

Either way, I will try my best to maintain at least one post a day…I just hope you all understand that when I visit my relatives, I often go to places without an Internet connection. And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried watching anime on a netbook, but it’s probably the most frustrating thing in the universe. Media Player Classic is stupidly processor-heavy…I really should find an alternate solution. Anyways, here’s hoping I don’t pick up any weird fetishes in Japan.

Aniblog Tourney Post

Vote for me here!

Well, it seems the time has come for me to step up to the plate in the Aniblog Tournament. Honestly, I’ve been kinda looking forward to this. Mostly because I want to see how well I can do…but also because I just love a good competition. Plus, I have extensive experience in these sorts of situations. Let’s see…get picked last for sports teams…lost in the class president election in high school…hmm, maybe not.

Anyway, I felt it would be a good idea to have a post like this to keep people in the loop. Plus everyone else has been doing it, so I figure I’ll just follow suit. Before I continue, I ask that you check out my opponent over at Riyoga’s Ramblings and check his stuff before making a decision in this vote. Of course, I’d prefer if you chose me, but there’s no reason we can’t be civil. The link for the vote is above, but I’ll put it here again just in case.

Now, let’s continue on with me, shall we? Basically, I started this blog in a bit of a random moment, and I just kinda stuck with it. I don’t give all that much thought to my writing style…just do what’s natural. For the most part, I aim to be pretty lax with what I say and try to be regular with my posting. Most of my stuff is episodic coverage of airing shows, but I also write reviews and the occasional editorial. As for where to find this stuff:

  • If editorials are your things, most of mine go under the label of Life’s Great Mysteries…just the name I came up with for my take on things. They’re just the musings I have when I sit alone in a room in front of a computer. The protagonists one is probably my favorite. I also put a lot of work into a post about my reviewing process.
  • I also recently organized all of my reviews into a page so that they can be found more easily. A note about my reviewing style…I’ve been toying around with different systems, and I don’t have a set style yet. You can find them here: Reviews
  • If you’re bored and curious about me, I answered AceRailgun’s 50 Questions as well.
  • I’m one of those guys that’s just kinda around…I’ve written some stuff over at my friend Wanabrar’s Blog. I’ve even appeared in a podcast with AceRailgun and Yerocha. I was a guest on the Anime Afterlife Podcast too once.
  • Final note: I solve Rubik’s Cubes if you think that’s cool.

So I hope you’ll consider throwing a vote in for me in the tourney. It’s my first time participating, and I would greatly appreciate any support.

03/27/2011 Blog Updates and Testing

So there have been a lot of changes in the site today. This post is partly to point out that this blog has been moved to a new domain http://www.marthaurion.com/, so change your bookmarks (a site redirect is there to make things a little easier for now). Also, I just wanted to test out something else…but that’s just for me to know. Hope you guys like the changes I’m making…let me know. I’m not that hard to reach. Also, if I’ve missed something, point it out >.> I can be a little forgetful.

Random Update Post

So since I’ve only made one post today, I’m gonna throw this in. Basically, I just want to let people know that I’ve added a few pages to this site and they’re up on the menu at the top. Most of these pages are still in development, but there’s still stuff there. First off, we have a Blogroll where I go into a little bit more detail about the links I add. Second, we have a Music page that I’m trying to get going to comment on just stuff I like to hear. Finally, we have a Review page that organizes the reviews I’ve done so they’re a lot easier to find. Check them out!

Winter Season Thoughts

With the fall season coming to a close, I believe it’s time to take a look at the winter season and gives some thoughts the same way that I did for the fall season before. So what do I think?

  • Kyousogiga: First thing I see is Kugimiya Rie…That actually hold a lot of weight for some reason. “Kuro Usagi” <— please don’t be like ItsuTen…I can’t go through that again.
  • Busou Chuugakusei Basketarmy: 3 minutes episodes…probably not gonna post about it, but will likely watch because of the minimal commitment needed.
  • Gundam Seed HD: WOOT! I haven’t decided whether to post about this. I’m not sure if they’re releasing the same episodes with better resolution or if they’re going to change the scenes a bit. Still, I know what’s going to happen in the show, so I don’t really see the point of making posts.
  • New Prince of Tennis: Will be watching, but whether or not I post about it depends on reader opinions.
  • Recorder to Randoseru: Random slice of life means probably no posts about it just because of how hard it is to comment about it.
  • High School DxD: I think this is the Maken-Ki of this season, which probably means I’ll pass.
  • Area no Kishi: Sports anime about football (soccer for my American visitors). Looks kinda interesting, so I’ll give it a shot (get it? I’m so funny).
  • Zero no Tsukaima F: YES!!
  • Daily Lives of High School Boys: Generic title aside, this is looking like Kimi to Boku.
  • Another: Looks very supernatural. I think it’ll be interesting. Will probably pick this one up.
  • Rinne no Lagrange: Ehh? What is this premise? Why am I intrigued?
  • Black Rock Shooter: Probably gonna post about this show. Moving on…
  • Kill Me Baby: Whaa?? I feel like I shouldn’t ask what this is.
  • Mouretsu Pirates: Pirates have never really been my thing, but I guess I could give it a try.
  • Inu x Boku SS: Uhh…looks interesting?
  • Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!: Random comedy. Gonna watch, but not sure about posting.
  • Brave 10: This one actually looks very interesting. Probably gonna follow it.
  • Senhime Zesshou Symphogear: Looks like mecha? I like mecha >.>
  • Nisemonogatari: Do you even have to ask?
  • Ano Natsu de Matteru: Don’t foresee posts on this show yet, but that may change.

These shows aside, we also have the much anticipated K-ON! and .hack movies which will be coming out, and I will definitely have reviews for them. I might also poke fun at the Sacred Seven movie. And naturally, I will be continuing with fall shows like Persona 4 and Guilty Crown.

Question for you: What do you guys all think of the next season? What will you be watching? What will you be making fun of me for watching?

I’m going to China!

So what do I mean by this? Exactly what it sounds like…I’m going to go visit my family in China for two weeks, leaving on the 21st. Although I’d love to do so, I will not be stopping in Japan :( What does this mean for you? So, as you may know, China has the most epic of firewalls on the Internet. Included in this firewall is WordPress. Naturally, I will be trying to circumvent this via VPN and proxies, but I can’t be certain of their success rate. Naturally, I will have some posts ready just in case, but I might either be late on some posts or miss some days. I do apologize! Post frequency might go down a bit, but I will try my best to keep the same consistency.