suzumiya haruhi no yuutsu 2 : first impression

THE GREAT GOD HAS RETURN.

they've made us wait long enough, and when it comes, it comes unannounced [ so i read ]. anyway the second season is here to stay and let us savor more of the wild randomness of suzumiya haruhi and her merry party has to offer. +perhaps this could also be the first time for them kyoani to be airing two different series at a time [ as far as i could remember that is, and do correct me if i'm wrong ] and i greatly hope that this won't tamper much on the quality and consistency of the two show [ for those who didn't get it the other show is k-on ! ] aired at the moment [ though as of current i am mildly disappointed with k-on ! following the sixth and eighth episode ].

since i don't have much time to spare for today due to pressing matter[s] irl then lemme just be brief wif this first impression post of mine. mmkay i took a number of watch over the first [ or should i write, eighth ? ] episode and the first thing i get to notice among the many other improvement[s] of the new season is that the character design as well as the overall visual execution were both twofold better compared to the previous season, from my point of view that is. if the design for the first deserved to be rewarded wif a thumb up then the one featured in the second season worth about two thumbs up especially on the facial detail / feature of them charas which is now explicitly refined.

story wise the second season kicks off in a heavy yet deeply intriguing sci-fi taste. first we were given a brief taste of the usual randomness in the form of the tanabata-get with the dan-members putting on their [ cliched ] wishes upon the bamboo thingy [ save for haruhi's wish for the world to spin on the opposite way ] as well as haruhi giving a short lecture on the theory of relativity and its relation to the wish-granting process of them gods. a few thoughts exchange between koizumi and kyon [ in regard to the godly-haruhi thingy ] as well as a bowl of moe moe mikuru get later we were then thrown into a time-paradoxical drama between 'john smith', adult mikuru and a bratty young haruhi of the three years in the past.

there's also the staple 'difficult-but-fun' details wif much more elaborate explanation thrown in for them; the most interesting of all being the concept of freezing and unfreezing a certain location within a sector of space and time so that its occupant could stay well-preserved in their original condition for a given period of time [ godly yuki is godly, and she is such a greatly convenient ally in hand ]. well i can very much see that this is going to be another great [ though it is still too early for me to say so ] season if the production team managed to stick wif the vibe and the consistency seen and felt from the first series prior.

+seems like there won't be anymore dancing for the ED. oh hey that won't inflict much hurt to me :3

p/s 1 : i got stuck on my spice and wolf 2 ova post that i decided to leave it aside for the time being. also there's also the delayed posts on clannad -after story-, toradora !, to aru etc all pending to be completed before the month of june. sigh-

p/s 2 : i wonder if there'll be knife-tan in the second season. haven't read the novel yet since i couldn't read japanese.

[ dojin ] cross 4

[ click here to download ]

CROSS 4
circle : Type-G
derivative work : Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Strikers
release : 2007
volumes : 1
score : ****

mmkay this is seriously one helluva strikers dojin i ever had in collection, and were among the many faved ones in my collection which i often gave out repeated read upon my leisure tiem.

this magnificient [ :3 ] dojin features a foursome [ 3 girls x 1 boy ] between the junior forwards; well if you ever had a watch of the series you should've known by now how darn lucky that erio b-tard was in this dojin dammit i r so greatly envious that he even get to screw my beloved waifu teana D:

hokay me rant aside the story is all about the word 'teamwork'; like few other strikers dojin featuring the four subaru would often suggest the team to think of a way to strengthen their teamwork only for either caro or erio [ or both ] to recommend a 'special training' taught to them by none other than feito mama herself lol. as often teana is the most 'innocent' one of the fold until she get to discover in heavy surprise that the said training was actually a foursome orgy >///>

the art is of magnificent quality and i wouldn't be asking for anymore greater than those i've seen from the book; furthermore the character design is overwhelmingly splendid / great and to be honest i fancy the one in the dojin a bit more than those featured in the original work :3

the story is slightly typical as many other h-dojin but still it is in hold over some interesting points and values; among the greatest highlight of this dojin being the tsundere-get from teana as well as the high level of moeness accumulated throughout teana's reactions over the pages. there's also the awesome yuri-get from both her and subaru which deserve to be given a double thumbs up from the yuri-mania in me >///>

[ dojin ] lazy lazy

[ click here to download ]

LAZY LAZY
circle : Sukapon-Do
derivative work : K-On !
release : 2009
volumes : 1
score : ****

time for a nice treat for all them mio legionnaires out there, and among those which have been translated so far lazy lazy is unmistakenly one of the best k-on ! dojin aside from mio dukushi. seriously folks all ye k-on ! fans should consider on adding this one up into yer prized collection :)

based on the material from the manga, the story premise is quite simple, having mio to doze off and dreaming of something which is surprisingly erotic for a shy and psychologically reserved moebomb as her, +she even had a boyfriend in a dream which is another unlikely turn of event [ well of course she should have one since this is a straight dojin rite ? :3 ]. this dojin also made full emphasize on her shy and reserved character by throwing in lots and lots of panels wif her expressing her high / extreme embarassment over her erotic action >///>

as for bonus there's three 4komas thrown by the end of the main story, all three of them were based on days after their debut performance at the school festival... mostly concerning on mio's pantyflash which has been taped by the sadistic sawa-chan into dvds [ she even sold / gave them out to the rest of the party ].

overall i find the art to be quite pleasing / nice and sweet and that includes the circle's character design for the dojin [ especially in the 4komas, cute and adorable enough to my liking ]. +the panelling and page layout as well posed no real threat nor danger of misleading you out of the entire action so you won't find any hard time in enjoying this nice k-on ! dojin get.

[ cosplay ] ibara : taiga aisaka

layer : Ibara
character : Taiga Aisaka
series : Toradora !
score : ****1/2

another magnificent cosplay from ibara to date, and this time she've done a splendid take over taiga aisaka down to every inches much like the way she did with her nagi sanzenin-get. armed with the [ almost ] right facial expression and a pair of nicely well crafted costume, this is among her best cosplay for the year of 2009, and perhaps is the best of all toradora ! cosplay featured throughout this year so far, and i've surely made no mistake in listing her up as my number one fave of my fave cosplayer list. her taiga-get is so flawless that it is completely difficult for me to nail down any part which i find to be rather out of place compared to her previous ami kawashima-get.

once again, all hail ibara v.v

[ all images property of mpzero ]

[ cosplay ] arisa mizuhara : al azif

layer : Arisa Mizuhara
character : Al Azif
series : Demonbane
score : *****

it is not so often that i get to scavenge good al azif cosplay from the net; there's some befitting layers out there who fits in the chara nice and well but their costumes were often so lacking in many ways, and there's also some who've done the best of her [ al azif ] costume but didn't get to score much with the likeness factor [ ever saw a supersize al azif cosplay ? please don't make me post some here :3 ]. arisa's take on the character however is nearly perfect in every way possible, from her looks [ score 1 for the loliness and score another 1 for the near likeness ] down to the costume and the accessory details she had for her epic azif-get.

[ fig ] zange-chan : kannagi -crazy shrine maidens-

this is a bit old but still i'd love to have it posted here, what else can be more exciting than a gsc take on my dear waifu zange ? and this time she is sculpted in her nun costume which is tenfold hotter than the bunny suit she had before [ yea yea the bunny suit is hot but i prefer her nun outfit much better ]

this zange-chan is a very well done piece as with another recent gsc release, the real yoko one. my attention, however is fully directed to zange since i am such a big fan of her. but still however, i must admit that her nose sculpt is somewhat less appealing and may result in her facial detail to look a bit funny [ funny as in 'a bit weird' ] from the front.

[ album ] kanon wakeshima : shinshoku dolce

KANON WAKESHIMA
Shinshoku Dolce
Neoclassical / Baroque Fusion
Defstar
****

I CAN OBVIOUSLY SMELL THE GREAT MANA :3

hmm, how should i put this. eventhough shinshoku dolce is sung and billed under kanon wakeshima still if i were to mute her voice and only let the music speak through on their own i will surely be mistaking this album for a new release by them malice mizer, if they were ever to recover from their 'indefinite hiatus' that is. +if you're srs'ly in love wif them malice mizer then you might wanna grab this album into yer prized collection :3

shinshoku dolce puts forth a multitude of concept and musical reference to the style heard from the legendary j-goth godfathers malice mizer [ all hail mana ], particularly to their voyage ~sans retour~ era as well as hints and spices from their merveilles and gardenia period respectively. due to this there is very little originality to be expected from the album since it sounded no more different than a typical malice mizer release but since there isn't much of such interesting musical approach as this within the current mainstream market then i believe i can tolerate much on the little originality factor for the time being. well it's not like kanon is blatantly ripping off malice mizer since mana himself is the producer for this album of hers.

although kanon's vocals aren't that much remarkable [ they did, however boast noticable sex appeal which may turn some peeps on :3 ] yet she had shown and proven herself to be quite an interesting act to be taken note of, especially in her recurring cello lines [ listen to those lovely ones in shinku no fatalism ] and the way she plays around with her voice [ skip turn step had among her best vocal play in the album ], among the details of her music that i have been paying much attention to. +i also came to fancy much over the highly classical mood of the album which felt as if i were thrown into an elegant ball filled wif nobles dressed up in flamboyant costumes like those seen in them vampire movies, and just like her previous two singles [ still doll / suna no oshiro ] kanon's music still is somewhat dark with strings of warm and haunting ambience providing much of the familiar nocturnal and vampiric atmosphere to her delicious music.

it's a good thing that she is yet to fail the expectation i had over her music despite the close resemblance she had with her mentor mana.


TRACKLIST :
01. Sweet Ticket*
02. Shinku no Fatalism*
03. Kagami*
04. Still Doll ( Album Version )*
05. Maboroshi*
06. Ennui Kibun !
07. Suna no Oshiro*
08. Monochrome Frame
09. L'Espoir -Mahou no Akai Ito-*
10. Kuroi Torikago
11. Skip Turn Step*
12. Shiroi Kokoro*
13. Sweet Dreams*

[ * +ophanium's pick ]

k-on ! : the brief mugi post

author's note : episode 06 is a blast :9, but why a pv ? i wanna see them live moar D|

for those who might be [ slightly ] pondering over which [ k-on ! ] faction i'm wif atm; honestly i admit that i myself am [ greatly ] drawn to mio like the many of ye did due to the excessive moe get but since i have been pre-programmed to love and appreciate alicia [ florence of aria ] kinda chara above anything else then i must say i'm all in for the lovely eyebrows-hime mugi >///>. +not to mention i greatly favor them girls who had a knack for yuriness >///> *hides self in teapot*

what i like the most about mugi is her 'maa maa maa maa maa maa' line. like alicia of the aria fame, mugi had the radiance of an elegant princess [ among the many aspect which i came to fancy from this type of chara ] alongside a motherly / sisterly aura like those of the great haruka of minami-ke. as of the sixth episode it seems that mugi is the most mature and level-headed of the party including their club advisor sawa-chan [ who turns out to be pretty sadistic despite her outer appearance ]

despite her being raised and nurtured in a wealthy family and environment mugi seems to be rather fond of enjoying her life in the normal way experienced by those around her and is not shy of submitting herself into the lifestyle of those of the lower social standing, +wonderful enough is that mugi is very much down to earth for her [ chara ] class thus breaking off the typical stuck-up / over-spoilt ojousama image often stamped to her type of chara [ her kind is even rare irl, though there are some among those i came to befriend ] within the realm of fiction [ though she wasn't the first and only to be depicted so ].

it is quite surprising to learn in episode 05 that mugi had an interest in intimate relationship between girls [ though we may suspect this as early as episode 01 ], and were even open in addressing / expressing her view over such matter to her friends in the light music club [ enough to dumbfound both ritsu and mio ]. for a brief instance i was recalled to the great miya-sama of the kannazuki no miko fame, and similarly they both share an almost parallel personality among them save for miya-same having tenfold of the elegant hime-aura in her chara [ and zero of mugi's airheadness ].

so if i had to choose one out of the four to be my date i'll be more than happy to have a mugi, besides i get to snack on as much sweets as i want as long as i'm wif her uhmu- :9

[ p/s : sorry to disappoint those who might've thought that i am just like the many other 'moetards' -no offence intended- out there who'll be rooting over mio and mio alone ]

[ fig ] signum : mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha strikers

recently max factory has announced the release of their take on knight signum, the chivalric de-facto leader of wolkenritter who first debuted in mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha a's alongside her young master hayate yagami.

armed with grim facial expression and her ever moerotic body, this latest figma series will also be featuring several variation of her trademark weapon laevatinn based on the many modes featured throughout the run of the a's and strikers series respectively, with the most remarkable thus far to me is the bow and the flaming blade get. a must grab for all signum lovers out there indeed [ that includes myself ].

[ cosplay ] another ibara : yuna

layer : Ibara
character : Yuna
series : Final Fantasy X
score : *****

well what can i say, she's very yuna :D

after years and years of lurking finally i now came to find one yuna cosplay which i am thoroughly / greatly satisfied with, though once we were gifted with some of the well done yuna set by ina shibata but still ibara's take on the chara is ten fold awesome, and perhaps it is much proper if i were to say that this is her most ultimate masterpiece to date.

overall she pretty much nailed the character exactly from the hair down to each and every inch of the details present over her costume. her facial built itself is almost a near reminiscent of the said chara and with minor make up applied [ unlike zero inch and some other[s] who can be quite over-touched :3 ] she managed to bring out the sweet, innocent and naivety charm out of yuna. even without the staple prop she still looks almost twice the good from any other yuna cosplays i came to see thus far.

[ cosplay ] ryuuna : tomoyo sakagami

layer : Ryuuna
character : Tomoyo Sakagami
series : Clannad
score : ****

i really love this nice tomoyo get by ryuuna yet still i think that ponko's set stand supreme.

this one is absolutely right above the average according to my 'preference standard', but still isn't yet epic like her other cosplay[s] were [ namely her rosario + vampire one which is double the thumbs up :3 ]... however it is indeed good by its own right, and if were to be compared wif many other tomoyo cosplay[s] you can get from the net [ save for ponko's ] i can safely assume that she stands above most of the rest.

her overall execution for her tomoyo-get is worth praising for, besides she surely got the looks for a tomoyo and no matter how much you look at it she did closely resemble the original 2D one afufun-

[ all images property of mpzero ]

blood+

BLOOD+
studio : Production I.G.
director : Junichi Fujisaku
serial run : October 8, 2005 - September 23, 2006
total episodes : 50
score : *****

good story, good plot, good characters, good music, good execution and a befitting sequel to the magnificent movie blood : the last vampire. blood+ is one of the 10 most celebrated series in my list, and i am very much inspired to revisit and write down my brief thoughts / overview on this magnificent series thanks to my recent watch on shikabane hime : aka by feel / gainax, a fall series which resonates in almost parallel direction to the mentioned series [ blood+ ] and the movie it were inspired from. frankly speaking, i can certainly see slight references to saya's character in makina but i won't be seeing makina's in saya.

blood+ is remarkable in almost every aspect, plot / story and production / execution-wise, and it won't take long for those who were about to give it a try to become a fan. once i had a number of friends who underestimated this series yet when i lent them a copy of the first 12 episodes they came kneeling [ not really ] for more. the impact they had from the first episode [ berserk saya ftw- ] itself is more than enough to drive them into a mad blood+ marathon.

the entire cast of characters certainly is made of definite win, from the ever-psychologically-growing saya [ and her tragically disturbing twin sister diva ] to the tragic band of castaway experimental subjects [ the schiffs ], blood+ will forever be remembered by its fan for the awesome strength it had in character development[s]. the psychological / emotional drama that took place among its characters were the main driving force behind the series' success, and nevertheless were highly engaging on par wif the adrenaline packed action featured throughout the entire 50 episode run.

much praise must be given to the musical score composer mark mancina for the majestically epic musical score he had made for the series which summoned forth a lavishly beautiful, dramatic atmosphere to accompany the highly elaborated plot and story. even the music alone is worthy of repeated play by itself as much as the story it is created for, and with the addition of such well crafted masterpiece, had only further strengthen the overall presentation point of this one hell of a series to ever be produced in the 00's.