Merry Christmas!

(Not that i give a damn actually, but it makes a good title when I can't think of anything else.)

Nine days till Rierie hits the big THREE-O. I've been enjoying her role as Yuri sensei, Toradora's resident 30 y/o ticking biological time bomb. Didn't think she needed to act for that one. =p

Earlier in the month, in a blog post regarding a live-recording for Hayate Radio, Rie quipped that she's totally pumped at getting such young roles (Maria, 17-sai) when she's already pushing 30. As usual, she'll 頑張って行きます～～！

(The post featured a rierie in Miko mode too, but no pics here cos i left the high quality version behind at home. Maybe later. I'm loafing at work now. Edit: fixed.)

Btw, she claims to have spent Christmas eve playing Dissidia: Final Fantasy. How romantic. I love her even more now.

Kebab = Dubai?

Realise I’ve been awol for a while. Time sure flies. Everyone in the office is in a festive mood by now - not much is happening. Managed to complete (to some extent) all three projects I had on hand at the beginning of Dec too, so I’m going a bit easier. Got to come up with new stuff to write about soon though; I’m way behind the rather unrealistic target of two papers a month.

How I wish I could submit a paper like this:

RESEARCH REPORT: A LOOK AT KATO EMIRI’S
IMAGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

OVERVIEW

1. Seiyuus are getting cuter, especially the chicks. Using Kato Emiri as a case study, this paper is an excuse to showcase her cuteness though it pretends to examine how seiyuu manage their image in the media so as to appear cute at all times.

BACKGROUND

2. Kato Emiri (加藤 英美里, born 26 Nov 1983) is a female (I hope) Japanese voice actress working for 81 Produce. Kato hates bugs and loves Snoopy. Google Translate thinks she is Hirano Aya for some inexplicable reason. (Actually this would make a nice research topic in itself; unfortunately, it is outside the scope of this paper.) She has played Maid in Pumpkin Scissors, in addition to Announcer; Female High School Student 1; Friend B; Housewife B; Maid; Shop assistant; and Voice of Flower in xxxHolic.

KATO EMIRI’S IMAGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

3. From our observation of her promotion photos, it is likely that Kato Emiri’s image management strategy is anchored upon a single core tactic: she keeps her mouth shut. Real tight. Like so:

4. This has proven to be a rather successful strategy, for she looks really cute in these photos.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STRATEGY

5. This strategy is not without its drawbacks. Candid photos and television screenshots by mean otakus offer the greatest challenge to Emiri’s image control attempts. Observe:

6. The proliferation of such mean-spirited screenies on image boards like Seiup (and this blog) is possibly the greatest threat to the preservation of Emirin’s kawaii image. (Note: No one has actually done the threat assessment. I’m just saying that there might be an iota of a chance that it might have been possibly so in a remotely probable kind of way - so that you can’t fault me if it’s not true in any way.)

POSSIBLE COUNTERMEASURES (See, I said possible again…)

7. The simplest and most straightforward solution would be for Emirin to stop appearing on TV shows or DVD specials or whatever, but that would deprive Kagamisumi of his Emirin videos on youtube, the consequences of which are possibly somewhat disastrous for him.

8. Another straightforward solution would be braces. Buddha knows why she hasn’t got them already. I was under the impression that Japan had pretty good school health services. Maybe the doctors are only interested in measuring school girls’ boobs. Incidentally, Kagamisumi is of the opinion that she needs her teeth the way they are right now to produce her moe voices. I seriously don’t think so.

9. Ventriloquism. Now that would be interesting. Just imagine the “Emirin & Kagamin Show”!

10. Embrace the fact that she has been blessed with a set of menacing incisors plus canines, and audition for the next live-action installment of Resident Evil.

CONCLUSION

11. Actually I like her the way she is. The teeth are kind of cute if you stare at them long enough. As always, there is no point.

Macross Frontier!

Ok finally finished Macross Frontier (at long last)! Wow I actually missed out quite a bit by not finish this, some of the songs are nice! Now I kind of understand why all the Sheryl fans are all crazy over Motteke! song.

But a song that really caught my ears is Ai Oboete Imasuka. Oboete imasuka! Oh Anata no Oto is not too bad too.

As expected, the plot is... not outstanding and the "plot twist" isn't much of a twist anyway. Vajra becoming human allies? Sigh... Grace the evil one? Wasn't this rather apparent already, only surprise was how that Leon died. Too fast.

Take it as a 25 ep musical and the show excels. So far MF is the show which clocks most songs which I relatively like (not surprising considering the crazy number of songs in the show).

Minorin!

Wa... 大将 just passed to me soo many Minorin pictures! Waaaa...

Here's a Hinagiku wallpaper!

Doujin lyrics for the ToraDora OP

Not by me, found the mp3 for this Chinese cover together with the lyrics *cough* “somewhere”. No credits came with the package, though I’d really like to know who the crackpot who came up with this crazy version of an already crazy sounding song was. 佩服，佩服. What I really enjoyed was the bloodthirsty violence that erupted over dumplings. Somehow I find that strangely realistic. And definitely fitting for a Kugimi show. The lady who sang it wasn’t bad either. Well, at least it sounded like a lady.

Here it goes, sung to the full version:
Edit: Here's the short ver dubbed over the OP animation by MoonMai.

燃烧 现在就燃烧
莫名其妙被人踩了一脚
菜刀 快拿出菜刀
喋血街头后染红了心跳

bye i bye i

今天嗅见味道 心血来潮
抛弃大小姐的 矜持和外套
墙几米高 匍匐街角
成功认定目标 东北水饺

从小的家教 告诉我不能半途而逃
(不能逃 不能逃 绝对要吃一个饱)
但是看人潮 如此之狂暴 世界仿佛充满了野生强盗
(我们饿了)

于是收起了代表人类的微笑
这种时候不(需要)谁来为人师表
举(起了)双(手后)伴(随着)环境胡乱吼叫
饥饿制造 真实社交
请你收(回去)代表人类的肢爪(念:找)
这种时候该(祈祷)不要被踩烂脚
如(果有)哪(个人)破(坏了)大小姐粉红鞋凹
小心菜刀 火箭炮
注意头爆 残人脑
空留骨架被人解剖(念:抛)

bye i bye i

人们看见水饺 停止争吵
收敛禽兽态貌 手脚仍缠绕
照这样也好 我的目标
本来就是吃饱 并不是暴躁

终于轮到了 伸手拿属于我的水饺
(不要跑 不要跑 要保住矜持骄傲)
斜刺黑影飘 如此之狂嚣 伸手瞬间破坏排队的辛劳
(纱布卧槽)

于是收起了理智构筑的段桥
这种时候不(需要)发扬雷锋遗诏
举(起了)菜(刀后)拉(扯着)犯人陷入泥沼
红眼外交 鲜血迢迢
请你收(回去)代表人类的肢爪
不要以为大(小姐)天生不会发飚
如(果有)哪(个人)破(坏了)大小姐粉红鞋凹
小心鬼妖 望山彪
注意毒药 假钞票
空留深山凄厉惨叫

bye i bye i

不要指望现在文明法则有效
只有暴力才(可以)得到东北水饺
举(起了)双(手后)伴(随着)环境胡乱吼叫
饥饿制造 真实社交
请你抛(弃掉)正义来欺负弱小
这种时候只(需要)抢夺不要吐槽
如(果有)哪(个人)破(坏了)大小姐粉红鞋凹
小心菜刀 火箭炮
注意头爆 残人脑
空留骨架被人解剖(念:抛)
小心鬼妖 望山彪
注意毒药 假钞票
空留深山凄厉惨叫

The Limitations of OS Information

First up, we have Rierie news. After another 3 weeks’ absence on her blog, finally an update. Said she was too busy with work to update, ごめんねーー＾＾； Also said she’s got zero breaks during the whole of Dec, so it’s a real test of her stamina. Looks like we won’t be getting any more updates in Dec because of that, but she promised to work real hard on her anime, radio and TV programmes (that double R thingy) to make up for it.

Pic of Rierie with Koyama and Hirohashi, her Akasaka co-stars. Actually I wonder what she’s busy with since this season, besides the sucky Akasaka, she again did mostly ninja cameos, e.g Toradora, Yozakura. Contrast that to earlier this year when I could count at least four prominent roles off the top of my head (HnG, Kimikiss, Mnemosyne, KimiAru). Seems like a slump? Then again, she’s got other engagements like miucomi and stuff which I don’t bother tuning in to, so it might possibly be a shift in focus after the agency switch. Who knows?

Oh, mentioned she’s hosting the net radio for online game Get Amped 2 as well. Check out the voice samples on the game’s page. She sounds like a gangster Suigintou.

Speaking of gangsters I’ve started watching Gokusen on crunchy roll. Rather ancient (by internet standards) drama about a Yakuza daughter who becomes homeroom teacher to a bunch of high school delinquents. Hilarity ensues. Kind of like a female version of GTO. Kagamisumi will be interested to know that the female lead played by Nakama Yukie (below) sports jet black twin tails with megane.

There’s an anime version in 2004, but that’s ancient as well (again by net standards). Dun think I’ll be following up on the cartoon version cos it happens to be one of the few shows where I think the 3D actress looks better than the 2D character. Haha, rare point for the 3 dimensional.

Lastly, random Youtube stuff:
Mami says p*nis! And got told off by Ayako. Hahaha….
Saiunkoku OP live by Hirahara Ayaka. Hajimari no kaze. 声音酷酷的蛮喜欢.
愛しい人へ live, Seirei no Moribito ED by Tainaka Sachi. Love her songs, except the hideous ones for F/SN.

Sky Crawlers and more

Okay so yeah, Sky Crawlers was not bad. As expected, the art for the characters weren't very appealing to me, but the drawing for the backgrounds were surprisingly nice, some looking downright realistic. Not a particularly thought-provoking show, and I also felt quite brain-dead during the show and just let the show bring me around the various places, up in the air and down on the ground. Everyone smokes. Nice music at the end. Mitsuya is cutest.

Also expanded my very limited Gundam knowledge by roughly 300%. Saw the mangas for virtually all the shows I've watched (which was rather shocking to me who lives in the animated world) and saw various figurines here and there (including some very disturbing ones). Oh and a large Asuka Langley figure, which I failed to get a closer look at.

Kusanagi Jr. has the least screentime for a named character.

May'n wasn't around PS when we were there? Aww I'm disappointed, thought I could catch a glimpse of her =P

Emirin's birthday indeed came and gone on Nov 26th. At least I remembered, it's the thought that counts.

Mononoke Hime's soundtrack is awesome. Ashitaka Sekki caught my mum's attention too.

Emo Sounds Too Cute

Watched The Sky Crawlers last night with the kagamisumi.

Won’t try to review it cos I’m too lazy to think. To put it in a nicer and more pretentious manner so that I’ll hopefully appear less dumb, I don’t see a need to analyse everything down to every nitty gritty detail. Maybe sometimes there’s just no “who, why, when, where, how”. Without thinking at all, I sat through the whole movie simply enjoying the ambience.

And right now I know not why I am so sad. =p Guess it’s one of those movies which leave a long aftertaste.

With that out of my system, it’s time for random stuff which may or may not have anything to do with anything else.

Mendelian inheritance says like begets like. Therefore lolis give birth to lolis.

Wait, or was that Lemarck?

People who don’t stay for the credits miss the ending.

I’m suffering May’n fatigue. Time to move on. Yes, kagamisumi, you can stop shouting “May’n’s over there!”. I won’t fall for it. My sources say she’s gone home.

Emirin's birthday was yesterday.

That onee-san from the ROC rep office is my new idol. Oh, the eloquence! Diplomats and actors/artistes have much in common I believe.

Waifu!

AHHHHH!

AHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHH!

Question: Identify the odd Ahhhhh out.

PS: That is Hirano Aya, deshou? My eyes aren't playing tricks on me at 2am, right?

Intelligence Means Winning the War Before a Single Shot is Fired

She arrives.

She giggles.

Me dies. Good Job to the guys who camped at the airport. Buddha knows how you got wind of the schedule but I love you bros. Whoever you are.

Nyan Blast

May'n and Nakajima Megumi doing stuff. Guess it's some Macross F promo thing.

公公 婆婆请喝茶...

Ranka looks bigger. This is BIG news.


これ、食べていいですか？

Korupsi

So I went to the cartoon convention.

Truth be told, much of the enthusiasm I had for it had worn out by the time it came around, so I ended up playing Elder Scrolls 3 the whole Sat instead of picking up my pre-reg ticket as planned. Missed Mizuki “Aniki” Ichirou’s concert, which I kind of regret. Missed several screenings of MS Igloo too, though that wasn’t as bad since the DVDs were on sale. (Not that I bought any.)

Got to the convention at 1400 on Sun, the ticketing queue was pretty much non-existent. Started off by recce-ing the place, mainly to locate the main objective, i.e. the concert stage. The gameplan was to be at the stage by 1500 to ensure an optimum view of the concert, so that left me with an hour to check out the other exhibits. The crowd was quite sparse, most of the people were cluster-*ucking at the stage where the Cosplay contest was due to begin.

First thing I looked at was the Gunpla. The Gunpla and figure exhibits were kind of cool, but most of the floor space was taken up by merchandise. Hadn’t budgeted for merchandise, therefore window shop only. Was really itching to get that Zaku if not for the thought of eating nothing but rations for the next 3 months.

The so called Anime Blockbuster zone was a disappointment. This was what the website promised: “This special content area will showcase some of Asia’s best and most successful animes, delivered to visitors via exclusive footage, artifacts, and rare materials behind the creative scenes, such as storyboards, character design, background design, and prop designs.”

This was what I saw: Giant Poster with blurb and mini-intro of main characters. TV screen looping trailers. Obviously aimed at the intro-level for newcomers. Seriously, a one minute visit to ANN is much more informative. Considering that the shows on exhibit (Code Geass, Toradora etc) have been running for some time now or have already ended, shouldn’t they attempt to engage those who can spot the Code Geass spoofs in Lucky Star? Oops, I forgot it’s illegal to spot Code Geass spoofs in Lucky Star.

The Sky Crawlers booth wasn’t bad though, it was the only which delivered. Btw, let’s go watch the movie, I think it’ll be good. Opens on 27 Nov.

I was done with all the exhibits in less than half an hour, there’s really nothing much to do if you’re not into the goods. Off to the stage I went. The amount of unintentional humour at the cosplay thingy was superb. The Knightmare Frame field repair was entertaining. Mizuki, one of the cosplay contest judges, performed three songs, the themes for Mazinger, Babel II and Captain Harlock. One word: GAR. How I wished I had turned up the previous evening.

The crowd dispersed after the Cos thing - my cue to move in and occupy a choice spot for the concert, a spot which I was to occupy for the next 4 hours. Next up was a screening of 次元爆弾 by Studio 4°C. Stunning visuals, but the surrealism just went over the top of my head, i.e. I dun get it. Ya, I’m a shallow bastard who understands only harem comedy and yuri action. Point to note was that one of the seiyuu for that episode was Kanno Youko. Like wow.

The next 2 hours were spent waiting at my chosen spot. I think I had probably gone mad. But thanks to that madness I managed a first row spot in the free section, with a largely unobstructed view of the stage. Local band Quis came on stage at 1830. They sang jap songs, mostly from anime like GTO, FMA, Deathnote. The L’ arc En Ciel-like stuff. They were pretty good, could probably give the band wannabes on TV a run for their money. The lead guitarist needs to work on his “showmanship” stat though. He looked bored.

May’n came on stage at 1920. Fantastic stage presence. I think she’s been working on her performance too cos I see marked improvement since her appearance on TV some time ago (that video with the Original May’n Greeting TM). Scary.

Nothing much more I can add, since you’ve got to see it for yourself to appreciate it. Maybe there's some video on Youtube? Anw, here’s the list of songs performed, from first to last:

Welcome to my Fanclub’s Night
What ‘bout My Star
Infinity
妖精
Diamond Crab Ass
Northern Cross
射手座午後９時Don’t be late

That’s about all of Sheryl’s songs. Oh, someone taught her to speak english sunny island south of Truly Asia style or something. "Many many people", she said.

My voice is hoarse from the shouting and I sprained my left big toe from tiptoeing. Maybe I should cancel my leave and get an MC instead.

Dompet is a Harimau

Emiri and Shiraishi Minoru's cameo on 女子大生会計士の事件簿. I'm trying to figure out which episode as well.

Went to the National Museum today and realised it has pretty good voice acting for its exhibits. FYI, every visitor is issued a "companion guide" which is essentially a giant walkman which narrates the story behind each exhibit. Risking the label of 汉奸走狗, I decided to be weaboo and select the Japanese language track. Several exhibits attempted to recreate certain scenes from the past, which is where the voice acting comes in. Going by the high standard of voice acting, they definitely got professionals to do it. I wouldn't mind spending a whole day there, since it's almost like a drama CD, haha. Then again, I'm judging by anime standards, so it might sound cheesy to native speakers, i wouldn't know. Found the idea of two leftist chinese school students (hey kagamisumi, look your sempais) conversing in Japanese extremely amusing though. Didn't have time to check out the other languages, but i hope they were just as good.

This is wols but...

你好，我叫玛丽亚。

Use it or lose it, man.

Tsundere Town Anthem

ツン　ツン　デレ　ツン　デレ　ツン　ツン
ツン　ツン　デレ　ツン　デレ　ツン　ツン
ヨウガインタ降りてすぐ
お店は九時にはしまいけど
早寝
早起き
いいじゃない！

あかいめがね くろいかみ しろいパンツ

Nah. I just tot it'd be white.

This post has nothing to do with rierie.

I'm turning into a tabloid reporter. Got to say i'm enjoying myself coming up with the most ridiculous and cynical conspiracy theories though. Crazy stuff like armed conflicts being started to justify defence budget increases. Stuff like blogs being used in info ops. Btw, i've got to stop updating from the office. Hits from the ministry in the logs gave me a mini surprise until i realised they coincided with my night duties.

haha.

Indon class is finally coming to an end. Though the lessons were rather draining, I'll definitely miss them; they were tonnes of fun. Over the course of five weeks, several running gags have come into being, providing side-splittingly hilarious moments of distraction.

Firstly, saying "Amb*lat belongs to Truly Asia" gets our nice indonesian lady teacher (who we call Ibu) all fired up, buying us 2 min of nap time while she disputes the offending statement. "What is 'burung unta'?" works as well, coz she was initially confused between ostrich and turkey. She's now absolutely clear that we don't (usually) eat ostriches on christmas. Oh ya, and there's the absolutely random proclamations of "harimau!" (tiger) which crack her up long enough for us to wiggle out of tough questions.

We invented our own words and phrases as well, the theory being adding the letter 'i' to the end of any english word turns it into an Indon one (see: reformasi, etc.). So someone would say something really random like "slashi" (/), to which our dear Ibu would gasp in horror then proceed to explain that it's actually "garis miring". The grandmother of all made-up phrases would have to be "kosong atas kosong" (zero on zero) - used when you can't remember how to say '8'.

It's fortunate that our teacher has got the patience of a buddha and takes all this nonsense in good humour. It's been a long time since i laughed like this.

Busy and Slack

You missed one pic. Sign seven extras. Wait, since it's one of rierie going Kira!, make it 21.

Michiko and Hatchin is a pretty good show, definitely worth a look at least. Got to admit that the presence of sekushi nee-san always sways my vote somewhat though.

Oh ya, please please cut the tsundere song and Miyukichi's "FU*K!!" for me once you get to Yozakura ep 6. I wanna use it as a HP ringtone.

Trawl...

Wow, amazingly today, just a brief scan online yielded an amazing field of pictures.

Without further ado, ikimashou!

Wow... Rierie... speechless.

Tomato's smile as sweet as ever. She seems to like pastel-ish colours for background.

Kawaii! Don't know who though.

AHH AHHH AHHHH!

Anyway, I've finally finished Nodame S1 after a long long time. Ending was sweet, rather saccharine, but still nice. The style of humour is fun and cute, and so far, Nodame herself can carry the whole series despite being rather quirky and weird. Her obsession with Purigota is rather... -_-" Chiaki is an ok male protagonist whose rise to fame-dom is rather expected and ok to watch. I like how the characters interact among themselves. Oh and the Special is funny, though I would have thought Nodame would have known of Chiaki's phobia of the sea already.

Toradora-wise, I still think Kushieda Minori is a much cuter character than Taiga herself... And I await with bated breath how Ami would develop as the series proceed on.

たくさんの思い出がある
他にはなにもいらない

さようなら

Working on Me Tabloid Reporting Skillz

After a 3-week period of inactivity this time, Rierie's blog is now updated. Seems she took a break bcos of some throat ailment but she's all fine now. In fact, she's fine enough to run around some Meiji University's campus carnival dressed in a nurse outfit. Now that's how a world class institution of learning runs its carnivals.

Kinky.

Btw, Rie's ailment was most likely a URTI but for all we know its actually a UTI. If i'm not wrong bunny suits are a risk factor for UTI because of poor ventilation. The timing was about right too. Then again, another hypothesis could be that she busted a rib in a catfight with amisuke. =p

Kangaroos Know Their Own Dongs

I just had another one of my retarded seiyuu dreams, i.e. dreamt of one. Been, what, 8 months since the last? Wonder what precipitated this particular one. Anyway, here goes the story this time…

Once upon a time, on a sunny island south of Truly Asia, there lived a guy called I, who decided to go to the shopping mall for some reason I (me) can’t quite remember. I (the guy) might have been attending some anime convention.

At the Entrance to the Shopping Mall was an apparel store. To get straight to the point, Rierie was the sales girl. Oh right! Being an ardent admirer of this Rie, I (the guy) stood there staring like an idiot. Note that I (the guy) is well behaved even if this was a dream. I (me) thinks I (the guy) is an idiot.

Just then, I (the guy) was approached by the Rie.

“What you looking for ah?” asked the Rie in perfect Sunny island south of Truly Asia accent (Ah Lian variant).

Somewhat disappointed but still excited like mad, I (the guy) muttered something incomprehensible and walked off towards the escalators. I (me) seriously thinks I (the guy) is an idiot.

However, a new Boss awaited on the next floor. Kugimi (in an apron and headscarf) was selling pancakes. I (me) forgot which kind, probably bcos I (the guy) didn’t really stay long enough too find out. I (me) really thinks I (the guy) is an idiot.

Fleeing from Kugimi, I (the guy) ran into Kikuko Inoue 17 Sai, who was milling around like an NPC in some SNES era RPG. By that time, I (the guy), was probably bloody sure that this must be the most awesome convention ever bcos even the auntie selling pancakes is Kugimi. I (the guy) was perplexed though, by how no one else seemed to recognize the celebrities(?), yet secretly bloody happy since he can now claim elite seiyuu fan status.

To cut a long dream really short, since I (me) am late for work, the convention was held on the top of the building. Somehow it was already nighttime. I (me) said “already” but I (me) didn’t actually know at what time of the day I (the guy) started climbing the Mall. Highlight of the day was a performance by, of all people, Nakahara Mai. Ya, the sharp-nosed one. But on closer inspection, it’s actually a trap. The trap sang Kohaku (by Shimokawa Mikuni) for some reason. I (the guy) sang along in the audience, even though he knew it was a trap. And despite the fact that he was sucking on a sweet. I (the guy) had one of the happiest days of his life.

The End.

Edit: uploaded 15 hours late bcos my net connection was down for some reason. it's been buggy since i got infected with some bloody spyware/trojan/virus from that supposed PS2 emulator. I think people can stop trying to reach me on MSN for the time being cos i'll most probably only receive the message the following day if i do at all.

Drunken Blogging

I’m now hooked on 雨が降る(?), the Linebarrels ED by Sakamoto Maaya. Really beautiful song. This is another example of a sucky show with great music. I swear there were others but I can’t quite remember right now. Brain’s a bit addled by alcohol.

Other new songs that are on my playlist this season:

Motto hade ni ne, Tomato Haruka (Kannagi OP). This one got on my radar more because of the dancing in the OP than anything else. Catchy tune, but I’m kind of getting sick of it already.

Discotheque, Mizuki Nana (Pantsu + Vampire OP). Dancing… Churu churu churu payapa… the choreography for the OP and Nana’s PV are identical if I’m not wrong. Love the churu churu churu payapa. Dun like the censor bats.

Pre-Parade, Kugimi + Kitaeri + Hocchan (Toradora OP). I just like the “pari-pari” bits. Otherwise quite retarded.

Forgot the title, Kemeko Gang (Kemeko DX OP). Crazy. Mad man. Imelda. Jesus, jesus, jesus, kami-sama!

Just Tune / Nagareboshi, can’t remember off-hand (Yozakura Quartet OP/ED). Can’t quite remember which is the OP and which the ED. Both are decent but not breathtakingly decent. Meaning they are not indecent. I might be drunk already.

Town Anthem aka Tsundere Song, Hime-chan (Fukuen Misato?), (Yozakura Quartet Insert). Tsun tsun dere tsun dere tsun tsun. Tsun tsun dere tsun dere tsun tsun. I seriously hope this comes out in the OST somewhere. Come to think of it we still dun have that musical number from Kurenai. Totally unacceptable. So unbecoming.

Northern Cross, May’n, (Macross F ED / Insert / whatever). Macross is over? Oops. I can sing the whole song now though. Somehow the tongue twistery bits are really fun to sing. Would you pay 100 bucks to watch her sing it live? Somehow I’m starting to think my $8 two-day pass isn’t even going to get me standing room during the gig. Time to break out my PLA surplus binoculars. Wait. Was it Soviet? Can’t quite remember what the PRC guy peddling it for 20 bucks said.

Gravity, m.e.o.v. (Raki Suta insert). Full version just came out. Amazing that the LS Holstein (I dun mean miyuki) is still being milked after one year. My favourite LS song, besides Sore Ga Ai Deshou, which doesn’t really count actually.

And thanks to okto’s split from Vasantham, I no longer get to watch anime in the office (though I caught bits of Tytania on NHK the other day. Dun think its airing, just some documentary.)

无题

""Suara"（スアラ）とはインドネシア語で "声" を意味する。"

“Suara” means “voice” in Bahasa Indonesia.

(She’s the singer for OP/2nd ED Utawarerumono)

Wow.

Indon class sure is fun. Guess how many guys shouted “BANKAI!” when the word “bangkai” (carcass) was mentioned. That was seriously rather amusing. Of course, I had to join in the fun as well, though I’ve long given up on Bleach. And as you can see, this language course has a rather morbid focus on terms to do with death and destruction. Krauser II would be pleased.

Btw, I’ve pre-registered for the Sheryl Nome thingy on 22-23 Nov. Note that I call it the Sheryl Nome thingy cos I wouldn’t be going otherwise. =p

蓝绿各打五十大板

Was bargain hunting for cheap retro games and found Giren’s Ambition PS2 version. Not really retro but it is at least six years old so what the heck. Burned pretty much the whole weekend playing, but got a bit sick of having dirt cheap Type-61s overrun my shiny Zakus through sheer numbers. Makes sense, since for the same weight-class a tank would probably be the more efficient design, it’s just less shiny and less popular with the kids.

I remember one show which did try to “realistically” portray its mecha though. What the scriptwriters for Gasaraki came up with was that humanoid mecha, Tactical Armour (TA), are specialized weapons designed for urban ops in which the TA relies on its flexibility to beat the tank’s superior armour and firepower, e.g. it can fire around a street corner but the tank cannot. What they forgot was that Taliban militants armed with RPGs and IEDs can be stealthier than any mech, even those equipped with mirage colloid / minovsky / GN particle camo. Can’t really blame them, the show was produced pre-2001. Then again, a squad of TAs proceeded to pwn an entire mechanized battalion in wide open desert several episodes in, so what can I say besides “hey, at least Sunrise gave us Gintama”.

Mighty busy with Indon class as well; up to my neck with revision and homework I’m supposed to be doing but obviously not. I don't even want to think about the reports that are very behind schedule and the weekend duty coming up. Fuck, i just did.

Instead of mugging for my vocab test later in the afternoon, I shall now write a rabu reta to Rierie in Bahasa Indonesia. Behold the power of procrastination:

Rierie yang tercinta,

Anda wanita yang tercantik (dan tergarang) di dunia ini. Saya cinta kepadamu untuk selama-lamanya dan tidak akan lupa kepadamu. (Tapi saya juga suka Miyukichi. Dan Kugimi. Dan Mami. Dan Ayako. Maaf.)

Kentang.

Ok, random pic spamming time.

Minorin and Sakakibara "live" in Taipei this Dec. That's good, they avoid mass protests that the DPP is trying to pull off. But who knows what will happen in Dec? Taiwan is so fun.

Mami's room layout apparently, though a few years old. She's got a huge bed. Hmmm....

Meronpan. Wow! Meronpan. Yay! Superduper yummy! (i'm singing the Paddlepop ad jingle from aeons ago if you haven't realised. Anyone knows if they've changed it?)

PS. Title is no indication of my political inclinations, just tot it's a cute little slogan. (Btw, i'm pan-blue cos green is just such a hideous colour.)

2008 Fall

So far I've only caught a few shows this season, and there are so many more left...

Clannad AS: As expected from KyoAni, this one delivers and I am enjoying this season of Clannad. I'm a little jolted by the RakiSuta faces in ClannadAS 03 though, as it was rather unexpected. All the characters are cute as usual, except Kyou seems to have morphed a little into "dark" Kyou, which is scary... Tomoyo is rather aloof though. Probably a post-Clannad 24 effect. Kotomi-nano is still very cute. Nagisa became rather endearing, and she should wear her new hairstyle more often! I shall not venture into Mei and Sanae's territory lest I start blubbering here.

Kannagi: Great OP, fun storyline. Nagi is quite a amusing character, though I wonder how the story will progress from here as there doesn't seem much that both of them can do other than hunt bugs or start uncovering Nagi's past and fighting "bugs" ala Shana. From the OP, it may well take a Slice of Life-ish comedy turn and then things may be looking good (maybe).

Toradora: Wasn't particularly drawn into this show as I keep getting Shana-vibes everywhere. Actually, just from Taiga alone. I have a little more interested in the Taiga's friend and that is not a good thing I think. Male protagonist is very dull.

To Aru Majustsu no Index: Cute and cute, Index is cute, lightning-girl is tsuntsun and there is a crazy smoking loli who is a teacher which scares me. Male protagonist isn't too bad. Storyline so far is very Shana-ish (again, what's up with that? Must be the JC Staff effect) and the antagonists are beyond dull. Next episode with some nice swordplay may be more fun, but then again, I'm not really into sword-swinging-shojos (I don't hate them, but I don't award points for that). Still, there's quite a bit more character development and history to look forward to, and the animation so far is nice, so it's been enjoyable.

And that's all I've managed to catch up to this season. 4 shows is mad, and still got more. Last season I only caught how many ah... So many kena temporarily dropped. Oh well.

And I spammed Utawarerumono today. A crazy 13 episode marathon to reach the ep15 mark now. Aruru-chan wa kawaii! But the middle of the series is starting to become a little sian because nothing much is happening besides some soldiers slashing each other and house-burning. Also getting a lot of supernatural elements coming into play suddenly which makes the power balance in the show go out of whack. The crazy emperor of the too-long-to-remember-the-name country also has a horrifying which grates me every time he laughs. I like how the transition Hakuoro had from village head to emperor is carried out though, how life changed for him and Eruru/Aruru, how responsibilities changed, and the calm samurai-general is quite a cool character. Yuzuha just needs to open her eyes ala Nunnally.

Oh and the twin archers are cute.

Yes and their gender are (rather) undefined.

So, they better be onna no ko's.

Mutilasi Rambutan

The Fall 08 study guide has been reviewed and reissued, with changes to the following items.

Tytania – Good to know. Dune-ish Space Opera. There was some attempt at showing large-scale battle tactics but I can’t guarantee that degeneration into mobile suit/knightmare frame duels wouldn’t happen. At least there aren’t any mobile suits yet.

Ga-Rei Zero – Upgraded to Must Know. The action is well choreographed and smoothly animated, plus the WTF factor has got me totally hooked. I have no idea where they’re going with the *spoiler* high body count of characters *spoiler end* and I can’t wait to find out.

Skip Beat – Upgraded to Must Know. The protagonist is a spunky mad girl who is mad. Think of her as a powered-up version of Kasahara from Toshokan sensou with a much less innocent, and crazier, motivation.

Kurozuka – Level of advice remains unchanged. I see a naked woman in ep2.

And the following additions.

Tentai Senshi Sunred – Might need to know. A spoof of the tokusatsu, i.e. “power ranger” genre. The hero Sunred lives off his girlfriend. The evil monsters have part-time jobs at the supermarket because scheming to take over the world doesn't pay very well. Short episodes good for a laugh when you have 15 minutes to spare.

Stitch – Mana ada subs?

Meanwhile, at the Tokyo Game Show…

…Rierie Vs Amisuke Part 2. Can you feel the animosity radiating from Rierie’s cleavage? Let’s just hope Asumi managed to escape the collateral damage.

Refer below for a brief history of the Rie-Ami Feud (?)

The fact that both were looking in opposite directions during the Kimikiss interview has been cited as evidence of less-than-pleasant feelings between them. What a shining example of investigative journalism. Rierie does look bloody fierce in the video though (it’s somewhere on youtube or nico).

My hypothesis is that Rie looks pissed bcos she sprained her neck, which also explains her inability to turn around and face Ami. And no, Kagamisumi, I dun think she’s pissed at Ami for stealing her loot on Monster Hunter because that is just so juvenile. You make her seem as if she’s some 29 year-old gaming otaku who wastes her life away in some MMO-

Oh.

Shit.

My Head Hurts

A topsy turvy schedule alternating between day and night shifts over the past 2 weeks has split my head in two, i think. Ouch.

But that won't stop me from watching TV!!!

Kagamin, here's your Fall 08 study guide as promised:

Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka - No need to know. Double Rie + Emiri fails to save this show.

Casshern - Didn't watch. It's on TV on Wed nights though.

Chaos Head - Good to know. The bloody loli murder mystery nonsense has my interest piqued.

Clannad - Duh.

Ef - Must know. Seems to be both a sequel and prequel to last season. Naked girl self-portrait wins all.

Ga Rei Zero - Good to know. Brilliant(?) shock ending to first ep. Minorin appears in 2nd ep.

Hakushaku to Yousei - No need to know. You jump i jump, shojo-ish stuff.

Hyakko - Good to know. SOL-ish comedy ala Manabi Straight.

Jigoku Shojo - No need to know. Season 2 DVDs are still sitting on my shelf nearly untouched.

Junjou Romantica - Up to you.

Kannagi - Must know. The OP itself is reason enough to watch if you ask me. Go, Tomato!

Kemeko - Must know. Crazy show with crazy nearly naked girls.

Gundam - Didn't watch.

Kurogane no Linebarrels - No need to know. Great cast, but i dun like the designs, both the character and main mecha. The grunt robots were quite cool though. Going by the first ep, the protagonist is bloody retarded.

Kuroshitsuji - Good to know. Think of it as a semi-gender-swapped HnG with black humour. Watch out for Emirin as clumsy meido.

Kurozuka - Yet to watch. Fast forwarded through it, looks very dark. might watch for Park Romi.

Macademi Wasshoi - Might need to know, but likely to be crap. Feels like a ZnT rip-off.

Mouryou no Hako - Yet to watch. Fast forwarded through it, looks very dark. Might watch if there's yuri.

Nodame - Must Know. Gyabo!!

Noramimi - Didn't make it through season one.

One Outs - No need to know. Didn't like baseball to begin with.

Rosario + Vampire - No need to know, but i'm following for reasons previously stated.

Shikabane Hime - Good to know. I guess you've already got your mind made up on this one, since it fulfils your fetish for seifuku and long black hair all at the same time.

Shugo Chara - What's that?

Skip Beat! - Good to know. Inoue Marina is delightful as the lead, but it's still shojo so probably have to watch out for sparkling guys and stuff. Watch this on TV on Fri nights.

Tales of the Abyss - Yet to watch. RPG-ish stuff tend to turn me off though. Druaga wouldn't have been very good either if not for the humour.

To Aru Majutsutsutsu no Index - Good to know. Naked loli. i guess that's enough reason for you, but just for the record there's Satou Rina too.

Kyou no 5-2 - No need to know. Almost exactly the same as OVA, which was way better (read: ecchi-er).

Toradora - Must Know. Shana/Louise returns. Plus there's Tanaka Rie sensei. Watch this on TV on Thu nights.

Tytania - Yet to watch cos i somehow confused it with Hakushaku to Yousei. Hey, Tytania is a yousei what.

Vampire knight - Screw it.

Yozakura Quartet - Good to know. There's rierie (ninja cameo) and miyuki, plot wise nothing much yet. We'll see.

And some extra stuff to feed your aforementioned fetish.

Even the pantsu is black.

Gadis yang berambut hitam ini seiyuu Makina.

Emiri Has a Swollen Eye

NO SHIT

May'n is going to sunny island south of Truly Asia!

Woohoo!

If i had just checked the news a day earlier i would have had an extra day of euphoria. Haha... Every little bit of morale boosting news helps when you're serving the nation, even the lunch menu (it's grilled black pepper chicken today, alright!).

Good thing i've been prepared since Sep and have gotten my annual leave planned out nicely.

Kagamisumi you coming along?

MOTTEKE!!!!!!

いっぺん飛んでみる?

I see plenty of flighsuits during lunch but, unfortunately, none of them contain a Mamimami. Oh well. Is that suit on auction at eBay? Most prob not, what with the security issues and all.

Coming back to dusty old earth, my long-awaited Indonesian course finally started yesterday. The first lesson was full of fun stuff since we have yet to get to the grammar bits. The instructor, a jolly Indonesian lady, kind of took us on a verbal tour of Indonesia, with a bemusing emphasis on tourist spots. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to know where the prettiest girls can be found. (Java and Bali, according to our teacher. Obviously, she’s from one of these islands.)

Btw, I learnt that “kupu-kupu malam” (night butterfly) means commercial sex worker. Is that some piece of essential knowledge for, like, anyone on an overseas posting? I don’t really want to find out.

Bahasa Indonesia and Melayu are almost the same, yet different enough to give me a mini migraine. Like “kerata” is train and “lori” is a small train that carries sugarcane. Wow. And let’s not forget that “awak” might mean “I” in certain Indonesian provinces. Maybe it’s a good thing after all that I’ve forgotten 97.23% of my Malay.

The confusion doesn’t stop there though. The word “nakal” (naughty) came up and the first thing that came to my mind was “cry”. I realized it wasn’t 泣くonly a few seconds later, as in ひぐらしのなく頃に. Just hope I won’t be blurting out “Ini berapa desuka?” in class anytime soon.

Cyber-Loafing on Night Duty Part 2

Hope you enjoyed my craptastic (mis)traslation of emirin's blog post. Emirin's as cute as ever while Gotou looks like she really wanted to be somewhere else. Asumi looks round. If you think this post is more retarded than usual, it's bcos i've read about 200 reports since the afternoon. I believe that sort of activity kind of fries my brain.

そろそろ眠いので, but unlike emiri, i can't sleep just yet bcos i'm at work you see.

Well, at least payday is next week.

Just for a picture

Google Translate for Jap to English is fail, and I can't decipher the moonspeak on Emirin's blog, so we'll have to make do with a nice yukata pic.

I Am Cyber-Loafing While On Night Duty

Before i start cursing and swearing at the people who saddled me with two reports to write by daybreak on top of my regular duties, let's attempt to answer this question:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% ............ reboot.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken!

LEE KUAN YEW: I am telling u that the highly paid chicken should cross the road first. It is our right to cross the road..

LEE HSIEN LOONG: Gantry points have been set up. All chickens wanting to cross the road are advised to top up their cash cards first.

ABDULLAH BADAWI: We have to be fair to all chickens. Some want to cross over the road, some do not. ........ Zzzzzz .......zzzzzz ....... Now what were we talking about? Ah yes, chickens. We will form a Royal Commission to decide whether it is right for them to cross the road.

MAHATHIR: Now even the non-bumi chickens want to cross the road? How can they disrespect and disregard the bumi chickens? We must be allowed to cross over first. It is our right! ANWAR: We have enough chickens waiting to cross over in September.

SHAHRIR: All foreign chickens are welcome in Malaysia but they must not cross over the road within 50km of the border.

Wong Kan Seng: I am sorry that the chicken was allowed to cross the road. It was an HONEST MISTAKE. Lets move on.

(Note: Not my joke. Too sleepy to think of any.)

ToyoGumi is Cute, No?

Random interview I came across somewhere. Translated it as a little exercise for myself, learnt a few new words too. I tried not to misquote her, but can't help but guess outright for one particular paragraph (i'll point it out later). Do check out the original and point out any mistranslations.

豊口小姐是什么时候开始观看动画的呢？从小就憧憬声优这个职业吗？

小学高年级的时候开始就经常看动画。 被邻家的小孩问道：“你没看吗？”，而开始追看《七龙珠》， 从而迷上了动画。

我成为了扮演“饮茶”的古谷徹先生的粉丝，到处找寻由他出演的作品，终于邂逅了命运中的作品《Dragon Quest》。主角Abel由古谷先生配音。

之后非常喜欢这部作品，简直到了可以模仿登场人物声音的地步（笑）。就在和志同道合的朋友玩模仿的当儿，萌生了“当声优真有意思”的念头。那是中学二年级的时候。

原来如此。豊口小姐喜欢上动画的契机是《Dragon Quest》啊。其他喜欢的动画呢？还有，学生时期有没有热衷于其他的事物呢？

说其他的应该就是《美少女战士》吧。果然还是古谷先生出演的作品。

那时期，动画以外的节目我几乎完全不看。那时流行的音乐也不太记得了（笑）。不过，由声优主持的广播节目我倒是听蛮多的。因为是深夜节目，我老是得用录音带录下来。

听说豊口小姐中学毕业后就认真地踏上了迈向声优的道路，这是真的吗？

没错。中学毕业后便向父母说要上声优校。结果被老妈理所当然的骂了一句“给我上高中！”，于是暂时就上了高中（笑）。

高中快毕业时，我再次向老妈提出要上声优校，这次她却说“上了声优校也未必能当上声优吧”……. 我也奇妙地就接受了。

原来是这样啊。在双亲的反对下贯彻自己的志愿需要很大的勇气吧。 但是，就算如此还是没放弃声优的道路是吧？

暂时是放弃了当声优的念头，想想还是希望能从事和声优有关的工作，便报读了专门学校的音响艺术科。

因为常听广播，所以想成为电台工作人员。但是，刚入学便通过了试音！

豊口小姐成为声优的契机是试音？

中学，高中时报名参加了不少试音，不过总是没通过（笑）。我是抱着“这是最后一次”的心情应征了文化放送的广播节目《広井王子のMulti天国》中的火星Girl。

节目中的广播剧因为即将做成Game，为了给游戏宣传造势而公开招募火星Girl一角的配音员。

我就在这次中了大奖。之后在节目中成为Regular，踏出了配音生涯的第一步。

正式作为声优的出道作品是什么呢？

出演动画之前是有为广播剧，游戏配音。第一次接到动画的工作是在加入声优经理公司81 Produce 之后的事。

那部动画是NHK的 《Alice SOS》，我的动画出道作。

《Alice SOS》也是通过试音才接到的吗？

是的，这项工作是通过试音才接到的，老实说我从头到尾都搞不清楚状况就完成了试音。

太紧张了吧~。试音不管经历了几次感觉还是一样的。

声优这行，所演役的角色常常会被定型吗？

可能是这样吧。我演的“阳光少女”比较多，不过最近也诠释了较成熟的角色。

随着年龄的增长而角色有所演变，我对这点感到庆幸。

谈到值得庆幸的事，除了碰上好角色外，还遇到了不少贵人。

第一次接到的工作是《広井王子のMulti天国》真是太幸运了。“就算不行也得尽力”之类的想了好多。

虽然没人开口教我怎么做，不过身边有好多可以学习的榜样。指路的向导好多啊。大家全都是Professional， 想追上他们…… 不，就算只想接近他们（的水平）一点就已经很不得了了 （笑）。不过，把目光放远有助于自己的成长吧。

如果起初轻易地就进了声优校，我觉得对待工作的意识会有所不同。

那么， 在什么时候会让你感到“当声优真好！”？

我身边的朋友多数都已经结婚生子。这么一来，可以直接从他们的小朋友口中听到对我演出的感想。

还有，亲戚朋友的小孩会在幼儿园炫耀说“我的妈妈是小光的朋友哦！”。

听到时好高兴哦。 Btw, “小光”是我在《Pokemon Diamond & Pearl》里的角色。

小孩子都很直率，我的演出也不能作假。不努力不行啊。

Btw, 去年为电影配音了吧。和声优的工作有什么分别吗？

为韩国电影《两百磅美女》的女主角配了音。基本上工作是没什么分别，只不过给电影配音时，听得见音乐，效果音，还有演员原来的声音，给动画录音时则是在无音的情况下进行。

电影配音说到底只是为登场人物配上声音，动画方面则可以作为原役者而有更大的发挥空间。

给电影配音时，会带上耳机听原声，习惯了平常的无音状况，耳朵里听得见声音感觉上有所不同。

不过，听得见音乐也让我能更容易地融入剧情。配音字面上的意思虽然相同，可工作时的感觉却全然不同。

海外动画的制作方式，和日本有什么分别吗？

海外动画多数是先录音后作画，也就是所谓的“pre-scoring” 日本方面，则是作画与录音同时进行，怎么说还是对着影像配音较多 (“after-recording”）。

因为配音时得把时间掌握得准确无误，日本声优在这方面的技艺较佳也说不定。

(Note: Examples of anime which used the pre-scoring technique include Kurenai and the new Eva movies. It makes for more natural conversations, as can be seen in the seamless banter among Murasaki and gang.)

去年为电影配音, 今年五月也首次参与了舞台剧吧。

一向来都很想参与舞台剧，演出决定下来的时候好高兴。可是，真正试过以后才知道站在舞台上演出其实一点也不简单。

声音的大小得依据剧场的规模而做出调整，平常演绎动画角色时也不需要肢体动作，但在舞台上却非得靠动作表演不可……。

此外还不能不面对各种媒体。真让人觉得作为演员不能干可不行啊（笑）。

舞台可是活生生的是吧。不过、独一无二的现场演出中的那种Live感很棒吧。对于演员来说的舞台又是怎么样的呢？ (i'm guessing)

从身体状况开始、co-star的tension、到看官的反应、天天都不一样。站在演员的立场，再次体会了舞台上现场演出的感觉。正因如此、it reached the point where I want to watch more theatre for the sake of learning.

那么，豊口小姐所尊敬的女演员是谁呢？

本田美奈子小姐。曾经观赏过一出她出演的音乐剧，本田小姐不论是演技还是歌艺，总而言之好Power。

真的是我好欣赏的人。想到再也见不着了实在是很遗憾。

（Note: 本田美奈子逝世于6 Sep 2005，享年38。）

最后，请分享一下你今后想挑战的事。

至今广播，动画，Event, 电视，配音，种种工作都尝试过了。

今后，我想将其一一巩固。

还有，这十年来，我承蒙不少人的照顾才走到了这一步。为了能报答他们，我要更加努力。