IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE WE LAST TALKED ANIME ‼️
Hey guys, I’ve got lots of otaku-related merch I’ve been dying to share with you all, some of which I received way back in November. I hope you enjoy the haul nevertheless.
I’ll have an unboxing of that Evangelion Ultimate Edition out soon, as well as my K-pop album/merch haul for the month. Please look forward to these videos!
Interested in more anime, manga, or K-pop content? Subscribe to stick around 🙏
Thanks for watching~!
– Takuto
Hello all, and welcome to my fourth official entry in The Animanga Festival, hosted by Auri and Nairne over at Manga Toritsukareru Koto!
It feels like it’s been weeks since I last wrote for the festival, yet I suppose I’m still on schedule according to my notes. This week’s prompt(s) start leaning a lot more toward the fandom side of things, so what better way to crack things open than with a good old anime crossover. I used to be huge into crossovers when I was a younger fan. Now, they just don’t interest me as much, mainly because I’ve come to really appreciate the uniqueness of each character’s universe and where they come from. I don’t really need crossovers to give me that “What if” satisfaction anymore.
But alas, we’re celebrating them nonetheless. So here are a few of crossovers in anime that I would find pretty neat!
Does this one count as cheating? Eh, who cares. I’m a huge Danganronpa fan—an Ultimate Fan, as I’ve once called myself before on this blog—and it’s a pity that the only bit of character interactions I can get between the characters of 1 & 2 and V3 are in fan comics. If you’re not familiar with the franchise, each Danganronpa game/anime focuses one class of students as they fight for their lives in a horrific survival game. The cast of the second game still stands as my favorite, but V3‘s often creep up there, and the first killing game’s cast will always have a place in my heart.
While the first and second entries share decent relation with one another, for story purposes, V3 remains an entirely different beast (and no, I’m not gonna spoil it for anyone so hush). It’s a shame that there’s not a single bit of V3 that has been adapted into an anime (yet), as the characters of Danganronpa really do standout as favorites of mine. If only there were something to tie the stories together . . .
Two powerful red-headed women not about to take shit from anyone. Risking their necks for the ones they cherish, and standing up in the face of evil. Intelligent, skilled, courageous, and ever bold. What fantastic shows, and what incredible ladies we can thank for making them so!
Every fantasy party should carry with them someone knowledgeable on plants, herbs, and vegetation. Similarly, every royal court should possess a brave badass (and archer!) who isn’t afraid of ruining her clothes or messing up her hair. Although it takes Yona considerably more time to develop into the fearless gal we all love, she still gets there, and boy should she be feared. The Kouka Kingdom ain’t ready for Yona’s historic return, just as the the Wisteria family isn’t prepared for the amount of herbal justice Shirayuki is about to serve to the Clarines Kingdom.
I am 100% satisfied with how Lagann ended. I am equally content with the ending of KILL la KILL. But c’mon, don’t you wanna see the crew of the Gurren and the star-studded students of Honnouji Academy go on ONE LAST EPIC ADVENTURE ACROSS SPACE TOGETHER!?!
Often, I see fan artists reminisce about the two, drawing artwork in which characters are stylized in one another’s signature looks, Yoko perhaps donning Ryoko’s iconic uniform, or vice versa. Mako piloting the Arc-Gurren, and Satsuki’s Elite Four standing all cool next to the Gunmen. Even in fan art, this kind of stuff gets to me, making me all sentimental about “the good ol’ days” each legendary story had. Perhaps one of these days we’ll set for the stars once more. Until then, be sure to send all the art you find of these two series my way!
Both have hierarchical school systems based on supernatural powers. Both feature dynamic characters that are shown to have academic lives AND encounters with evil forces lurking in the shadows. And both live with that duality, perfectly balancing seriousness and moments for fun. The real question is why HAVEN’T the two been married off yet??
Personal wishes aside, one probably wouldn’t think of pitting the two together because of how truly comic-esque MHA‘s style is. And I’m not complaining about that whatsoever! Art style, character design—they’re what can give a series its charm, an edge to stand out against the rest. MHA is very eye-popping and colorful; the world of Railgun is clear, architectural, and refined. Still, just think of what an electrifying tournament arc they could’ve had together.
Ahh, it feels good to trash ship two shows together once again. I literally had no idea what to write for this post, but I got to typing, more and more ideas kept bubbling forth. Surely there’s something good to match with Attack on Titan . . . more for another day, I suppose. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my “dream crossovers that totally didn’t just pop off the top of my head” down in the comments! And with that, only one post remains left for me to write for the Animanga Festival. Right when things were getting good, I know! Glad I got those latest couple reviews out, but more are coming, I assure you. Hope everyone’s been enjoying the festivities so far. ‘Till next time!
– Takuto, your host
Hello all!
Can you believe another three months have passed since the last time we met for an update? Why, that was the beginning of April, and now we’re already a week into July. JULY. Crazy, right? I hope all my friends in the U.S. had a happy 4th of July full of friends, family, and good food. To everyone else, I hope you’re summer hasn’t been too hot!
In other news, I’ve been watching and reading a decent amount—which is great considering that one of my 2019 goals was to watching all of the stuff I’ve bought (yet haven’t touched) to justify buying it in the first place. Unfortunately, as soon as I finish one movie, three new ones somehow appear on my shelf. Weird. It’s not me, I swear!
Ok, so maybe the sales have been good to me lately, but I am enjoying getting around to all this stuff. These novels, manga volumes, and Blu-rays were bought for a reason, after all! Without further ado, let’s see how much stuff I’ve been able to knock off my To-Watch backlog! First though, some goal updates . . .
I’m sorry everyone. My phone’s home screen is once again becoming filled with your posts so that I can read them . . . but they just continue to amass, as opposed to being read and shared. WordPress has made mobile blogging a pain in the ass, in that I cannot comment and like without being logged in—and yet even when I try to log in, it still won’t let me respond to you all! Instead, my phone wants me to use the app and WP reader to communicate with other bloggers, and that’s a real nuisance given that I get most of my reads from Twitter posts AKA posts shared online, not via app. I’ll work hard to clean up my home screen in the meantime, even if it means individually typing out every single post in the search bar and finding it that way.
I think I’ll be changing this goal to “Write More Succinct Posts (in general),” as it has happened for the most part with all my other posts besides my reviews. And I’m ok with that. Personally, I don’t see 1,300 – 1,600 words as that much for a full-series review. Otherwise, I’ve posted a couple posts that were just like 300 words, and y’all don’t even know how good that felt for someone as wordy as myself! Even if just simple announcement posts, I like to think I’m improving on this goal.
I’ve continued this next set of three months by successfully managing to publish about one thing a week, which was my goal! In April there were four posts, while in May and June there were FIVE posts per month. Again, it sounds like a really sad goal, just five posts out of 30 days, but this is a huge step for me. I’m proud of the work I’ve done so far, and hope I can keep up at least this much content, if not more, as the summer goes on!
A side note, last year I wrote 27 posts. Yup, that’s it, and that’s not much. As of July 6th, 2019, I’ve already written 30 posts, so I’ll easily double the amount of posts I wrote last year if I continue down this track!
Nope, lol. BUUUUT, I did create an entirely new segment on my blog in its place. Called “Anime Revisited,” the posts in this category are just that—shows that I’ve already reviewed, but would like to look at once more under a new light or fresh perspective or whatever. Basically, I rewatched Gurren Lagann and wanted to talk about it again. But “oh no, I’ve already reviewed that series.” No problem, just revisit it! And so I did, and it was received quite warmly by you all, thank you very much.
Yeah, this one has gone no where, and here’s why: I’m really considering an Instagram for all my haul, collection, and cosplay related musings. Like, really thinking about it. Like, it could happen tomorrow, or even today. I’ve still been getting tons of crap, but I’m not sure if I want to junk up my blog with pictures of the stuff I’ve bought as opposed to talking about or analyzing that stuff like an intellectual would. If Insta happens, you all will be the first to know!
Aside from the last couple simuldubbed episodes of Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life, I’ve finished all the spring shows I’ve been following, including Sarazanmai, Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2, and Wise Man’s Grandchild. Really tempted on going back for the music drama Carole & Tuesday and Mix, a little baseball series that silently aired this spring. Plus, I haven’t started the new Fruits Basket yet. (I know, I SUCK!) Reviews for the spring content will be rolling out here soon, fingers crossed.
As for Blu-ray watching, I watched Lu Over the Wall, Liz and the Blue Bird, and Mary and the Witch’s Flower, three adorable films that I was supposed to review but haven’t yet (spoiler alert, watch them). I also finished Asobi Asobase, a great comedy series which contains some of the STUpidest shit I’ve ever seen, as well as the second half of Re:ZERO. Definitely not as good as the first half, but still epic (and nail-biting, heh heh).
In the past month, I finally watched Blood Blockade Battlefront, which I’m pretty sure I didn’t like as much as everyone else, yet liked it enough to apparently impulse buy the second season the minute RightStuf’s 32nd Anniversary sale started (my dumb ass, right?). Apparently it’s a fantastic sequel though, so I’ve got high hopes.
Speaking of another questionable move, I watched Majestic Prince and, well, won’t get the time back from watching that LOL. I also rewatched Izetta: The Last Witch, but that one was actually pretty fun to visit again.
One of my favorite watches these past three months was The Great Passage, the dictionary anime that aired in 2016 that everyone (myself included) slept on. After hearing it was by the same person who wrote Run With the Wind, I hustled on down to Amazon, gave it a watched, and fell in love. Review coming soon!
Oh, and I finished Sailor Moon SuperS and the movie Black Dream Hole, too! Although I won’t review anything Sailor Moon (as the nostalgia lens are very foggy with this one), you can bet I loved it. Excited for Sailor Stars!
Another incredible watch was Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu-hen, the first in a masterpiece trilogy by studio Shaft. It was a pain to spend $50 on a 60 min film through eBay, but it beats the $70 that Aniplex is asking for. At least the set is drop-dead gorgeous. (Which I could show off if I, you know, had an Insta.)
As for what I’m currently doing, I’ve been rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion since the new dub hit Netflix. The dub is serviceable. Not as near as personable and heartfelt as ADV’s dub, but it works if you’re new to the series or can’t afford the old DVDs. Regardless, I’m still having tons of fun rediscovering why I fell in love with it in the first place. I also started God Eater . . . not much else to say on it. It’s pretty for a monster-slasher series, and I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts once I finish it!
I know how all the Danganronpa games go. Same for the anime, and even the novels. I’m a huge fan, a mega fan. An Ultimate Fan, if you will. Since I’d never actually played the games myself and let the LPs and walkthroughs entertain me, however, I thought I’d change that. Oh, and challenge my siblings at the same time!
So now, every chapter, every trial, we switch of players. We finished the first game early June, and are about to finish the second game. The Danganronpa games are tons of fun, so despite knowing how things play out, I’m not sick of it yet. Totally hyped to play V3 all over again, especially since it’ll be their first time with Danganronpa‘s thrilling finale!
That’s the simple truth of it all. As you can see, there’s a lot I’ve been watching, but now that I work 30 hours a week (and a 5-hour part time thing), I’m pretty exhausted when I get home. What do I do? I left my old job in food to reunite with my passion: the water. I’m a lifeguard at my university, but also a swim lesson instructor. I love my co-workers (a first!), and oddly enough working with kids is refreshing. I feel more physically and mentally fit than I have in probably a whole year, and even though this job is time-consuming, I thank it for flushing out all the icky in my life. I feel good, great even.
I go to bed at 10:30 each night now, not 2 a.m. I’m home with my family on weekends, and don’t feel bad for going in to work since I now leave for work at the same time everyone else does. It’s win-win, plus I get to swim on the job!
So, I don’t want to push my luck. I could be at the keyboard more often, but it’d cost my anime-watching time, my time with my siblings, and I don’t want to trim those anymore than I already have. I should be writing a little bit more this month, though, so we’ll see if that improves things on this end.
What’s new? The job. Where are we headed in the meantime? Easy: Writing posts for all the anime and manga in my collection that I’ve been watching and reading!
That’s about all I got for now. The 95-degree days are killer, but working at an indoor pool softens the blow immensely. Now, if only the rainy season would last longer, I’d be truly happy, hahaha! It’s crazy to think that the next time I write an update like this it’ll be October. Till then, thank you so much for reading, and take care of yourself!
– Takuto, your host
Hi everyone!
Since 2015, I’ve gone to this midwestern U.S. anime convention called Naka-Kon. That makes this my fourth year, which is kinda hard to believe! It’s a small convention, estimating around 8,000 attendees in 2015, but the population has grown exponentially in the past few years. Soon, I fear that the convention hall itself won’t be large enough to contain all our anime madness!
Anyway, this year was much less stressful compared to years past. Why? Well, I’m one of those eager youngsters that insists on meeting with English voice actor guests. I keep it brief, but try to walk away with a signature on one (or more if I’m lucky) of my Blu-rays, a picture, and delightful, positive memories to cherish. Typically, I’ll know (or at least recognize), say, 6/7 of the VAs—and you can bet that I’d try to meet with all of them if I could! At this year’s Naka, however, I only really knew (and loved) one or two roles per each voice AKA not enough to validate standing in line for a couple hours, sadly.
So I told myself to limit my VA line-standings to just one, and amp up my cosplay game so that I could spend time taking more pics and having fun. After 2017 when I cosplayed Mika from Seraph of the End, I didn’t realize what great fun cosplaying could be—SO MANY PEOPLE WANTED A PICTURE EITHER OF OR WITH ME (which makes me so happy and thankful), yet it was a tad overwhelming given how I had my own agenda of rushing from one VA line or panel to another. The guest line-up happened to work well with my intentions this year, and it all worked out swimmingly!
The unintentional VA-grab theme for this year must’ve been Cowboy Bebop (last year was Final Fantasy XV), as both Steve Blum (Spike Spiegal) and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Julia, also ADR Director) were both guests this year. While I love Bebop just as much as the next guy, I knew that his lines and panels would be crazy full, so I skipped out to avoid the hassle. Also, I only knew him as Spike and Todo from Code Geass. WE DID, however, manage to squeeze in to a huge panel hosted by Steve and Mary, as well as Ian Sinclair and Wendy Powell. I count my lucky stars that my sister persisted on us sitting down, as it was really cool to hear all these famous voices casually talking in one room!
As for Mary Elizabeth . . . SHE’S THE FREAKIN’ MAJOR FROM Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex!!!! If you’ve been following me for even the past year, you’ll know that GitS has quickly worked its way up my favorites list following my marathon of the franchise just one year ago from now (happy reunion!). She’s also my QUEEN, Cornelia li Britannia from Code Geass!! Long story short, she was my must-meet for 2018, and though I was only allotted one signing (as I wanted a picture for my second), she kindly signed my DVD copy of Stand Alone Complex, of which, fun fact, I had picked up JUST for this con! Our transient meeting—where we chatted about technology’s advancements and possibilities, the internet, and finding our own path in this digital age—was brief, but one that will stick with me for a long time!
While at the con, I popped in on several of Xanthe Huynh’s panels. I only really knew her as Love Live!‘s Hanayo, Yuki Yuna‘s titular Yuki Yuna, PMMM Rebellion’s Nagisa, and A Lull in the Sea‘s Miuna (as pictured above). Her charming commentary on the industry and business as a voice actor for “all the cute characters” was very insightful, plus it was nice to balance out the wild loudness of, well, a con with a much smaller, calmer Q&A panel. After visiting like three of her panels, I made it my mission to nab an autograph, of which was quick, painless, and fun to meet her one-on-one!
Oh yeah, I also snagged a ticket for Ian Sinclair since I just could. It was a Sunday, lines were significantly shorter and moved much faster, so I thought “Eh, why not.” He’s not a personal favorite of mine, but I do think he does great work!
**Insert my frustrations when Wendy Powell, who had no people in line for like 20 minutes, left just as I had snagged a ticket to meet her after noticing the vacancy. Ughhh, oh well, at least I got to hear her voice IRL in that panel earlier. Also, the staff were very supportive in my endeavors to try and meet her. Shucks, thanks anyway! :3
Moving on from my meetings with guests, 2018 was also a year to try out some other activities that the con offered given my greater schedule leniency. Each year, I fear that Naka will offer fewer and fewer surprises for me. Especially this year, I figured I’d be bored half the time—BOY WAS I WRONG, and joyfully so! My siblings and I went to our first cosplay shoot (for My Hero Academia), posed for countless many pictures, and even tried waltz lessons of all things together! It was great fun, and EVERYWHERE we went were nice, happy, positive anime fans! So yeah, new experiences all around—I shouldn’t have underestimated such a great con like I did!
But you probably just wanted my haul. Ok, so do I. 🙂
Pins, pins galore! Each year I make it a mission to scout out new pins (especially from one artist in particular who designed the trio on the right), and this year my bag had nearly 20 some-odd pins from various favorite anime. With most ranging from one to just a couple dollars, it’s an easy, affordable way to support artists, as well as keep track of your favorite characters. Highly advised! In case you were wondering, those three on the left were gifts from my sister that she bestowed upon me as soon as we got home—how thoughtful of her! And of course, I had to get my Sailor duo, plus the almighty, all-powerful LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA!
I also got some playing cards, this becoming my third set with anime artwork on them. I was a bit let down with this set, thinking that because the main image had the entire cast on it, it should have pics of the other YOI characters. WRONG, all main three, and all random close-ups, ahahaha! Should’ve gone with the other set they had, but oh well, more YOI to go around.
Traditionally, I like to snag some new wall art (either as a scroll or artists’ prints) each year. Seeing as how I cosplayed a male version of Danganronpa‘s Junko Enoshima (which a crap ton of people recognized somehow and asked me for a pic), I thought it was only fitting to cap off the experience with something from the franchise. I’d never seen this artwork before, so I thought hey, let’s do it!
I DIDN’T REALIZE CONS HAD CLEAR FILES until I stumbled upon a couple of vendors on the last day that had stacks full of ’em! These epic Fate/stay night: [Unlimited Blade Works] clear files had the absolutely stunning poster artwork on them that my DVDs had, and though I wish they had the last one from the second season, they make an awesome set to either hang up together (considering a Fate wall in my room) or to use them as actual files. (Does anyone use clear files like they’re supposed to? Let me know . . .)
AND THEY HAD GHOST IN THE SHELL TOO, LIKE, WHAAAT?!? At either just $4 or $2.50 per file depending on the vendor, these are wonderful deals compared to the $10+ that buying off the net will charge. Like my Danganronpa wall scroll, these SAC files will forever be remembered as the ones that I bought when I met Major Motoko Kusanagi, the great Mary Elizabeth McGlynn herself! #unreal
This right here was the biggest win for me. I knew that as soon as I passed it on day one, it would be mine come the end of the weekend. Because I was unexpectedly busy with all the cosplay shenanigans, however, I ended up waiting until later in the con ’till I finally snatched it up. Thankfully, the artist still had a few, and she was super happy that I was this excited over her Kiki’s Delivery Service artwork. I mean, WHO COULDN’T?! It’s like Ghibli meets Shinkai all perfectly contained within one aesthetically pleasing masterpiece! The artist is Alexis Moore, and you can reach her at both her website alexis-moore.com and social media (presumably Insta or Twitter?) @alexisparade. Love this so much~!
That wraps up the stuff that I personally bought. Much less money was spent than in years past, but that can be a good thing sometimes. Here are some gifts my siblings bought me (and don’t worry, I surprised them with some neat stuff, too)!
This blind-pick horizontal poster of Yuuri and Victor that my sister got me, ahhh, so precious. You know how anime fans sometimes like to decorate their own spaces with that bit of anime-inspired flair during the holidays? Yup, I think this might be the winter holiday piece that’ll go over my door. 😛
Here’s a Code Geass soundtrack (again with the con-specific merch to match the times, damn!) that my brother bought for me! It’s got quite a few quality jams from the series, and for only $8, ummm, duh one of us is gonna get it LOL! After I passed it up for a minute, he swooped in, bought it, then surprised me by giving it to me as soon as we got home (omg how kind). Part of it was as a thank-you for me creating the *coolest* part of his cosplay that everyone admired last-minute, so it was pretty nice to get this after he got all that recognition for my work. >.<
But that’s not all—he also bought me a new wallet, and it’s Evangelion, holy shit! I’ve already swapped it out with my previous decaying Zelda one, and though this one is a bit bigger, I loving having fashionable anime that low-key celebrate my status as a fan. I was the one who introduced Eva to my brother (and sister), and although I know it was thanks for the cosplay accessories, I also see it as part of a return to introducing them to one of their favorites, too.
And that about wraps things up. Lots of cool voice actors, lots of neat stuff, and lots of pics (which are hopefully coming in a separate post). Even Mary exclaimed how cool my Todoroki ice effects were, and Ian knew exactly who I was as male Junko: “That’s awesome!” he said! All the praise felt good, and for someone with a mediocre body image thing going on, it felt nice to be admired for looks, even if just superficially.
This fourth year held all kinds of surprises, despite my thinking that I had Naka all mapped out. As my fifth year comes next spring, I want to do bigger cosplays, buy even more merch and art, and meet more cool people, be it big names in the industry or simply fellow fans wanting a picture together! Thank you to all who made this year’s Naka-Kon possible, as it’s become my favorite way to spend the spring break! Also, thank you for reading this post! Let me know if any of the art or merch I got was particularly neat to you, and until next time, this has been
– Takuto, your host
Welcome ladies and gents to another Cafe Talk, a segment where I record my ramblings–
I know, I know. I’m supposed to be catching up on comments and posts. Well—this kinda came up first considering that we’re already almost done with the second title. *gasps* Where did the time go?
For those unfamiliar with our Movie Theater nonsense, click here for the full backstory and last year’s line up. Essentially, since I am the self-acclaimed Otaku Pioneer for my siblings, I gather my cash each year and blow it all on a list of shows that we can watch together. For me, I’ve seen all of them, and merely want them to watch them too since they’re curious. Unless they’re exceptions to the rule (necessary sequels or prequel material), the shows I pick are not only favorites of mine but also highly rated titles by myself and the community. Here is how this season will be divided:
Act One: A Lull in the Sea, Girls und Panzer, Danganronpa, ef – A tale of memories and melodies.
Act Two: Baccano!, Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, KILL la KILL.
You’ll notice that I’m currently missing the second season to Fate UBW and the other four volumes of KLK.
Budget cuts. But I have a job now, no sweat :3
You’ll also probably see that the first and second acts greatly differ – That is done on purpose. The order I selected for this set of shows, I believe, is the best order to achieve each title’s maximum potential without blotting out the others. Feel free to argue against my madness below.
BUT YEAH. More shows. More great content. I’m hella stoked to rewatch all of Danganronpa with them now, as that is what comes following today’s girls-meet-tanks finale, haha! If you have any sibling/anime stories, let’s talk in the comments. I’m dying to know if I’m just the weird one running my own business here XD. ‘Till next time!
– Takuto, your host
PS: Did anyone recognize the Nagi-Asu upgrade from DVD in my past birthday haul to that blu-ray monster collection you see above? We’ll talk about that in the next post, kyu kyu kyu.
Evening all! I realize that this 2015 haul is a little late (“so last year” yadda yadda), but gifts are always better late than never, am I right?! Because the sale is over, I will not be posting links. Don’t let that stop you from browsing for these neat titles, though! Alrighty, here we go!
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Volumes 3 and 4 (manga)
I haven’t actually started this series, but after winning a mini YouTube giveaway (FIRST TIME EVER WINNING), I received the first two novels of this bewitching franchise. Supposedly it’s a really great rom-com or something of the sorts, and I plan to start reading . . . whenever I find the time 😛
Redline on Blu-ray
Oh dang, y’all, it’s mutha-flippin’ Redline. I think I had busted into this high-energy film the night after I got it and remember loving every single frame of it. This was a recommended pick up by Gigi from Animepalooza, and boy she wasn’t wrong when saying you shouldn’t miss out on Redline! Whew! What a ride! Both this title and the two manga volumes were courteous Christmas gifts from my sister, so thanks girl!
Danganronpa The Animation on Blu-ray/DVD Limited Edition
You should probably know that I’ve been anticipating this physical release since I watched it over two years ago. Let’s also say that it was an oh~so rich and bloody reunion muahahaha! Despite the criticism it gets for being a short 13-episode adaptation of hit game, I still savor every bit of Danganronpa that I can. Every last drop. I also hit this one up ASAP and OMG the English dub is fantastic!! The shiny rainbow/pink film that coats the hard box and the beveled logo also makes for nice touches. I thought that FUNimation’s tamer LTD EDs were lacking recently – Not with this release! I only wish the cases themselves had art of locations in the show rather than 4 close-ups of a few characters. Oh well. This was a gift from my older brother, so nicely done, bruh!
The Rose of Versailles Parts 1 & 2 on DVD Limited Edition
Also another blind recommendation from Gigi, but I’m taking her word (and that of the community’s) that this is a must-watch shoujo masterpiece. I do love the French Revolution, though . . . I don’t dip into shoujo anything unless my sister is watching something, but when I watch shoujo – I WATCH SHOUJO. You’ll probably find me swooning over royalty and daydreaming by the window during class once I start watching this 🙂 This was the last “gift to myself” and I hope I’ll enjoy it as much as everyone else has!
And there you have it! The end of my gift-receiving days has crouched upon us, and I will say that I spent quite a large sum of money this holiday season. No regrets – yet – but it was a fair amount between gifts for myself (LOL) and others. With the never-ending expansion of my collection only growing, I’ll now have several titles I can just pull off the shelf without having seen them – It’s like having an instant store right in my room where everything is free (kinda, not really, sorta)! Anyway, it’s been an incredibly busy week, returning to the “s” word and all, and hopefully I’ll find the time to push in a review. If it’s any consolation, I do have a draft of something in the works, even though it’ll probably turn out like dung >.< Haha, we’ll see, and until next time, this has been
– Takuto, your host
Evening all, I hope your new year has kicked off with a marvelous bang! Mine was a bit anticlimactic, but at least the snacks were oh~so tasty! As we all usher in 2016 with open arms, high hopes, and huge wishes, I’d like to proudly say that not much will be changing around here. The café will still welcome guests, host reviews, and whatever else intrigues me! That being said, here is, as per the norm, the first casual update of 2016!
Recently finished:
Redline – Oh man, where to start with this one? How about watching those Star Wars races (yes I saw the new movie, pretty good, even coming from non-SW buff) while huffing every shroom on the face of the planet, wearing one of those old blue/red 3D glasses, and chugging Root Beer. Sounds pretty damn wild, don’t it? I’m not very good at writing reviews for movies, so if I don’t ever get around to it, just know that my socks were blown off of my feet five times even after tying them down with duct tape. In other words, go watch Redline, and FAST!
Diamond Daydreams – This is one of those anime that you feel is so crappy just because it has meh reviews, regardless of how much you’re actually enjoying yourself. This light drama about 6 women in the winter has just enough empathy to tie yourself to each of them and make you want to just give ’em a box of chocolates after a grueling day 🙂 Review more than likely on the way!
Charlotte – Yeah, I remember this one! In fact, I wrote a review about it right here which you should totally check out if you haven’t already! This sucker’s got so many plot twists that it’ll keep you on your toes. Unless its surprises don’t appeal to you, to which I still reckon you finish what you’ve already started ^.^ It doesn’t seem to know what it’s going at for over two-thirds of its run, but the rush to the finish is chaotic and emotionally stirring. I’m still trying to recover from the damage – good and bad – it has caused.
Fate/stay night (2006) (rewatched) – If you caught my mini “Happy Holidays” post a week or so back, you’d know that I spent a nice time with this dubious show. Much like the first time I saw it: Bland animation, boring story, Shirou’s a big baka, etc. But despite its numerous flaws, it felt right to revisit Fuyuki City. Glad I got the chance to witness the original Fifth Holy Grail War on DVD!
Danganronpa The Animation (rewatched) – OMG OMG I finally got to reunite with my favorite courtroom mystery show after two years!!! Supposedly the game is 100 times better, but I don’t have a PS Vita to join in the fun. That said, the animation has to suffice, and I think it does so marvelously! Revisiting all of the characters, the story, and the creepy mystery-enshrouded high school was a high in my winter break – AND THE DUB, OH GOSH, FUNimation did a bloody fantastic job with it 😀 More to come on the physical release of it, and I might even write a review!
Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 3: Fairy Dance Part 1 – I am halfway through my exploration and research on the infamous fairy arc and I’ve got to say, it’s much more exhilarating and less distracting in novel format. I thought it was good.
Fujoshi Rumi Manga Volumes 1, 2, 3 – GUILTY PLEASURE FUJOSHI STATUS: ACHIEVED. I fell in love with this manga after YouTuber Animepalooza recommended it in a video of hers. This obscure shoujo school comedy/romance absolutely entranced me, and I plan to find the remaining three novels translated on the web sometime, as they were never licensed, discontinued, I think. That’s a tragedy considering that I would’ve bought the SHIT outta it 😉
I’m still sad my smut is gone 😦 Why didn’t they license the rest? WHY??
Currently watching:
Cowboy Bebop – “That’s right. 3, 2, 1, let’s go.” After I told my dad it was getting a rerelease, he flipped his sh*t and I went and bought it for us to watch. So far, with my family, we’ve watched 11 episodes, and loving each and every one of them! The characters and their quirks are unforgettable and its episodic nature with a boiling overarching storyline is handled perfectly. I completely understand why it’s a classic, and I can’t wait to see how these unlucky bounty hunters finish their journey 🙂
Currently reading:
Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 4: Fairy Dance Part 2 – Yep, my work to bring this half of the anime justice continues with the fourth novel. Very peculiar thus far, as so far the books have followed the anime in a parallel fashion. Now, we diverge a bit to reveal other musings that happened during Kirito’s rescue trip. Hopefully it proves to clear its name in novel format.
Seraph of the End Volume 1 – So I haven’t started it yet, but I know I will either this week or the next. Not much to say other than it better be a step up from its anime adaptation -_-
On the convention side of things, I have settled on cosplaying as character from . . . Seraph of the End, in fact! As to whom, I want you to guess, muahaha! Let’s just say I chose this character because A) They were pretty cool and B) They look EPIC. Betcha can’t guess, haha!
And there you go, my second half of December in a nutshell. Lot’s of watching, but now that school has started back up (TOMORROW OH GOD SAVE ME NOOOOOOO), I assume that all of this will be set off to the side. I’ll try not to let that happen, but it is what it is. How was your December and the holidays? Breaks are always outstanding for me, so you all know I had a wonderful time 🙂 I’ll try to warm up my typing fingers and find my reviewing spirit so that I can get some great content to you guys, and in the meantime, I’ll be wishing on the diamond dust we all survive this after-break train wreck. This has been
– Takuto, your host
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