News Update: September 2nd, 2004 It's been ages I know and yes, the site is dead, but fear not! With enough boredom seeping through, maybe there'll be a update sometime soon (review section). I totally apologize for the AQ section, which doesn't even remotely cover what I've been watching (see current favorites for some), but that's what happens when you're in 10+ series at a time. Of course if you want more timely updates, feel free to visit the two diaries above ^^ Site Update: March 12th, 2004 Silent update for the AQ section. Not many new additions relative to what I've seen, but nonetheless an update. Finally added pictures or fleshed out the description for some the more recent series, but recently licensed titles like Maburaho will not be getting an AQ. Added quite a few "coming soon..." descriptions too >.> Site Update: January 5th, 2004 A late happy New Year to you all (well, whoever comes here)! I'm going to be in the office these next few weeks so it's time to do some revamping and updating. Already, the RO Nikki has been re-done and moved to Geocities. Site Update: October 27th, 2003 Yay, happy birthday to myself (22)! I can say that I've finally fallen into a daily routine here in Japan. There have been a slew of new anime titles (see current favorites) this month and I've been having quite a hard time keeping up (iRO...). Both my journals and AQs have taken the back seat and I'm not sure what will become of them in the future. Site Update: September 24th, 2003 Ofunato Nikki is here :P That aside, it seems this page will be updated more on a monthly basis. It should be pretty obvious that the picture to the left has changed. I got the colors to look kind of psychedelic giving it that trading card gloss (see bottom-right portion). My ADSL is finally working so AQs will be regularly updated assuming I continue to watch anime now that RO has made a comeback. I removed the midi because it was causing some layout problems plus it hadn't been changed for ages. Site Update: August 28, 2003 If you haven't checked my Ofunato Nikki, do so and you'll see what I've been doing. This update is less work related and more of what I want to get done. Currently I'm still in the process of getting ADSL (its a little more complicated here due to language and the fact that you don't just have one ISP), but after I do there are some series I'd like to catch up on, in particular: Naruto, Scrapped Princess, and Stellvia. I've seen Naruto on TV but I don't get many of the shows here in Iwate (and don't want to pay for Sky Perfect TV). Depending on how easy it is to get old episodes, I might have to drop them :( I did manage to catch up on recent Onegai Twins (see AQ) so that was pretty entertaining. It's almost guaranteed that I'll be back on iRO once I get my connection now that Gravity plans on implementing Comodo. Also I plan to due some site migration in the future to better keep files organized and also because this Tripod account is starting to run low on space. Site Update: August 8, 2003 First update from Japan!!! At the moment I have no Internet connection so updates won't be as frequent. To keep you busy, please visit my make-shift Ofunato Nikki, which has more of my day to day activities. Site Update: June 25, 2003 Another phase of my life comes to a end. Having graduated this spring with a BA in both Psychology and Japanese, my next step is heading over to Japan via the JET program. Since this is a actual job and it'll take quite a while to become accustomed to living in Japan, I doubt this page will be touched. There's a lot of AQs I never did (like all the one's listed below), so I might make a final page with screen captures of series I never got to writing. Plus, all the recent RO events has taken quite a toll on me. Till next time, bai bai. Site Update: April 22, 2003 Leave it to school to throw everything out of whack. This last quarter seems to be quite the workload (relatively speaking) so I've had less time than expected to work on this. The influx of new anime this month, which I'll try to get AQs up for, has been overwhelming so here are ultra-lite reviews. Air Master: bleh - Ashita no Naaja: bleh - D.N. Angel: OK/good - Dear Boys: bleh - E's Otherwise: OK - Last Exile: OK/good - Mantantei Loki Ragnarok: OK/good - Ninja Scroll TV: OK - Narue no sekai: good - Scrapped Princess: good - Sonic X: OK - Uchuu no Stellvia: good - Wandaba Style: OK. As always, these are based on the first few episodes or so, but a good first impression can't hurt. There are still plenty of new series I haven't touched plus others I've been watching but never did a AQ for (IE Wolf's Rain, Nanaka 6/17 etc.) so go check them out. Site Update: March 20, 2003 RO 2nd closed beta ends = more time to fix this site. I got a new rant up (finally!), finished udpating the RO Nikki for this last beta, but the Anime Quickies section is seriously out of date (I've yet to add a lot of new series) and I don't see that being fixed anytime soon. Site Update: February 17, 2003 Finally an update for the new year. It's not like I've totally stopped updating because both the RO Nikki and Anime Quickies sections are "frequently" (relative to the rest of the site) worked on, but in all honesty, I've been really lazy on adding the anime I've watched recently. With the short hiatus before the next RO closed beta, now is probably the best time to get some work and catch-up done on the site. No real changes planned for now, so some AQ additions and maybe a new rant or something in the Extras section. Site Update: December 20, 2002 Well, time to get my Christmas update in before I head off for the winter. This week notwithstanding (it's break now), the last few weeks were really hectic cause... well, RO and finals just don't match. When it came down to it, I don't think I totally bombed any class or destroyed a potentially good grade so I guess it wasn't too detrimental. But, leave it to Gravity and RO goes down when I truly have time to play (and will come up when I'm not around). Given the massive amount of free time, I've posted HERE the RO journal I began before it went down. Its really short and messy now, but when I get back, I'll try to work more on it. Meanwhile I've been occupying myself with FFX (yep, I'm really slow) but that'll probably hit the back burner once RO's back. Since I won't be here to say it, Merry Christmas! Site Update: November 23, 2002 Funny how it's when I'm most busy that I decide to update this site (must not procras...). From the two papers due Tuesday (5 and 12 pages T_T), my nerves were a bit fried when my once trusty monitor took a crap on me earlier this month (currently borrowing a monitor courtesy of my roommate). Problems aside, some things have gone for the better. Notables include the last volume of Gate Keepers turning out rather well, Naruto totally kicking ass, and Kiddy Grade continuing to provide eye candy though I didn't get a card in CCS #12 (plus the encode sucks). iRO is also on its way back, but it will be a closed beta and testers will be charged a $10 fee (check the official site for more details). Maybe more next week. Site Update: October 25, 2002 Yes, its true. Yesterday someone leaked (?) the US Metroid Fusion ROM over three weeks in advance of the official release (Nov. 18). So I sat down with it and boy is it short. My official completion time was 3:52 but actual game time was probably a little under five hours. I finished it with only a 56% because when I decided to go back to get the items I couldn't access without the proper weapons (mainly the screw attack), it was a little too late and I was already blocked from all areas. So for those who shoot for 100%, you might get one hour or two more out of the game. Graphically, the game is very nice. In general it looks on par with Super Metroid (it is working at a lower resolution) but the most bosses look pretty lame at times. I did like how the environments changed as the game progressed as well as the evolution of a certain creature (you'll see). The story is cool and somewhat suspenseful since Samus' clone is super powerful, but like all previous games the overall gist can be summed up quickly. So, if you don't mind the short play time, it's a good GBA title. Site Update: October 19, 2002 I should be working on my paper but what the hell. Lately I've been preoccupied with all the new October anime releases so I've decided to make a super quick review list of what I've seen (since I've yet to get all the AQ's done or do not plan to, check above). Get Backers: unexpectedly nice. GitS: SAC: OK, but disappointing. Gundam Seed: OK, Scryed chara. designs :(. Guu OVA: more good stuff. Haibane Renmei: slow. Kiddy Grade: very pretty. Mahoromatic S2: more good stuff. Naruto: weird art, getting better. Piano: slow. Platonic Chain: butt ugly. Puchi Puri Yuushi: magical girl. Rizelmine S2: more bad stuff. Spiral: Conan wannabe. Please be aware that this is just based on one or two episodes. Site Update: October 7, 2002 I feel stupid. While I'm by no means arrogant about my Japanese skills, today I totally blanked in class making myself a complete jackass. So why am I telling you this? Partly because it helps relieve some frustration and because I thought a post-school-start update would be nice. Seeing how this quarter's workload can get ugly rather quickly, I doubt I'll be updating often. Despite that, it didn't stop my "healing" process and I sat down with volumes 6 & 7 of Blue Gender (Media Mail is slow). I must say that ever since volume 4 or 5, the series has certainly picked up quite a bit. Man, just wait till Nadesico Chronicles gets in tomorrow, nothing's going to get done. Site Update: September 25, 2002 The inevitable is here, in less than 24 hours the joy we call school begins. Ending the summer on a positive note, I've done close to nothing for the last month or so :). To the pain, this month the UCEN actually got Capcom vs. SNK 2 (english ver. to boot) plus another DDR machine (two-players now) which is rather amazing considering most arcades I've been to no longer exist. Now if you'll excuse me, VF4 seems to be calling. Site Update: September 15, 2002 From DMC to what? Yep, Castlevania: SotN. Believe or not this was actually the first time I played this classic (yeah yeah I'm slow). Anyway, I just finished it (about 196%) and that's why I had time to go get a nice picture (left) for my site. Also the Eternal Fighter Zero review has been updated to include the recent upgrade: Blue Sky Edition. Site Update: September 10, 2002 No, this isn't some sort of pre-9/11 update but rather since I'm feeling good, I decided to write something. With everything about ready for the new school year minus some paper work I'm pretty happy about things not to mention the great weather. As of late, I've spent most of my time playing my second PS2 game, Devil May Cry (got to love those Greatest Hits prices). What's so fun about this game besides killing endless monsters and terrific boss battles is you can actually see yourself getting better. It was funny how my first time through on normal wasn't the breeze I expected, but gradually I improved and felt I played better on hard mode. After hard I went back to play normal mode, to pick up some items and secret missions I missed and everything was cakewalk. Now that I'm prepped time to take on DMD! mode. Somehow I think it'll be hard, but in a fun kind of way. Still if you're looking for hard, try playing Ecco: DoT (the sense of accomplishment is great) and stop by the extras section for a new blurb. 9/11 Update - beat DMD! mode :P. Site Update: August 26, 2002 Being back in SB for a week I thought I'd give the site an update. My trip to Australia was pretty fun as I was kept pretty busy almost everyday. While I didn't care much for the rainforest stuff (not meaning I promote its destruction), the scuba and aviaries were very cool. Now that I'm back, I've spent most my time working on my computer (more SP1 revs.), catching up on the anime I missed, and cleaning up the apartment. With RO gone I've finally figured out exactly how much I was addicted to it (err... not really). Maybe now I'll be to refresh some of my Japanese before fall quarter or not ... cause lastly and most suprising, I've finally decided to get myself a PS2 with only GT3 as of now Site Update: August 2, 2002 Now that I've wrapped up summer sessions a quick update before I go on a trip for the summer (hehe, I should be packing right now). With all the problems recently, the inevitable has been announced, the international Ragnarok Online servers will be going offline sometime next week for a decent amount of time (~3 months). It was short while it lasted, but looks like I won't be able to use my knight anytime soon (he disappeared yesterday too -_-). On the plus side they announced Chinese and Thailand (finally) RO servers which will help reduce the load in the future. While I'm kind of disappointed I can't really fault Gravity, cause running servers for free just isn't practical and with all that bitching and whining from people, I'm surprised they tolerated it for so long. Site Update: July 6, 2002 Lots of great news for anime fans coming out of AX 2002 (ah, I wish I was there). Notable new licenses include Ai yori aoshi, Chobits, Gate Keepers 21, Mahoromatic, Rah Xephon, Sakura Wars: The Movie (just saw this yesterday too), and Super GALS (surprising). Plenty of great stuff coming along the way if they can just hurry up a bit. Chii powaaaaaa!!! Site Update: June 29, 2002 Looks like I jinxed myself twice. First, succumbing to laziness I decided to take the easy road out by taking only four units meaning I'll need to take one more psych class next year. Second, after finishing the rant in the "extras" section, my computer's been crashing a whole lot. Yet it's probably my fault, after all I've been running plenty of beta software as of late (I.E. Xp SP1, three builds in two weeks). Today, I also received the long awaited Gold Edition of PMM. I'm not overly impressed nor disappointed frankly because I had lost some interest beforehand. I will say that if you didn't like the original tunes, the new remixes are better but won't change your mind. In general, I've never really liked FF music (I'm more Mana and Xeno) so I didn't expect to have many favorite tracks especially since A Decisive Battle from FF6 was not remixed. Lastly, I'm actually backlogged with anime to watch... a amazing first considering I have more time now. Site Update: June 12, 2002 Well, whad' ya know, the stress is all over yet I feel odd. I'm not worrying mind you, it just seems awkward that I'll be coming back to school in a little over a week for... whoopee Summer Session (curse you lease contract). Yeah, but if all goes well, next year I'll be taking nothing but solid Japanese classes as opposed to this year's psych/japan combo. It's funny though, even as I type this I'm still amazed out how clear my display is, and its been well over a week (see this upcoming extra's rant)! Like I said, I feel rather strange right now and I really have nothing in mind now so I'll end this update at that. My trip home will help sort things, plus I'm going to be around SB for a while. Site Update: June 4, 2002 Time to get another update in before the school year ends. Yup, it's that annoying part of the quarter again >.<. And if it weren't bad enough, I've become a hopeless addict of Ragnarok Online and GTA 3 (PC) these past weeks. Study... uh yeah. In other computer news, I got a new GF3 Ti 200 to replace my aging GTS, marking the last upgrade for a desktop computer because from my next computer on, I'll most likely be switching to notebooks. Anime? I'm about wrapping up both FMP! and FF:U and about a third or half into several other series. Site Update: May 8, 2002 Y'know, I don't get what's the problem with the Kite pronunciation. It's clearly "kite" and not "ki te" as written in the katakana (KA I TO), but I guess some people are just retarded. Anyway, I've added ratings to my anime list. However it's only numbers, so take as you will. Also I hope you noticed the little thing above which indicates what's been updated in the Anime Quickies section. Site Update: April 24, 2002 Wow, I just got finished watching .hack episode 3 and I'm really impressed. Not the show mind you (though it is pretty cool), but the fact that the encoding was excellent. A ~24 minute file in 128 MB is very amazing by anime standards (I don't watch DiVX movies) looking no worse than the typical 180 MB digisub. It looks to me that E-F has sparked a new trend in quality encoding and hopefully other groups will follow suite. Excited as I am, the new encoding also has me worried about the rampant piracy. Well, now I'm off for some good 'ol CS, 1.4 that is. Site Update: April 3, 2002 Yay! My site is finally complete, well in the sense that all the sections are up. Yup, the long overdue extras section is up (albeit with very little stuff). Anyway, I'll let the little blurb on the page explain what it's all about. You might have noticed the midi been changed. Quality wise, Platinum was better composed midi, but I like Tooi no machi de more that even a turdy midi will do :P. Site Update: March 30, 2002 All righty,
I'm back from a boring yet relaxing spring break. Yep, I managed to
accomplish just under nothing. Boredom in full effect, I got the bright
idea to watch all of Evangelion again (minus Death & Site Update: March 22, 2002 K, time for a pre-spring break update before I go. Hmm let's see... err... eee... tooo... yeah I can't think of any work I've done on the site. The AQ section definitely has more shots now and I've yet to figure out what to put in the miscellaneous section. Scratch that, I know what to put but just haven't gotten around to it. Let's see, I haven't touched Hoshigami in over a month now, making it well on its way to join Vagrant Story as the two games I've never bothered to play through. Instead I've been gradually completing all of GT2 (only endurance races left), which I had considered done after getting the arcade mode ending some years ago. Woohoo, the new MAME v.59 has support for more Psikyo games! That does it for me, I hope everyone has a nice spring break. Site Update: March 3, 2002 Like I said below, I usually don't update the main page when I update the Anime Quickies but because I made a relatively big addition, I'll make an announcement. Now for certain quickies, I've add screen captures. I'll try to do this on a consistent basis, but we'll see how it goes. Site Update: February 22, 2002 Since nothing has really happened with the site (I don't count updating the Anime Quickies section) I'll just put a quick update on stuff that I've been lately on my mind. Woohoo, looking at the MAME W.I.P. shows progress on some Psikyo games. I can almost confidently say that PSX emulation has almost reached SNES levels. The GF4 looks really nice (I haven't been this interested since the V2)! I've been spending more time over at the arcade playing MvsC, subsequently playing over Kaillera too... albeit on a keyboard (ugh). I will make the jump to a next-gen console this summer... er lemme check that. House cleaning sucks, especially when you have a namakemono no roumumetou. Well that's it for now. Site Update: January 26, 2002 Nothing good lasts forever so its back to my old habits. Lately I've had a lot of things on my mind that I've been trying to deal with one at a time so site updating will just have to take the back seat. Other smaller set backs include a recent mess of DVD orders and a backlog of school work. Problems aside, I've finally managed to piece together enough enthusiasm to put a few hours in Hoshigami. Grrr... I'm bitter about not getting a CCS #7 postcard. Site Update: January 4, 2002 The reviews section is back up... well as much as its ever going to be. Check the notes on the top of the page for more details. Looks like updating will be slowing down (and let's hope not stop) as school rolls around next week. Plus with only the extras section left, which I might use to revive my emulation section, everything is almost done. Site Update: January 1st, 2002 Happy New Years! I've added the links section this time around. Site Update: December 29, 2001 Ah, looks like my updating frenzy continues. Took a decent amount of time reformatting and completing the Anime Quickies section. However due to the implementation of frames in that area, I now must stress that 800x600 is the only resolution to capable of correct alignment in some pages. Who knows how long I'll keep up this pace, but as long as I have ideas the updates will keep on coming. Dang I like this design :) Site Update: December 28, 2001 Oh no, it happened again! Yep, but for the first time I really really like this design. I also tried to do something lighter (again). As always none of the sections are up (will they ever be?). I'll just have to see how it goes from here on out. Site Update: December 12th, 2001 Yikes! Almost had another page revision. Luckily, my laziness kicked in and that idea was quickly eliminated. Well since finals ended Monday, I've just been kicking it here. I had hoped to do something with the page (since Thanksgiving), but you know what... Site Update: December 1st, 2001 Nothing of real interest. Added an update history section to prevent this page from getting too long. Stopped updating (if you can't tell) the game reviews until I can think of a better format. I hope everyone picked up the Ah! My Goddess DVD because it has to be the best release of 2001, it even includes a cool little pencil board (limited). Site Update: November 13, 2001 Dang, time sure flies by... ugh, that means I have to get working on my research paper. No significant changes or updates, quickies are always a W.I.P.. Oh Xp kicks some major booty, check out ClearType. Let's not favorite the highly anticipated release of the Ah! Megamisama movie on DVD on the 27th (barring no delays). Site Update: October 26, 2001 $hitloads of work this weekend, yet I still have time to actually update this page. Removed the gate since it no longer has a function anymore and re-added the DC reviews. I'm really disappointed at how it looks now, so it'll probably be changed sometime soon. You may have also noticed the Anime Quickies section is constantly updated too. Site Update: October 14, 2001 Added a new section called Anime Quickies. Site Update: October 9, 2001 See, look what happens again... another new page layout. Well, at least I have a more reasonable excuse this time. A virus corrupted a lot of my $h!t, so in a haste to reformat, I forgot to back up what little I had. Everything seems to be on track now. I got my new cable modem, gotten used to school now, and my computer's running A'OK after I tossed my Vortex 2 card (too bad Aureal didn't have decent W2K drivers). Site Update: September 19, 2001 Yay! I finally got my cable connection. What sucks is that the cable modem turned out to be used (WTF!?) after I specifically asked if it would be new (I'm buying the modem). So its off to complain/bitch till they get me a new one else I'll buy a new one at a lower price. Now then, I'm pretty much settled in my apartment, minus forgetting a few things here and there, so maybe something will happen here... Site Update: September 4, 2001 Looks like somethings are coming back... if you're wondering, she's Aya from Super GALS! (something I started watching while over in Japan). Site Update: August 31, 2001 If you read the message above, you should know what's going on. If not, go read it now! |