Haiyore! Nyaruko Chan

     One thing that i learn from Japanese Anime is that nothing escaped Japanese from their moefication and even Lovecraftian Horror become the victim. Haikore! Nyaruko Chan or more like My Nyarlathotep can't be this cute is your typical wacky Slapstick Slice of Life with Beta Protagonist. The difference is that the series stars Nyarlathotep as the main heroine lusting for the Male MC with Cthugha as a Yuri girl and Hastur as cute trap boy. While i am not that well versed in Lovecraftian Lore i read abit Call of Cthulhu rulebooks and play Arkham Horror so at very least i know that their depiction in the anime is totally different than the one in the western media. I thought Demonbane was rather silly adaptation of Lovecraftian Horror but Nyaruko-chan is even sillier. Nevertheless the anime is still watchable with the selling point of parodies everywhere as Nyaruko kept referencing stuff from popular japanese culture especially /m/ and toku related stuff. So this is good anime to test your powerlevel. I finished both seasons already and will be glad to watch another continuation since it is quite hilarious series. For Lovecraftian fans out there just watch the anime with open mind and you will enjoy it too though i bet Lovecraft will be rolling in his grave if he saw this.

N-Gage QD Get!

Due to my Nostalgic feelings pents up lately i decided to get my second piece of N-Gage QD myself which is surprisingly easy to find in China considering electronics are overflowing here. Though obviously my current one is Chinese version and after more than a day tweaking finally i managed to get some games running including my favorite Pocket Kingdom. I had my first N-Gage 10 years ago and i still if my original cartridge still works after that long time. I still wish they were N-Gage Emulators since some of the games from N-Gage first Gen are really good and it would be a waste to be forgotten. Anyone knows any familiar games like Pocket Kingdom by the way?

Record of Lodoss War Anime

I have been familiar with Lodoss Senki from the Eiyuu Kishiden manga and watched the OVA halfway in the past. And i used my time on this weekend to marathon the series from the first OVA till the Tv Series but doesn't bother to watch the last 2 OVAs since the anime drawing style is just horrible. The OVA is definitely one of the best animated anime in that time which was a real feat as it was made back in 1990 and it even puts your average present animation to shame not to mention it is one of the best Fantasy JRPG anime out there. As for the TV series, while it is not as good as the OVA it follows the Novel story more faithfully and i am more fan of Spark's story since i guess it shows better portrayal of a boy's journey to find the meaning of a Knight or probably i am just biased since i get into the series through Eiyuu Kishiden. Compared to the manga the Eiyuu Kishiden Anime is slightly different since i recall Ashram didn't even show up the manga but the story ended roughly the same.

Lodoss Senki OVA is probably what makes elves popular in Japan due to Deedlit which definitely leaves a lasting impact and the OVA is quite good hurdle for other JRPG anime whether they are able to surpass the standard or not. I still hope there will be enough popularity for the series to get another anime perhaps reworking of Crystania or covering other parts of the series story like Maiden of Pharis which cover the story of the 6 Heroes. For those who haven't watched the series before, go watch the OVA at very least, it is one of the most beautifully drawn Fantasy anime out there. Which pairing you prefer? Pirotess x Ashram or Deedlit x Parn?

Clannad Anime

7 Years ago this anime is quite a big thing but never gave it a watch since i played the VN already but listening to LIA's song makes me interested to give the anime a watch. So far i watched the first season and since it is anime the format is rather different with branching stories the VN had. In the Anime the story of each character is made to be revolving around Tomoya and the main heroine Nagisa and Kotomi doesn't get her route with Tomoya. Fortunately Kyou and Tomoyo got their own dedicated one episode for their respective routes. Just like the VN Clannad offers heartwarming story of having family but considering the anime is split to two parts the heartwrenching ones are saved on the later one. Since i have completed reading the VN, i feel that i don't lose much if i missed the anime. Just like some VN adaptations i feel that the Clannad anime is meant to complement the VN and i do cracked on laughing from time to time as i watched the anime. While you can get most of the series story from watching the anime, at the end of the day you will need to read the VN in order to get full experience of the series. Since i heard After Story will be tearjerking i wonder i will be able to shed one if the VN barely able to faze me.

Starship Troopers Invasion

 Watched the trailer years ago since recently got somehow interested with Starship Trooper movie again, and thus i give this CGI movie a watch. At first i thought since it is CGI movie it won't be gory enough but turns out it got quite a number of dismemberments moment even though not like the first movie. Anyway you watch this movie for the actions, not for the plot and you will find plenty of dakka for the movie and unlike the previous entries which cover big wars between the human and bugs, the movie is more about skirmish caused by the incidents. The Lead of the movie is Major Varro not Rico but he is very badass, wonder how would he fare if he got that Marauder Armor he would piled up even more bugs. I am satisfied with the actions in the movie and would look forward for another CGI movie for the series. I watched the movie, OVA and now the CGI movie so i guess i will give the Novel a read too.

School Rumble

Watched the anime series back in High School until the 2nd season and never actually finished the series. so i give the Manga a marathon run and as i expected School Rumble offers over-the-top high school slice of life adventure. As a manga it is decent Shonen title even though not outstanding but memorable and it displayed tremendous amount spirit of youth which is necessary for this genre. I find the main strength of the series are the supporting characters as the main characters is not that interesting and mainly served for advancing the especially the main heroine. I find the love triangle of Harima with Eri and Yakumo is not strong enough given that the manga focused as gag title but i am quite satisfied how the romance in the series concluded considering Eri deserved Harima the most as their relationship is the most well developed though for some reason Mikoto is very popular on pixiv. Reading this manga at my current age really makes me miss my High School day and kinda wished my School life was awesome like class 2-C. Anyway give this manga a read if you are looking for brainless shonen gag manga.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Thoughts

It has been like 3 months since MH4U released and thanks to that this already quiet blog got even less post. By this time i think i am ready to share my thoughts about the game. It took almost 2 years after 3U to get this game released and certainly 4U is highly anticipated especially with the online for 3DS.

The game mechanics got even better than 3rd Generation and more vertical terrains to replace the underwater fights. As usual i started with Lance as my main weapon and i have to say Lance is one of the older weapon that got better benefits with the 4th Gen mechanics since you don't need to rely on slopes to do the mounting attacks which is very useful against monsters on flat terrains and Lance is one of the two weapons that can pull this off. As for my opinion for Lancing, i will always stick to Guard Lancing since there is not much point for me to use Evade Lancing after MHFU. I find evade lancing is rather inefficient to stick close to the monsters as long as possible and with Guard+2 not much monsters that will give you trouble since almost none will be able to sap your stamina to zero from blocking their attacks. As for armor sets i always prefer looks over armor skills since i am good enough to compensate lack of armor skill and if you are online and find somebody with Kaiser X or Rajang set named Lancelot, that will be me.

Online experience is always a mixed bag for every game and Monster Hunter doesn't escape this fact, 4U is the first online capable MH on portable platform and it also got fair share of problem hunters. From my experience about the ratio of the noobs are like about 40% which either dies alot or hunt with mismatched set and you will plenty of them on Urgent Quest which is why i soloed mine which is very doable even though the overall difficulty is increased. However you will find that the average quality of the Hunters for Guild Quest will be better.

In terms of difficulty you can say 4U is the hardest one yet as the game offers harder quests and some of the Online Quests are quite brutal too solo and one of the new quests in 4th generation called "Guild Quest" is one of the hardest possible difficulty that the game can offer in level 140 where monsters can pretty much one shot you even with the best armors.

My overall thoughts about MH4U is that the game mechanics is one of the best yet however when it comes to content i can't say the same as they got plenty of problems both old and new. In terms of monsters, the 4th Gen one are not that memorable save for Gore Magala which rather edgy and i find only the older monsters able to redeem the game. Out of all monsters i find Seltas Queen to be the worst one as it is the most obnoxious monster considering all it does is trying to steamroll you which is very annoying for Blademasters. By far 4th Gen maps are the worst varieties, while each gens always been mixed bag, i find that i really hate most of the maps in this game save for Primal Forest due to it is hard to traverse some of them and Volcano is easily the laziest attempt ever.

In 4th Gen the moga forest is replaced by new exploration called expeditions which you gain Caravan points and Guild Quests from beating monsters. The problem is that the map is too linear which is just annoying sometimes when you chase a monster when you need to backtrack previous 2 maps. Lastly my main gripe with 4U is the Apex monsters, while Frenzy is fine, Apex just made the fight really annoying for solo. While it is not much problem when online, the Apex monster is just too much for solo since the item required to make them vulnerable got short time usage duration and the cooldown is bad too and you need the item to revert the monsters back to normal in order to damage them properly. In conclusion i find 4 Ultimate is not the definitive game to conclude the 4th Generation and i find the "4G" part is done rather lazily by capcom since the content is not as good as the MH4 as the G rank Quest is not too creative and rather lacks of lower mid monster varieties which 3U did even better than this. Overall i am still hopeful that Vita could get a 4th Gen MH which would be possible if Nintendo does not wrap the series under its leg  all the time.

LOGH Character Discussion

It is such a great relief for me after i have posted the character quotes of LOGH which had been a side project of mine few while ago. I wished i could have done it sooner i am still pleased that i am able to achieve this goal at last. So this post will be like some afterwords for my LOGH posts which i will discuss my view on the main stars of this series; Reinhard and Yang Wenli.

In a nutshell Legend of Galactic Heroes is about a showcase of struggle between corrupt democracy and ideal autocracy. Nevertheless it wouldn't have worked without the main stars of the series that represent each sides, Yang Wenli and Reinhard Von Lohengramm. In essence the main quality for both characters if interpreted in 4 Platonic Virtues would be Courage and Justice for Reinhard and as for Yang it is Wisdom and Moderation which is kinda polar and that makes them really good rivals.

It was Reinhard's Courage and Sense of Justice that lead him able to overthrow the decadent Goldenbaum dynasty and that was the very quality of him to lead an empire encompassing galaxies known to men and have competent subordinates follow him loyally. However Reinhard's lack of wisdom lead him to make a choice that he regretted for his life (but he is very wise already for a man of his age). As for Yang Wenli it was his Wisdom that leads him wins the unwinnable battle and survive through many perils while it was his moderation that makes him true to himself despite he got many chances to overthrow the incompetent government. However it was his lack of Courage that lead him to hesitate making choices that could have changed his life. But to Yang i guess it doesn't matter because he made all of his decisions that feels works the best for him and i feel he did live a full life.

If i was asked to pick a side, i would have picked Reinhard by slight margin. Not because Yang is not good enough but something that makes Reinhard feels an ideal person to serve with because he walks toward the worthy goal in mental sense. If you can pick a side which one you have picked?

Sakura Taisen 2 First Playthrough Completed!

First Sakura Taisen is a rough diamond but second one is definitely a polished one! Just finished my first playthrough of the game and definitely an enjoyable ride! compared to the first one Sakura Taisen 2 get really big improvement on story department and music and characters are still awesome as always. The game introduce two new romantic interest for Ogami which maybe a bit difficult to approach at first but both are well written characters for sure. As always Sakura Taisen 2 still follows the formula of the first game with dating sim in episodic style with mecha battles. For my first playthrough i picked Sakura as the main girl because she is the main heroine after all.

Gameplay wise apart from the adventure gaming part, the battles in Sakura Taisen 2 got plenty of improvement. The stages in the game are more challenging and the final boss is not as pushover as the first one. Nearing the end of the game you will also get 2nd Combination attack with the girl you are closest to which i thought was the addition on the 3rd game and man Ogami is really swag to be able to kill the enemies just by flirting with the girls. Lastly in the Sakura Taisen 2 you will be able to use tactics which is helpful for flexibilitles on certain situations.

After playing two of the main series, i get to understand why Sakura Taisen was really big thing in Japan back in late 90s and early 20s. To be frank Sakura Taisen is what VN will look like if it got really high production value and in that time i would say it was not an easy feat. Main story is nothing special but the Main Heroines are quite memorable along with some really good songs, i think it was really awesome to be a fan of the series at that time. At the moment i won't be playing Sakura Taisen 3 anytime soon since i aim to get Iris and Orihime ending at least before moving on.

and here is the ending sequence of Sakura, the main heroine which is not as awesome as the last time but still heartwarming

Sakura Taisen 2 Sakura Ending

Arslan Senki (Hiromu Arakawa)

It has been like two years since the new reboot of this series, while at this time it haven't surpassed the first OVA yet, i guess we will see proper continuation of this supposed to be work of LOGH author through FMA creator(shoujo manga doesn't count i guess). At this time the story of the manga is not even halfway of what the previous OVA which i think it will take around 1-2 years with the current rate and last time the OVA ended where Arslan journeyed again after his father restored his power. In terms of artwork, frankly speaking the previous one still looks superior but i guess it is rather hard to defeat Yoshitaka Amano's work. The difference of the new serialization so far is that the manga add new a Lusitanian slave turned knight which supposed to be rival of Arslan. Arslan Senki is about a journey of a Young Prince to become a Great King eventually. In middle eastern language Arslan means Lion(which even used by mongols too) and this series supposed to show how a lion cub grow into a great Lion. At the moment it is too early to say anything about the series but do yourself a favor and go watch the OVA, it is one of those treasures left in 90s.

Sakura Taisen 3rd Playthrough completed!

 Procrastinated quite a while already but I have done enough in Sakura Taisen 1for me to move onto the Second Game. After i got Iris Ending on my first playthrough i did another 2 more and get Sakura's and Sumire's Ending, The two Yamato Nadeshikos of Hanagumi. The main charm of this series is always the girls since the storyline is nothing special and i find the first game's story is rather over the top for my taste.

Hanafuda

Rarely talked about doujinshi but here is another one worth mentioning.The doujin was released in early 2000s but it hasn't aged since the drawing style is really good for its time. Hanafuda is a love story taken place roughly in Heian period between a Shapeshifting Fox girl and a Noble turned Demon Hunter who went on a quest of vengeance against Onis for his dead lover. As the story unfolds, many things are revealed and the plot twists are well placed. Hanafuda theme is about Love and Betrayal which gives a slight glance on the possible decadence of Heian period which bring its era into an end that eventually lead to Samurai imposed rule. The drawing style is very vivid and memorable which is makes it stands apart other doujins. While it is not for kids due to its nature, you should give this gem a read

MG Hyaku Shiki Ver 2

One of the MG kit that i least expected to get 2.0 Treatment since the Ballute version is good enough though i admit original is rather dated indeed. MG Hyaku Shiki 2.0 will be scheduled for May this year release for 6800 Yen price which is even pricier than Zeta 2.0 but i assume the kit comes with better gold plating though it is still better if you paint it yourself. Also the joints articulation are better by now and the face plate will look slightly different this time. Personally i still prefer the Ballute System version since it is good enough and articulation is still very good and it comes with extra parts that you can use with certain MGs. You can check my review for MG Hyaku Shiki here

Tsuyokute New Saga

Another promising JRPG manga that i found when lurking /a/ today and just like most of the genre manga i discussed so far, it is also based from light novel. Tsuyokute or be Stronger is about a Hero who fought against Demon King and defeated him with a great cost losing all his allies and lovers, before he become unconscious he reached out to the magical artifact that the Demon Lord protecting and found himself warped back to the past. With this circumstances which is basically New Game+ the Hero tries to prevent the tragedy to occur again and will he manage to succeed? I find the series to be promising but wonder once the plot device dries out will Tsuyokute be consistent or will it end up to be generic Shonen manga, and i think it really depends on the Author's capability to expand the universe of the series. Love triangle is kinda staple for this genre and i find the elf chick and the hero pairing reminds me of Parn and Deedlit from Lodoss Senki. I still wonder what is the significance of the black feather though i doubt the Hero and the Demon Lord is the same guy but i think Hero could be one in the future just like one from Rance verse.

link for the LN translation

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17taISyRebqOdRhIuclyBT94kKbWrJgN3Fc1WvyOWey0/preview

Bio Meat: Nectar

Probably the only post for this month since i am too distracted with monster hunter over this past 2 weeks. Suprisingly decent apocalyptic manga which features monstrous creature. Marathoned the manga in a day and i would say don't be fooled by the cover. Bio Meat takes place in modern era where human civilization began to face food shortage issue thus bio engineers create artifical creature called Bio-Meat that feed on waste as a sustenance while remain palatable thus providing efficient meat source. However it turns out the Bio-Meat is very dangerous creation of human as it runs amok and feed on human themselves and the story focus on the group of kids who survived through the ordeals that lead to great catastrophe. Pandora Box fits the theme of this manga really well, the disaster happens due to the stupidity of human which could have been easily averted but through the disaster it is the courage of the few that allows them to survive. This is one of the few shonen manga that shows the development character of the youth quite well. For a comparison i would say Bio Meat is somewhere in between Kiseijuu and Drifting Classroom, the threat of Bio meat has escalated further than Kiseijuu but it is not as severe as Drifting classroom where the civilization basically went extinct already. If you like aforementioned title you should give this one a read.