hontou ni Stripey Insists Sisters Cry Oniichan Now

25Mar/093

M19+20

Had been waiting for the Kara no Kyoukai OSTs to appear on Amazon.jp for ages. I might as well have been waiting for Godot. Only recently slowpoke.jpg realized, via canta per me, that the OSTs were only available with the DVDs.

I've bought Limited Edition DVDs before but this is the first time that I wanted the extra more than the DVD itself (my favourite so far is Paradox Spiral); I really enjoy the above-mentioned (post title) track so much - it's the BGM for the kick-off for the Shiki vs Fujino battle on the bridge and it's been replaying endlessly on my Winamp.

1Jan/091

HNSO 2008 Expenditure

I've read Stripey and Adun's 2008 expenditure reports with great interest and have to say from the outset that I can hardly compare. Total spending was about SGD 1,250 and represented a significant fall from 2007's total of SGD 3,800.

DVDs took up about SGD 650, or almost half of total spending. The bulk of this came from RightStuf purchases of Slayers Seasons 1-3, Martian Successor Nadesico, Evangelion Platinum Collection, Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Black Heaven and MariMite Season 1 (R1) box sets. I think I've been spoiled by RightStuf's customer service so my purchase of the Evangelion 1.01 LE will be my first and last ever purchase from Play Asia. I did receive my LE DVD in the end but only after a delay of over two months and very poor communication from Play Asia. Currently, I see 122 results on Google for "Play Asia sucks" - here's result 123. About 15% of this expenditure went to buying bootleg DVDs such as the R3 Gunbuster and Diebuster DVD set and really legit-looking Malaysian fakes of Genshiken 1+2 (but not inclusive of either the Kujiun or interim OVA trios). I bought legitimate R1 DVDs of anime series after downloading them via BitTorrent because I enjoyed them so much and wanted something that was better quality. Conversely I ended up downloading anime series after buying the pirated DVDs because I enjoyed them so much and wanted something that was better quality. But I didn't feel the urge to buy legitimate R1 DVDs because I had already spent money on them...

Filed under: loot Continue reading
20Jun/084

Martian Successor Nadesico DVD 3: Unnatural Disasters

EP-10: The Dangers of 'Femininity' A new type Chulip lands on a tropical island which means beach episode! Battle with the Jovians jiro-bug and harem battle ensues with the blonde mistress of the island.

LOL at 'my misfortune is that I have only known happiness'. 'I have always wanted to be a tragic heroine' FTW. And the swimsuit fanservice wasn't very fanservicey - by today's standards or even compared to back then in the ancient times? Or have I just been spoiled by memories of SHUFFLE?

19Jun/081

Martian Successor Nadesico DVD 2: Red Planet

EP-06: Sort of Like a 'Fateful Decision' Arriving in Mars, Nergal's priorities become clear - never mind the colonists, check out the research facilities first! Akito independently encounters survivors and a mysterious scientist, the Ritsuko-like Inez. Surprised by a Jovian attack, Yurika sacrifices the survivors to save her ship and crew.

So the powerful Nadesico's limitations in the atmosphere (phase engine needs vacuum of space to provide all the energy for continuous gravity blasts) and the enemy's own distortion field has evened the odds. Plus the whole start-stop-delay thing. Well, they had to nerf the ship somehow to set things up for the next episode.

15Jun/086

Martian Successor Nadesico DVD 1: Love! War! Giant Robots!

EP-01: To Go 'Like A Man' The Jovian Lizards brush aside the United Earth Armed Forces and invade Mars de arimasu. Amidst the carnage, male lead Akito is mysteriously beamed to Earth. He joins the oddball crew of the non-military Nadesico, captained by his childhood friend, Yurika. His job description as a cook also includes being a mecha pilot and he unwillingly saves the day.

My mind boggles every time I remember that Yurika was Houko Kuwashima's debut role; I most admire her quietly intense performance as Kirika in Noir and tremendously enjoyed a similar feel from the way she voiced Clare in Claymore. But, of course, she's very diverse, also having voiced the tremendously popular Kasumi from the DOA franchise.