chibiforte

Been playin' a little o' Mario Kart Wii.  I'm doing pretty well, actually.  I've raced a few online matches against Ted and beat him a few times.  I'm actually getting fairly adept at playing with the Wii Wheel.  I'm still better with the Gamecube controller, but the Wheel helps make it feel more real, if you can call kart racing while throwing shells and dropping banana peels "real". :P

I received my Myself; Yourself OP CD Single, yesterday.  Along with the anime's opening theme, it also had the opening theme for the visual novel.  Both are actually really engaging songs, and I'm glad I made the purchase.  I still haven't received my H20 ~footprints in the sand~ OP CD single, but I expect to get it tomorrow.

I'm also thinking of purchasing the 2006 "LEGEND OF DRAGONWORLD" CD set, which contains a lot of songs from the Dragonball anime.  It seems to have a lot of songs, and when I was listening to the Daizenshuu EX Podcast, the hosts agreed that it was the CD set that you want to get if you're just looking for the main movie themes, OP and ED themes, insert songs, image songs, etc.

Speaking of Dragonball, I actually just finished reading the series last night.  42 volumes worth, as a matter of fact.  It was nice to just get through the entire series in a non-stressful, easy go.  Reading it was the best choice, since it would be extremely expensive to get all the DVDs right now.  I easily breezed through dozens of episodes worth of material in only a few hours each night.  Now, I have the entire series fresh in my mind, and that's nice to have.

Still don't have the pictures of little Matthew.  I'm hoping they'll send them sometime tonight.  I actually talked to my brother on the phone today, and he held the phone up to the baby while he was making noise.  It was so cute! <3

 I'm going to be talking about media items I've partaken in within the last few weeks, which means I'm be giving little mini-reviews on them.

Premiere - Enjin Sentai Go-onger
The premiere of the new Sentai season!  And, like many were guessing, it's, more or less, a parody season.  And I actually liked it, even if I did watch it RAW.  It was fairly simple to understand, and I enjoyed the Henshin sequence and fights.  It seemed to be a bit over-acted, but I can only guess that it's part of the whole parody motiff.  From what I can guess of the story, it's mostly some kind of fight against pollution-making monsters, which just screams Gaoranger to me, but whatever, it's not a big deal.  I just hope somebody subs the episode, soon...

Premiere - Kamen Rider Kiva
It's a new Kamen Rider.  What else do you need to know?  It's got vampires, action, organizations, a rival dedicated to bringing down Kiva, all that fun stuff.  I'm up to episode #4 right now, and I'm really enjoying it.  I like having Tomokazu Sugita in the role of Kivat, and I really enjoy the actor who plays Wataru's father, Otoya.  He's just such a funny character, I found myself laughing out loud most of the times he made an appearance.  And having the young-looking and innocent Wataru as Kiva was just an interesting choice, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this show goes.

Premiere - Powers Rangers Jungle Fury
Yeah, baby!  Another new season of Power Rangers!  And wouldn't you know it... I fell in love just by watching the first two episodes.  This show has got it goin' on.  While it is, more or less, a translation of it's Sentai counterpart, it just seems to work, for some reason.  I'm not diggin' the sunglasses as morphers, but I'm sure it'll pass (I don't know why they changed from the wrist morphers, but whatever).  I'm really impressed by how they kept in so many Japanese and Chinese names for various aspects of the series, instead of localizing them as simply "Jungle Weapon ______" (which they did do for some things, but they were necessary changes)
I like the rangers, especially the Blue Ranger, Theo, since it seemed that they wanted to translate the character of Retsu in a way that worked in America, and it does work.  The supporting characters are actually interesting, including Fran and R.J. and Master Mao, and the villians are good counterparts of the originals.  I even enjoy listening to the theme song, which is a first in a long while.  Can't wait to see what they do with the Kensei, Violet Ranger, Chopper, and some various other things.
One more thing, though: I'm actually really confused as to why they kept in a few certain parts that happened in the original.  I'm talking about things like the FLOODING of a MAJOR CITY, in particular, which is strange considering how recent the New Orleans Hurricane has been.  Usually Disney wouldn't touch something like that with a ten-foot pole, but they seemed to not have a problem using it this year.  I'm also speaking of how the giant monster DESTROYED the TOP of a SKYSCRAPER, which just shocked me to no end.  I mean, they stopped using exploding building footage ever since 9/11, but now they actually have a monster committing the act intentionally?  Woah... that's all I have to say.  Quite impressive, Disney.  Now, let us use the word "kill" instead of "destroy" and you'll get your teenage audience.

General Thoughts - Rosario + Vampire
I'm a bit disappointed on how this anime is proceeding.  I was so interested in this show before it aired that I went and read what was released of the manga just so I knew how this whole plotline would go.  And yet, they're not only diverging from the manga on what I consider important points, but they just throw faaaaar too much fanservice in the mix, as well as rushing through manga chapters to the point that you lose any emotional connection to the characters.  I'm disappointed at that.  They should've chose an animation studio that would NOT turn it into a typical fanservice show and give it to one that would actually take the story that was given to them and make something out of it.

General Thoughts - H20 ~footprints in the sand~
This show has impressed me soooo much within the last few weeks.  Not many people were expecting anything from this show, but I don't know where all this dislike comes from.  This show can pack so much drama and humor into the episodes that I'm amazed it's not one of the top shows this season.  And even though it's supposed to be a short series, I don't feel that it's being rushed at all, and it's proceeding at a pace that's not too fast or slow.  I know for a fact that I'll be buying these DVDs when/if they are licensed here in America, I find it that enjoyable.

General Thoughts - true tears
This is another show that I'm impressed with.  At the beginning, I thought it was somewhat boring and not too interesting, but these last few episodes have really piqued my interest, to the point where I don't find it the least bit boring, anymore.  I love how they always end the episodes with SOME kind of cliffhanger, and while some may see it as a cheap trick to get more watchers, it just grabs my interest all the more.  Since this series is actually licensed, I'm definitely going to pick up the DVDs, as I'm curious as to which voices they'll choose for the dub.

And... that's all I have.

 I can't believe I never mentioned that I got my hair cut.  I was really starting to look shaggy, so I had it cut.  It's the first haircut I've had since the end of July, actually, so it was fairly long, at least according to male standards.  I was starting to adopt the Solid Snake look. xD

It seems up-in-the-air as to whether we're going to Las Vegas, this weekend.  We were thinking of heading over there to see our little niece, but Dad has to be back by Monday in order to go to work, and going down there for only one night seems a bit wasteful.  Not to mention the fact that Las Vegas is nothing more than a teeming pit of debauchery and greed, but that's another post, altogether.

I'm really enjoying watching H20 ~Footprints in the Sand~.  I find it interesting that they used the Footprints in the Sand poem (or at least, the first part of it, without giving away the ending) at the beginning of the first episode.  I'm not too sure of all the theological implications of the poem, but it doesn't seem to be heretical, as far as I can tell.  I'm sure they will actually give the ending to the poem at the end of the final episode, where the poet states that "at the times when there is only a single set of footprints, that's when God is carrying you".  It's definitely something you don't expect to see in an anime these days, even if the anime itself has enough fanservice moments to kinda nag at me.  I'm sure it was just a stylistic choice of the makers of the original game that the anime is based on to design the scenarios and title around that poem, and I'm fairly certain there's no deeper meaning than that (but then again, I very well could be wrong).

I'm totally loving Digimon Adventure, again.  It's just such an engaging show for me, even if it is designed for children.  I just finished the first arc, surrounding around Devimon and the Black Gears, as well as Angemon's evolution.  I read that they originally planned to end the show after Angemon killed Devimon, which could've totally worked, but they kept going because the show got popular.  But they managed to make a good, interesting show out of the 51 episodes they made, so I'm happy they continued.

I think I'll wait to try and play Clannad after they release the Full Voice Version in February.  I heard that the patch is being postponed until that version comes out, and since it's nigh impossible to find the original version anywhere on the internet (to download or purchase), it's better to wait.  It'll be a good thing to have when I start college, since I won't be able to buy many games during that time (which is why Smash Bros. Brawl will be played to death).

I might be getting all of those library books I ordered, tomorrow.  I believe I ordered them last Thursday, so they have had plenty of time to get here, therefore, I conclude that they will be here tomorrow.  I'm really looking forward to waking up in the wee hours of the morning, sitting on the couch with some coffee or hot chocolate, and just reading and studying away.  I ordered big books, too.  There are a few about science, some about history, others about politics, but mostly ones about theology and apologetics.  I'm so ready to tackle those subjects, because, as Michael Ramsden alluded to from his Biblical studies, we have to be ready to give a coherent answer when asked, but the answer must be given with grace and patience.  I believe I can give answers, but I must work on the grace and patience with which I give them, since C.S. Lewis stated that apologetics are like a violent weapon in the hands of the youth (if I recall correctly; I believe the wording is different, but that's all I could remember).

 Just thought I'd post up the names of anime titles I'm going to watch this Winter.

+Ayakashi
It's a visual novel-based show, but it doesn't really look all that... good?  I might pass on this one if it doesn't entertain me with its subject matter.

+H20 ~Footprints in the Sand~
This one looked interesting to me.  I suppose it's mostly the art style that gets to me, since it looks really nice.  If nothing else, it'll look good.

+Rosario + Vampire
Oh man, I'm definitely looking forward to this.  I've already read the first four or so volumes of the manga, and it looks pretty awesome to me.  Hopefully the story moves along quickly, which it probably will since they show that ninja girl on their home page, and since she doesn't show up for quite a few volumes, they'll either change the story or move it quickly.

+Shigofumi
I don't know what it's about, but it looks cool.  That's all I have to say, really.

+They Are My Noble Masters
I don't really have anything to say about this one.  It's eroge-turned-anime, and that's all I can describe it as, since I've never played the game.  I'm sure it won't have THAT much fanservice... or, I can HOPE they don't have very much...

+true tears
Yeah, baby!  This one is the show I'm most interested in watching.  I can't explain what about it attracts me so, but reguardless, it'll be awesome, I'm sure.

There'll probably be other shows that I watch, but these are the biggies for me.  I'm going to be so loaded down once they all air...

Oh, and of course, I'm going to continue watching Clannad, since it's the only one that continues into the New Year that I'm watching right now.