[ figure of interest ] haruka takamori

we've to point it here that one of alter's finest job of recent would be this 1/8 scale pvc haruka takamori from the visual novel / eroge beat blades haruka, a figure that certainly was a masterpiece itself. stunningly gorgeous and a fantastic treat to the eyes of any avid figure collectors out there, this figure has magnificently translated forth haruka's fantastic shape and figure [ dem curve ] in three dimensional language while maintaining the whole design rightfully according to the original artwork and materials.

not to mention her dynamic pose has also helped in elevating the gorgeousness of this 1/8 scale figure of her to the highest level possible.  

and here's an additional bonus for haruka lovers; a nice shot of 1/7 haruka takamori model kit by volks.

[ fig ] teana lanster : mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha strikers

teana fandom rejoice [ !!!1 ] as she will be among the upcoming release line up announced by alter [ along with kos-mos from xenosaga ] for january 2009. damn, this sure is a must have / do want for myself.

shikabane hime : aka : first impression

SHIKABANE HIME : AKA
studio : Feel, Gainax
director : Masahiko Murata
serial run : October 2, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : 13
score : ****

I WISH KAIBUTSU OUJO WAS THIS GOOD. CURSE YOU MADHOUSE D:

shikabane hime : aka strongly reminds me of blood : the last vampire with the only difference was makina is a living corpse [ much like the two prominent bishies in zombie loan ], +both girl seems to be operating on different form of modus operandi. well anyway regardless the gap between the two series there IS a strong blood : the last vampire aftertaste in the featured series :3

from the first 2 episodes it seems like makina is lacking the 'berserk' factor unlike saya who can often be seen making full use of that aspect, plus makina were somewhat portrayed in a much more fragile image compared to saya who would never let damage[s] done to her body stop her rampaging katana from enjoying the bloodfest. another notable detail is that makina [ as well as two other shikabane himes featured in the first two episodes ] seems to be bound to a contractor unlike saya who operates minus a mutual contract [ save for her obligation to help red shield in eliminating them chiropterans ]

while saya being an awesome mid ranged fighter with her custom katana, makina on the other hand is much comfortable in gunning down her opponents wif her dual machine-gun; nice weapon pick ever since lilian / hime [ kaibutsu oujo ] and her infamous chainsaw if i must say :3 whatever- i guess i should stop in comparing makina wif saya and give her a little more respect to the character / way she is :3

ef - a tale of melodies : first impression

EF - A TALE OF MELODIES
studio : SHAFT
director : Shin Onuma
serial run : October 7, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes :
score : ****

thank god i managed to catch up with the second installation to the ef series, and to be frank i have been seriously looking forward to the sequel set ever since i conclude my marathon on the prequel which is awesome by its own standard.

atm i just had 2 episodes of the series and so far i am quite pleased wif how the story went. a tale of melodies unfold in the same exact format seen in its predecessor, two stories for the price of one but yet both were carried in their own respective pace while retaining the independent aspect [ though not as much as the first series ] for each given arc. the highly elaborated graphical detail is still present [ well the series itself is pretty much psychological in context so that very aspect is to be expected ] which gave the series its ever present trademark [ not quite since ofther shaft product also can be seen wif the same visual style / execution, most notably sayonara zetsubou sensei ] visual feel.

to be honest i am not quite delighted with the OP as i am more of a fan to the previous epic euphoric field. the ED on the other hand is much more pleasing to my listening experience :3

...

anyway i'll be saving the rest of my thoughts for the next post to this series. until then just enjoy the show for the time being :3

kemeko deluxe ! : first impression

KEMEKO DELUXE !
studio : Hal Film Maker
director : Tsutomu Mizushima
serial run : October 4, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : ?
score : ***1/2

if there's one thing i would like to spill out here in regard to this series it would be : curse, it's weirdly erotic.

and yeah the series sure is weirdly erotic [ bad grammar ahoy ! ]. weird enough to get me glued to the monitor for the excessive randomness [ one of the many reason i'm in for the series ] as well as truckload of parodies and references to popular [ japanese pop ] culture; the kemeko mech itself is a blatant nod to asuka langley [ correct me if i'm wrong ] from neon genesis evangelion.

the main female lead emuemu [ m.m ] appeared in similar fashion as lala satalin deviluke and the infamous maid-guy kogarashi, constantly annoying the lead protagonist while shielding him from incoming threat and dangers around in the most unthinkable way while the male lead himself remains [ or have chosen to remain ] oblivious to the big fat truth in waiting. quite an extravagant way to introduce the lead cast if i must say, nevertheless being bold sometimes helps in garnering a truckload of interest and attention >///>

words alone could not describe the wacki-ness of the series and thus do go for this one if you're in for kamen no maid guy, to love-ru and bokusatsu tenshi dokuro chan :3

akane-iro ni somaru saka : first impression

AKANE-IRO NI SOMARU SAKA
studio : TNK
director : Keitaro Motonaga
serial run : October 2, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : ?
score : ***

this series surprises me wif its notable big seiyuus barrage, with names such as rie kugimiya, aya hirano, marina inoue, emiri katou and kaori fukuhara all being thrown into the same pot. i dunno if TNK is trying to achieve something grand with the series however frankly speaking i am far from being greatly pleased with how the series went as of current. if i were to sum it up i'll be saying that i'm in for another to love-ru-like ride with akasaka.

upon my watch from the first two episodes [ i just had my third last night ] i can safely assume that this is just going to be another typical visual novel / eroge adaptation i've had so far, perhaps it may not be any different from demonbane and shingetsutan tsukihime in terms of execution. well at least i didn't put it on the same rack as soul link which is deemed as failure by many.

character[s] introduction, though it went fine like many tasted a bit pale from the first two episodes. i was hoping for a much more grand introduction [ refer to toradora !, kannagi and shikabane hime aka ] however they didn't reach anywhere within my expectation, save for the surprise kiss made by the male protagonist to yuuhi. also most of the time the expression seen on the character[s] face[s] were somewhat stiff [ imagine final fantasy : the spirit within ] enough to kill my appetite.

story wise it is still too early for me to elaborate on it, however there's a not so huge chance for me to be sticking wif the series much thanks to the intriguing fiance plotdrive established from the very first episode :3

[ dojin ] kona kaga

KONA KAGA
circle : Eunos Press
derivative work : Lucky Star
release : 2008
volume : 1 of 1
score : *****

much thanks to deady hunny for sharing the dojin. if any of ye were interested in it please proceed to her blog for the download link.

amusing, another great dojin read i had for this year [ and its been a while since i had a good safe one as i am now left wif only the nsfw ones in my inventory, which explains why i haven't put up any more dojin for download as of recent ]. as usual, kagamin x konata spin off really does score a fan in me [ well i am generally in for any good yuri pairings ] and this one here indeed is one of the best read of such i've ever had so far.

basically the dojin is served on the same basis seen in the anime, kinda like a single episode [ the book ] is made from a series of skit[s] mostly focusing on the ongoing relationship between konata and kagamin, exaggerated to a point beyond those seen in the original media [ explicit yuri ]. the story is further divided into few notable events from a regular day at school til konata's birthday, and from there the relationship between the infamous kagamin x konata begins to develop / progress into a much more intricate one as time goes by.

there isn't any graphic [ by graphic i mean stuff that is unsuitable for minors etc ] imagery to mess with the nicely crafted story, which i think is a good move made since the story won't be needing any of those explicitly drawn moments to enhance the yuriness. the art is pretty much well done, not superior yet is lovable like the original work was, and simply put overall the whole book is a good release by a dojin standard.

if you're looking for a safe dojin read made of win then do proceed on this one.

ef - a tale of memories

EF : A TALE OF MEMORIES
studio : SHAFT
director : Shin Onuma
serial run : October 7, 2007 - December 22, 2007
total episodes : 12
score : ****1/2

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER :3

is what i kept telling myself upon marathoning the series as to calm down the regret i had for keeping this one down until as of recently. to be frank i wasn't underestimating the series for i've heard and read of the series' epicness from many [ notably sera-dono ], it's just that i had this priority complex which result in ef being put aside in favor for oven fresh titles of the seasonal block.

it took me quite a while to digest the first episode as shaft can sometimes be too art-y with their visual execution, however as the following episodes kicks in i quickly became immersed in the stories and the characters, especially chihiro. and before i know it the story ends with a smile on my face.

the two main arc simply captivates me the moment i became engaged with them. the storytelling pace is well balanced between the two eventhough the series made frequent shifts between the two arc. i even expected a crossover between chihiro and miya's arc however it never turns out save for the instant messaging conversation between chihiro and her sister kei which connects the two story as one. other than that the two arc is kept apart despite sharing the same exact setting.

i must say that most of the lead characters featured are very much engaging, notably chihiro and miya miya; i was quickly drawn into both character for the tragic past they both shared, which is concealed by cute, adorable personality theirs. kei as well is interesting to follow though not as much as her twin sister was, however i simply love how she turns out at the end especially her willingness to sacrifice the feelings she had for her 'onii-chan' as to preserve the bond they both had prior.

another notable aspect of the series is the music scored by tenmon, especially the magnificent OP euphoric field which also features elisa on vocals for both english / japanese version of the song. the OP is quite a befitting choice for the series opener and believe me, the moment you had a listen to it you might not be able to shrug it off your ears for a while :3

kannagi -crazy shrine maiden- : first impression

KANNAGI -CRAZY SHRINE MAIDEN-
studio : A-1 Pictures
director : Yutaka Yamamoto
serial run : Ocotber 4, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : ?
score : ****

it's been a while since i last heard the nice / cute 'umu !' ever since al azif [ demonbane ] and lavinia [ alice parade ].

upon my first watch of the first two episodes i get the feeling that the series move in an almost similar way as spice and wolf, demonbane and mokke; kannagi plays upon a mischievous god [ spice and wolf ] who on a fated day barges into a young teenager's life, and forced upon him total responsibility on her safety and well being [ demonbane ]. also the supernatural aspect of the show reminds me of another recent watch of mine [ mokke ] as well as the lightly salted theme of life and death reflects those i've seen from shinigami no ballad [ it is more important to treasure life than pursuing / hoping for death even to the others ]. no wonder i easily got hooked into this series as it has almost everything i'm in for.

looking at the story i must say that although the theme may have been used so many times before still there is a fresh scent brewing from it, to make up an analogy for that let's just say that this series particularly mirrors the overly consumed tea flavored with a never before tried aroma / taste. and an exquisite one while we're at it :3 eventhough the story seems light at first glance yet there's a serious aftertaste to it, and gladly speaking i am well enjoying it.

the opening video is remarkably well done, and there is no way for me to skip on that one. we were presented with such a precise choreography befitting of a live idol, and handsomely fluid animation which is as good as those i've seen from j.c. staff and gainax [ to name a few ]. i wasn't quite into the song to be frank as it didn't quite cater to my taste / preference in pop.

character design wise, i really do love what i've seen from the three main lead introduced in the first two episodes, especially nagi who at first reminds me of a gattai between rika furude and horo [ personality wise ]. next i'll be looking forward to zange since i had my eyes on her as well from all those scans i got last few days. +the most interesting / remarkable aspect of nagi, the main female lead is that she's prone to puns as well as being quite an [ extreme, but not as extreme as kafuka fuura ] optimist [ as expected from a god ], and a good con artist as well.

it is still too early for me to elaborate on the series as there's still more episodes to come, also this is only just a 'first impression' post so ima gonna sit and watch until the story comes to a close later on. and seriously just like the past season's spice and wolf, this is a series that i should be paying the highest priority to.

to love-ru -trouble-

TO LOVE-RU -TROUBLE-
studio : Xebec
director : Takao Kato
serial run : April 3, 2008 - September 25, 2008
total episodes : 26
score : ***

another fun-but-sometimes-it-can-be-seriously-boring melodramatic rom com offering from xebec for 2008 after the explicitly seductive kanokon and the psychologically disturbing mnemosyne -mnemosyne no musume tachi-. while kanokon obviously a work of rush and mnemosyne is a good win, to love-ru on the other hand is rather shallow in story and character development, and at certain given times it may get you questioning why on earth were you watching the series on the first place.

to love-ru is basically built on the classic harem premise while sharing a pinch of absurdities seen in love hina. also worth noting of the series is that its attempt in throwing in as much popular moe archetypes as possible into the recipe, from a technologically superior mahou shoujo princess to a righteous tsundere prefect etc, no matter whichever moe archetype you probably had in mind to love-ru may possibly has it in check :3

i first dig into the series via the anime, and halfway through its run i went picking on the manga as well and much to my amazement both medium varies greatly in term of storytelling, as the anime is prone on having exclusive, original [ filler ] episodes [ some of these filler episodes did get themselves based from existing chapters in the manga, only their details and execution hugely differs those of their manga counterpart ] save for a few key episodes such as yami's introduction etc. i wasn't quite sure if i should rejoice on these original episodes since i am somewhat more of a fan to the manga version which seems to be built on a much more solid / firm foundation though i do have to admit that some of these 'filler' episodes weren't so bad after all.

on the other hand it is quite a pity for the series to be having a somewhat plain / shallow progression in some of the characters, most notably my beloved yui kotegawa and mikan whose screentime has been reduced greatly along with yami. too much spotlight were given to saruyama which i think is highly innecessary being that he wasn't one of the major attention to the story in contrast to yui and mikan.

i won't say that i am disappointed with the overall direction [ and execution ] of the anime but still i do think that it could've been done better.

toradora ! : first [ and second ] impression

TORADORA !
studio : J.C. Staff
director : Tatsuyuki Nagai
serial run : October 2, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : ?
score : ***1/2

BADASS RIE IS BADASS

once in a while we get to see some good adaptation from j.c. staff, and from the look of the two episodes we had so far toradora ! may be one of these good series... perhaps, and i am crossing my fingers for it to becoming one, that's if the series manages to not stray as much as zeron did in the past two seasons [ not that i hate zeron, blame the execution / production team for the worst :3 ]

the series provide a good start so far [ as expected from an award winning light novel ] with fluid animation quality [ which j.c. staff is well known of ] +the title card, OPs and EDs vids [ but not the music thank you very much ] scored a nice 8/10 from me for their design exploit. though some fans may disagree with the character design developed by the production team for the series, namely ryuuji and taiga [ i read many were unimpressed with the art as they compare the anime version with two other medium of the series, the original novel and the manga adaptation of it ] still i believe the art is tolerable and weren't as bad as certain series i came across with past and present [ notably ultraviolet : code 044 take by madhouse which has one of the most horrid character art to date ]. the main cast set were introduced in a good fashion as we get to learn a bit on their personality from the get go. overall the two episode is progressing well from my perspective and hopefully it will stay this good until the very end.

the bgm however was a bit uninspiring [ as noted by siden-dono ], still there's room for improvement as there's more episodes to come [ though the fact is the full score has already been completed at this point of time, and if the one we heard from the first 5 episodes is bad then it is likely to be the same for the entire episode run ]

aria -the origination-

ARIA -THE ORIGINATION-
studio : Hal Film Maker
director : Jun'ichi Satou
serial run : January 8, 2008 - March 31, 2008
total episodes : 13
score : *****

i am often at ease whenever i had episodes of aria in watch [ currently am halfway through my -the natural- run ], mostly due to the nature of the series / franchise itself which is built around quite a pleasant foundation.

aria -the origination- continues from the previous three installment of the aria franchise, covering day to day life and experience of akari and her friends as junior / trainee undines on aqua [ terraformed mars built in the image of modern day venice ] as they [ akari, aika and alice ] aims and trained themselves to become well-celebrated primas like how their seniors [ alicia, akira and athena a.k.a. the three water fairies of neo-venetia ] did. though the three of them hails from three different gondola agencies [ akari from the titular aria company, aika from her family owned himemiya while alice from orange planet ] still that doesn't stop them from their friendship as well as practicing together on the waterways.

...

a pity for me to only notice the goodness of the aria franchise during -the origination- run, though i've always been aware of the franchise from the first tv adaptation. however it is never too late for me to enjoy the series, and even now i am still recaping some of the past episodes [ and season[s] ] whenever i had the time to given that aria often helps in creating a relaxing and heartwarming atmosphere after a hard, long day at work. +all 6 heroines were indeed moe / adorable much enough to trigger kyaaa~~~ innershouts from inside of me :3

aria -the origination- splendidly wraps up the aria franchise in a memorable end, creating a pleasant epic though it may not be as grand as drama / action based series [ gurren lagann / code geass r2 peeps ? ] still aria deserved to be praised for being unique in a class of its own. that aside the wonderful character development should also be taken into account as well for that very criteria is one of the many prominent strength and reason for you to indulge into the series as aria provides quite a delightful and engaging ride in chara development if i must say, especially on well loved characters such as akari [ -A- hohe~ ], alice [ oAo ] and aika [ mild tsundere get ].

also for no specific reason, seeing a grown up akari in the epilogue somehow brings tears to my eyes, especially when ai's now an official undine of the aria company, fulfilling her wish on becoming one back when she first met akari in the first season :3 also another tear inducing moment is when alicia receives her farewell tribute from the undines of himemiya and orange planet, oh god i can never forget that scene until today T^T. easily said, the final 2 / 3 episodes of aria -the origination- is guaranteed to touch the deep down inside of your heart.

visual wise aria provides soothing / breathtaking imageries [ one of the winning sunset scene in anime can be seen in aria, which season i forgot :3 ] coupled with exquisite setting based on modern day venice, featuring well known venetian landmarks such as piazza san marco, pontei dei sospiri or the bridge of sighs, st. mark's campanile and st. mark's basilica to name a few. just traversing your way through the franchise alone is enough to inspire you to grab a flight ticket to italy, that's if you were able to afford a ticket wif yer own money that is :3 also a standing ovation / big applause to the background score that streams throughout the series, as well as the two themes [ op and ed ] for helping in elevating the tranquil, serene mood of the series. the music itself is strong enough to warrant repeated play if you happen to own the soundtrack of any of the three season.

shigofumi : letters from the departed ova

SHIGOFUMI : LETTER FROM THE DEPARTED OVA
studio : J.C. Staff
director : Tatsuo Satou
serial run : September 26, 2008
total episodes : 1 [ OVA ]
score : ****

a supplemental episode to the dark, tragic 12 episodes of shigofumi which came along with the final volume of the dvd release in japan, and a must watch for those who had seen the parent series as well as fans of shinigami no ballad :3

the ova took off from where episode 12 of the tv series had left; fumika mikawa is now living a normal life as a student though she has begun to distance herself from the surrounding crowd [ including her only friends kaname and natsuka ] as a way to atone for her tragic past as well as to avoid publicity spotlight raised from it, while in company of mika's associate chiaki who visits her [ with junk food and booze ] at her hotel from time to time with matoma. mika's still in the picture, however and has also been distancing herself from fumika perhaps to give room for fumika to emotionally and psychologically to recover from the last event, though sometimes she does expresses her concern over fumika.

the shigofumi [ letter from the dead ] somewhat made a greater role / topic in the ova, following a girl's attempt to seek justice over her dead brother from his bullies. the girl however tend to go to the extreme and her intention somehow came into fumika's attention who had decided to stop the girl from repeating the same fate and mistake she had back then. with matoma and her 2 friends help, fumika manages to halt the girl from conducting anything stupid while in disguise [ or cosplay as joked by kanaka ] as a mail carrier, though in the end her points were later made clear much thanks to mika's timely intervention. the ova then ends with fumika, now opened up a bit to her surroundings thanks to the new friend she had made.

...

another inspiring episode from shigofumi which elaborates on fumika's personal struggle in overcoming the aftermath of her painful past with her abusive father kirameki. though we were first introduced to fumika as a kind, happy and outgoing girl she was, the final few episodes of the tv series as well as this ova somewhat deconstruct her character from the happy girl she was into a social outcast, giving the fumika we know now a somewhat darker personality in contrast to the sweet, young girl she was before which is quite understandable given the current circumstance she has to live in.

mika somehow made quite a few appearances in the ova since the spotlight were mostly directed to fumika, that however doesn't stop me from following the ova since it doesn't matter which mika is the main feature as long as the story is as good as how its parent series was. besides fumika herself deserves to be given a prominent role after all those events back then +it is interesting to see fumika emotionally / psychologically recuperate by herself without any intervention from mika nor those she's close with as this will also prove on how strong she is in gaining whatever inner strength and courage she had left though i am not that happy with her resolve to distance herself from those around her [ see hedgehog's dilemma ]

though less darker than the tv series, the ova provide a thoughtful watch when compared to current j.c. staff product. and do check this one out if you're fan of shinigami no ballad and jigoku shoujo :3

clannad -after story- : first impression

CLANNAD -AFTER STORY-
studio : Kyoto Animation
director : Tatsuya Ishihara
serial run : October 3, 2008 - ongoing
total episodes : 24

KUDOS TO ANOTHER SEASON OF THE CLANNAD GOODNESS

based from a side story of the same title, clannad -after story- is the continuation to them event which expands from nagisa furukawa's arc in the original game [ as well as the tv adaptation ], and is known for its tragic twist which will spark tears to nagisa x tomoya's fans. also it is interesting to note that the after story [ as well as tomoyo after ] seems to focus more on the 'family' theme in a much more intimate setting while clannad on the other hand elaborates on the topic in a much more general sense.

anyway the first episode indeed is a good start, though it is still too early for me to sum it up yet however looking from how good the first season was i somehow had high hopes for this one to be as good as the three predecessors [ clannad, as well as two other key adaptations done by kyoani; kanon and air ] in term of storytelling and plot execution :3

the first episode kicks off with a small baseball tournament between the two town, with the party's led by none other than the so-called-gar akio furukawa. both tomoya and nagisa went rounding up the members for their uncanny team which includes youhei [ the weakest out of the bunch, lol ] and his sister mei, kyou, kotomi, tomoyo, the dorm warden misae as well as kouko's hubby yusuke with akio himself serving as the de-facto captain of the team. to me, the baseball match is a good season opener to be frank, also a nice way to reintroduce the major heroines [ and characters ] despite total absence of both fuko and tea-chan. [ +it is now safe to assume that sanae's bread[s] has now grown to become the equivalent of akiko-san's infamous overkill jam ]

once again we get to see all those familiar, well loved heroines of ours in their trademark quirks; nagisa with her apologeticness [ nice courage from such a fragile girl ], tomoyo and her brutal kick [ i really miss her combos on youhei ], kyou with her harsh wit [ nice asuka's anta baka ?... also, s'up puhi ? ] as well as kotomi and her genius exploit [ glad that her tottemo, tottemo oishii line made its comeback in the first episode >///< ]. nice kotomi went on performing another magical moment of her in this episode with the somewhat [ wth ] advanced calculation of the incoming ball [ trajectory etc ] +a nice fansabisu [ nice bounce tee-hee-hee ] from her if you get what i mean >///>, while nice tomoyo's trying her hard to execute a girly hit only to awesomely fail with her attempt. there's also the not-so-short instance of yusuke performing a boring-but-hilarious-hosaka-style big speech whenever he made a nice strike though at first he got kicked out from his base [ while on the second he went for a time out just to perform the same speech :3 ]. not forget to mention a miracle happened by the end of the match in which tomoya, despite the current condition of his shoulder managed to score a hit in his final try.

another interesting point to note is that there's also few instances of the future to come [ mild spoiler ] which can be seen from the OP, as i noticed adult fuko with ushio, a motherly nagisa as well as the future-kindergarten-sensei kyou while nurse-ryou is nowhere to be seen.

the top notch animation quality is still intact within this sequel, as well as the serenading bgm which were borrowed entirely from its parent series. both the OP and ED were as catchy as the previous ones though i do prefer dango daikazoku more for the ED >///>. all in all i can somehow foresee that if kyoani keeps on all the good work they've did with the previous 3 key adaptations then i bet this one sure is gonna be one helluva masterpiece as well, or maybe it could even rival those epicness of air :3

lucky star troopers omega

LUCKY STAR TROOPERS OMEGA
circle : Gatling Cat
genre : arcade / fighting
score : ***1/2

lucky star troopers omega is the sequel to lucky star troopers produced by the gatling cat circle [ also looking from the title screen the game may also be distributed by enterbrain ! which brings you kimikiss ]. i read from the d/l sauce that the game didn't differ much from its predecessor in term of gameplay however the omega release somewhat features a cast of new characters and level.

the game is a hack and slash fighting game with arcade style system and cute / nice 2d sprites based on lucky star wif cameos from full metal panic ! and vocaloid. though it's a typical arcade style fighting game still the game itself is pretty much engaging and interesting, for i myself have been playing the game for countless time til this very moment ever since i first got it from the internets.

the game features 9 playable characters as well as 2 unlockable ones :

01. konata izumi [ weapon : cloud strife's infamous buster sword ]
02. kagami hiiragi [ weapon : rin tohsaka's jeweled sword zelretch, or not :3 ]
03. tsukasa hiiragi [ weapon : keroro lol wut ]
04. miyuki takara [ weapon : gogo yubari-style spiked metal ball... nasty weapon ]
05. yutaka kobayakawa [ unlockable ]
06. minami iwasaki [ weapon : twin dagger ]
07. bonta-kun [ weapon : machine gun + broad sword, a pretty tough adversary in arcade mode ]
08. minoru shiraishi [ weapon : bare fists, quite an annoying villain he is ]
09. akira kogami [ weapon : random dangerous objects ]
10. miku hatsune [ weapon : her trademark leek :3 ]
11. ??? [ unlockable ]

a pity they didn't feature either anime tenchou, awesome-kun nor patricia martin... however i must say that i am well satisfied with the playable characters featured in this game. among the available chara, my personal pick surely be kagamin, for she's quite a good ranged fighter together with konata. miku's special is also nice for some good damage while minoru comes equipped wif nice fists though tsukasa's keroro combo and akira's random throw combo were both pretty tough attacks especially if ye didn't get to escape nor block from within their attack proximity. i haven't tried miyuki, minami and bonta-kun yet for i am so not interested in them :3

i lost count on how many level there is since i often got pwned by miku boss [ a few times already ] somewhere after level 7-8 i guess. though tsukasa is a good back up [ i got paired wif her at the final 2 level when playing as kagamin ] still she wasn't quite that much of a help as she often got overwhelmed by the many shiraishis. the game also offers 4 different difficulties for ye peeps to try on, as well as two different mode is available for play [ arcade mode + vs mode ]

there's also several items kept within a chest on the battleground which either replenish [ choco cornet, daifuku (?), blue potion ] or suddenly depletes your health [ poo ] and power bar. while beating the crap outta your enemies you may also want to check on these items by beating up the chest during combat.

the default control was a bit annoying especially since the block command is a bit off from my reach, however when i reconfig my keys the game then felt much more better. them combos is pretty easy to execute as well as the 'destroy' move but not them specials. you can easily score an awesome chain of combos in the game esp. when you're in the mad rush [ destroy ] mode which renders you temporarily invulnerable to damage as well as specials [ if i am not mistaken as i often survive akira's random throw special while in 'destroy' mode ].